Here are the Raptors’ new uniforms, as unveiled by Drake at OVO Fest
We’ve known that the Toronto Raptors’ long-awaited rebrand would result in the unveiling of new uniforms since at least December. We’ve known what they’d look like (more or less) since May, with confirmation of the four-jersey set coming via leaked images last month. All that remained was for the Raps to make their official reveal … which came Monday night, during team global ambassador and noted meme enthusiast Drake’s beef-broiling OVO Fest performance in Toronto.
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Drake took the stage in a black jersey with gold trim — the OVO-colored alternate kit the Raps had teased for quite a while — bearing the name of Cory Joseph, the Toronto native whom general manager Masai Ujiri brought home with a four-year, $30 million deal to help bolster the Raptors’ defense. Joseph, who wore No. 5 with the San Antonio Spurs, will reportedly wear No. 6 with the hometown team, thanks in large part to the shoutout that Drake gave him on “Charged Up,” the first diss track the “6 God” lobbed at Meek Mill, which you of course know all about, because you are on the basketball Internet.
Unlike last summer, when Drake’s Raps-related OVO Fest work — publicly exhorting the crowd to join him in recruiting not-even-close-to-a-free-agent-yet Kevin Durant to come up north — landed the organ-eye-zation in some hot water with the league office, the Raptors were fully on-board with this particular Drizzy drop. Shortly after Drake’s festival first-look, the Raptors pulled back the curtain and launched the full-scale reveal.
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Here are the new home whites:
… and the new road reds:
… and the primary black alternate, with red trim:
… and the secondary black alternate, with the Aubrey-inspired touch of gold:
Via Paul Lukas at Uni-Watch, here’s a side-by-side of the old threads and the new:
As was the case after the December reveal of the Raptors’ new circular logo, the Brooklyn Nets began social media grumbling over purported Canuck swagger-jacking, what with all the black and the white and the rapper showing off the wares:
Let’s hope this doesn’t revive yet another bit of undercooked beef for Young Mr. Graham.
Hip-hop tethers aside, the new strips seem to strike a similar tone to the ones introduced earlier this offseason by the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks — clean and minimalist, seemingly aimed at retooling rather than revolutionizing the team’s look. Whether that’s considered a good thing or a bad thing might depend on the age and sartorial adventurousness of the beholder — those who really dig the Atlanta Hawks’ new duds, for example, might find such an approach staid and stale — but there’s something to be said for keeping things simple, even if it’s a bit safe for some.
I wouldn’t blame Torontonians for being bummed out that none of the four new jerseys actually bears the name of their city. Sure, the latter-day Raps have been all about branding themselves as Canada’s team — as evidenced by the maple leaf logo on the waistband, the “WE THE NORTH” tag on the bottom of the jersey and the ever-north-pointing chevrons on the side stripes — but it’d be nice to get some nature of clear recognition of the city that’s supported the club through thick and thin (and there’s been more of the latter than the former) over the last two decades. The implied “T.O.” nickname-check of the stripe and alternate logo on the shorts will have to suffice.
I’m also not the biggest fan of the seeming disconnect between the letters and the numbers — the hard edges and boxiness of the wordmark font seems sort of at odds with the rounder look of the numerals — but I suspect that’s not going to stop many people from forking over their hard-earned colorful cash to be the first on their block rocking a brand-spankin’ new Bismack Biyombo jersey.
All told, then, not a massive difference outside the OVO-inflected second alternate, but it still seems a sound enough minor shake-up of a strong (if understated) set of uniforms. What’s your verdict on the Dinos’ new duds? Sound off in the comments below.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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