Utah Jazz should maximize newfound jersey magic in playoffs
By Matt Giles
At least in the regular season, the Utah Jazz’s gold look is now good luck.
The Utah Jazz’s gold “Statement” jerseys look sharper than their other four choices. How so? Well, for one, they are absolutely golden when it comes to making the navy lettering and green numbers pop.
Therefore, one could argue they best match the team’s renowned crisp style of play. More importantly, though, they represent the only undefeated look for these Jazzmen (47-18).
Granted, Monday’s 110-99 win over the San Antonio Spurs (31-33) marked only the ninth time Utah has worn the jerseys this season. Plus, of those nine outings, the home victory over the New York Knicks in late January was the only one that came against an opponent currently boasting a winning record.
Nevertheless, heading into Wednesday’s 7 p.m. MT repeat meeting at home against the Spurs, it’s quite clear that the golden getup has thus far outperformed all of the other options.
A good luck charm for the Utah Jazz’s road ahead?
According to the Jazz Uniform Tracker Twitter account, here’s the breakdown of the team’s record this season in each uniform (from the most to least used):
- White “Association” jersey: 15-8
- Black “City Edition” jersey: 12-3
- Navy “Icon” jersey: 6-4
- Gold “Statement” jersey: 9-0
- Green “Earned” jersey: 5-3
Now, apologies in advance to the fanbase for any unwelcomed flashbacks, but it’s important to note that the franchise is just 29-21 in the gold threads since their 2017 inception.
In fact, after watching his squad go 1-7 in the “Statement” attire last season, Utah head coach Quin Snyder jokingly made the following statement to the media in February 2020:
“Our yellow uniforms? Yeah, we’re not wearing them anymore.”
And the 2019-20 Utah Jazz didn’t wear them again from that point forward.
Skip ahead to Monday’s postgame. It now appears full-time starter Bojan Bogdanovic is fine with the fact that the gold jerseys are not slated to appear again across the Jazz’s remaining seven games in the regular season:
“I don’t care [about the jerseys], honestly. I didn’t even know that [the fans] complained last year. But if you’re undefeated, let’s save those jerseys for the playoffs.”
Agreed. Sounds like a plan.
Besides, consider this Utah Jazz collection has held the league’s best record across most of the season and for a franchise that has never hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy. With that in mind, it sure does feel — symbolically speaking — as if it’s time for the Jazzmen to finally make a championship “Statement” to the mass of naysayers out there.