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Utah Jazz Christmas jerseys hotter than chestnuts roasting on an open fire

By Ryan Aston

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - NOVEMBER 19: Donovan Mitchell #45 and Ricky Rubio #3 of the Utah Jazz talk in the game against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on November 19, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - NOVEMBER 19: Donovan Mitchell #45 and Ricky Rubio #3 of the Utah Jazz talk in the game against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on November 19, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Inspired by their gold, Statement Edition jerseys, the Utah Jazz’s green-hued, ‘Earned’ uniforms for Christmas Day hit all the right notes.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that the 16 teams that advanced to the 2018 NBA Playoffs would be getting an extra, “Earned” alternate jersey this season. Thanks to a mistake on the retail side, Utah Jazz fans just got a sneak peek at their team’s new duds, which will make their official debut during a Christmas Day bout with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Jazz fan Gavan Bruderer was at Dick’s Sporting Goods on Friday and, much to his surprise, the new jerseys were out on a rack for sale. They wouldn’t let him purchase any — the jerseys had been put out early by mistake — but Bruderer was quick to snap a pic of the new kits and blast it on Twitter.

Check it out —

https://twitter.com/gavanbruderer/status/1071181998901743616

The new kits are nearly identical in concept to the Jazz’s gold, Statement Edition uniforms. I’ve professed my love for those jerseys in the past, but the new color scheme for the Earned jerseys pushes them over the top for me. Apropos of the holiday season, they’ll be green, which is also a throwback to the team’s earliest days in Salt Lake City.

Upon moving to the 801 in 1979, the Jazz ditched the purple road uniforms of their New Orleans days for green duds with gold and white accents. It was during that green-shirt era of Jazz basketball that I first took note of the team; way back when Adrian Dantley and Rickey Green pushed it to new heights.

The Jazz went back to purple for road games five years later, but green remained a deeply embedded part of the team’s identity.

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During the Deron Williams era, the old greens popped up for a short time in throwback form. Green then returned to the rotation full-time with re-imagined jerseys ahead of the 2011-12 season and remained their through 2017.

Now, after a one-year break, green is back in effect for Christmas in old-meets-new fashion. If you ask me, that’s hotter than chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

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