In the last decade, the Cavaliers have worn 22 different uniforms. So far, this series has covered 14 Cavalier uniforms. In part four, four more jerseys will be ranked from places eight to four. Several navy alternates will make an appearance during this part.
LeBron James in the 2014-17 alternate (Photo via BasketballInsiders.com)
Coming in at eight is Cleveland’s road alternate uniform worn from 2014 to 2017. The Cavaliers wore a very similar alternate uniform during the 2011-12 season. The navy alternate fit in very nicely with Cleveland’s uniform set at the time. The jersey kept it simple, but the color scheme was very good. In addition, one very nice touch is the gold outlines on the jersey. Since the Cavaliers debuted a navy alternate in 2005, navy uniforms have sort of become a staple for the Cleveland franchise.
The 2011-12 CavFanatic uniform (Photo via CavsHistory.com)
Next up is a uniform nearly identical to the 2014-17 road alternate. The 2011-12 CavFanatic uniform was worn to honor Cleveland Cavalier fans. Further, this was only the second navy uniform in franchise history.
The 2011-12 CavFanatic uniform has a few differences from the mentioned road alternate. First off, the neck and shoulder borders has a thicker gold outline. Also, the CavFanatic alternate places a Cavaliers logo on the upper back of the jersey. Overall, the CavFanatic uniform had a few more details that made it slightly better than the 2014-17 road alternate that followed.
Darius Garland during his rookie season rocking the 2019-20 city uniform (Photo via CavsHistory.com)
The 2019-20 city uniform is another well-done navy alternate. Since Nike took over NBA uniforms, each NBA team gets one new alternate every season. These yearly NBA alternates are dubbed the “City Edition” jerseys. The city edition uniforms have really tested NBA franchise’s creativity. City edition uniforms have recently been unique with interesting inspirations. For example, the Timberwolves created a uniform inspired by the artist Prince.
Cleveland’s 2019-20 city uniform is a mashup of several uniforms. During the 2019-20 season, the Cavaliers designed this uniform to celebrate their franchise’s 50th anniversary. The colors were inspired by the navy alternates worn from 2005 to 2010. In addition, the front of the jersey was inspired by the very first Cavaliers uniforms worn in the early 1970s. Cleveland’s 1980s “V-basket” logo makes an appearance on the shorts as well. The 2019-20 alternate does a great job honoring Cleveland’s history.
The 2015 Christmas Day jersey (Photo via TBNMedia.com)
Annual Christmas uniforms could have been Adidas’ best uniform tradition. For only three seasons, Adidas created a Christmas collection for teams playing on Christmas day. The 2015 Christmas uniforms could be the best out of the three holiday alternates. Adidas used a cream or off white color alongside each team’s primary color. Cleveland’s Christmas uniform was all wine with cream accents. Also, the uniforms had a red wax seal design placed on the upper back of the jersey. The cursive font and wax seal alone gave the feel of an old timey Christmas, but the cream color only elevated the theming.
The Cavalier uniform series is just about wrapped up. Check out next week’s article ranking the top four Cleveland jerseys over the past decade.
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