Dear Adam Silver, Please Bring Back Christmas Day Jerseys

Tomorrow is Christmas Day, which for many NBA fans has always felt like the unofficial start of the season. For years, this was the moment when football started to wrap up and the NBA fully took the stage. The league would roll out its biggest stars, its best teams, and its most marketable matchups for everyone to watch while spending time with their loved ones.

However, that "aura", has felt like it’s been missing a bit in recent years. The NFL has taken over Christmas Day lately, but if we’re being honest, the NFL slate tomorrow isn’t anything special. The NBA, on the other hand, absolutely delivered.

This year’s NBA Christmas schedule is exactly what the league should be showcasing. You’ve got the Knicks and Cavaliers going at it. Then the reigning MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and his defending champion OKC Thunder take on Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, which is quickly becoming a real rivalry out West. Cooper Flagg, the number one overall pick, and his Dallas Mavericks are going up against Steph Curry and the Warriors in the Bay Area. Kevin Durant versus LeBron James and Luka Dončić in Los Angeles when the Rockets and Lakers face off in Hollywood. And then the nightcap with the Timberwolves and Nuggets featuring two of the best players in the league with Nikola Jokic and Anthony Edwards.

That’s a great day of basketball. Great matchups. Great players. Great teams. From a basketball standpoint, the NBA did its job.

But there’s still something missing, and I’ve said this for years. The NBA needs to bring back Christmas jerseys.

I don’t know why Adam Silver and Nike ever got rid of them. Every year we get new uniforms anyway. Whether that be "City Edition" jerseys or "Earned Edition" jerseys, whatever they’re calling them now. As NBA fans, we don’t need more gimmicks. We want simple. Give us Christmas jerseys.

Those jerseys made the day feel like the start of something new. They meant something. NBA Christmas used to mean something. Over time, the league has taken away the Finals logo on the floor, taken away some of the great patches on the jerseys. I don’t even need patches anymore. I just want the Christmas jerseys back.

Christmas Day is supposed to signal that this day is special for the NBA. You already have great matchups, great players, and great teams. What’s missing is the visual reminder that this isn’t just another regular-season game.

The uniforms don’t even have to be amazing. They just have to be different. Different enough to tell fans, “This matters.”

Adam Silver, if you’re reading this for some reason, please bring back NBA Christmas Day jerseys. They were a small detail, but they helped define one of the most important days on the NBA calendar.