As the WNBA heads into its most anticipated season in recent memory, half of the league’s teams are getting a new look.
Six franchises — Chicago, Connecticut, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Seattle — are adding new “Rebel” jerseys for the 2024 season. When Nike took over jersey production for the WNBA in 2021, it instituted three rotation jerseys: the Heroine (home), Explorer (away), and Rebel (alternate). In 2023, the league unveiled new Rebel uniforms for five teams: Dallas, Indiana, New York, Minnesota, and Washington, which leaves Atlanta as the lone organization not to get an update since the original release.
The new uniforms play off of the characteristics of each city and region. For instance, the Sparks’ new jersey is the team’s first gold jersey in the Nike era, as its current rotation includes a white home and purple away uniform. It gives the effect that the sun is shining on the team, especially when paired with the iconic palm tree logo. Meanwhile, the Storm have played up the weather aspect of their name with lightning-shaped indents in the jersey’s lettering.
Several elements of the Sun’s Rebel jerseys serve as symbols and homages to the Mohegan Tribe’s culture and history. Among them, the purple and white neck is modeled after the traditional Wampum collar, the detailed lines on the side are symbolic of the shape of the traditional Medicine Woman’s belt, and the arms and inside side panel pattern is a reference to the “Trail of Life.”
The Mercury are taking their Rebel look — which features a pixelated sunset gradient and celebrates the popular Phoenix Suns’ “Valley” jersey — one step further by adopting a matching alternate court. According to the franchise, it is the first time in WNBA history a team will have an alternate floor that will be used during the entire season.
“Led by Mat Ishbia, our organization is committed to pushing WNBA investment to new heights, and becoming the first team to develop a second court specifically designed for an alternate uniform – something that has become the standard in the NBA – is another example of that commitment,” Phoenix president Vince Kozar said in the team’s release.
Chicago’s wordmark, “Skytown,” is a spin on the city’s nickname, “Chi Town,” and its light blue color features silver piping and a white gradient throughout in hopes of conjuring images of a sky. The Aces’ jersey brings back what they called a “championship red” color, a shade that “runs deep throughout the team’s culture and DNA.”
As the WNBA celebrates a new line of apparel, the topic of merchandise accessibility will likely again be raised. During the first Nike rollout in 2021, it was difficult to purchase Candace Parker Chicago Sky jerseys, despite Parker being a Chicago native and the biggest free-agent signing in franchise history. Fans frequently take to social media to voice frustrations about limited sizing or the inability to purchase jerseys of their favorite players.
Earlier this week, WNBA jersey production again rose to the forefront of discourse around the league when the Fever selected Caitlin Clark No. 1 in the 2024 WNBA Draft. The first round of Clark jerseys has already sold out, with Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin saying they sold more Clark jerseys on draft night than any other player in any sport in company history. Nevertheless, on Wednesday, Fanatics, which is the distribution arm for the Nike jerseys, said that a second batch wouldn’t be ready to ship until August.
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(Top photo courtesy of Seattle Storm)
