The Minnesota Timberwolves: Uniform History and a much-needed rebranding

 

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This is my third post in a row that is centered around uniforms or an aspect of uniforms, which may leave you wondering: is this becoming strictly a uniform blog? Let's not go that far! Nonetheless, uniforms are clearly a passion of mine and there are so many topics in that sector that need tackling, such as this one. The Timberwolves are a franchise with unique branding that goes along with an exciting uniform history, so without further ado...

1989-1996

Hoops Habit

Before the Timberwolves became an NBA expansion team in 1989, a "Name the Team" contest was held for fans to provide their say in what they thought the team name should be. After 6,000 submissions, the two finalists were Timberwolves and Polars. The final decision was left up to 842 city councils in Minnesota, and luckily for us, they voted on Timberwolves in the end. Even though nothing is necessarily wrong with the Polars, it just lacks the flare that Timberwolves has. Anyway, we're here to talk uniforms. These are underrated when it comes to the Timberwolves uniform history; I think this shade of royal blue and green is really sharp to go along with the simplicity of the uniform set. On top of that, this color scheme provides some uniqueness when it comes to the rest of the NBA. Even though these uniforms did not see many wins (to be fair, the Timberwolves have never done a lot of winning), they were a very solid place to start.

1996-2008

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The Timberwolves went with a full on rebrand in the mid 90s and it ended up being widely considered their greatest uniforms in franchise history. Even though the trees are everyone's favorite part of these uniforms (and rightfully so), there are a few other key components that make them gel, such as the wacky font and the big logo on the side of the shorts. This look is filled to the brim with uniqueness and identity as it really screams Timberwolves. They also had far and away their most successful years in these with many playoff seasons encompassing Kevin Garnett's legendary Timberwolves career.

2008-2010

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When the Timberwolves went away from their coolest uniforms in team history, it kind of feels like they picked the worst design they could from the drawing board and stuck with it. Luckily for everybody involved, they only stuck with this look for a couple of seasons. I see what they were trying to do by keeping the trees involved just in a different way. But man, it looks bad. Such a shame considering what came before.

2010-2017

Hoops Habit

Fortunately for the eyes of Timberwolves viewers, the team quickly moved away from the set shown previously and donned this altered look up until 2018. These are much more cohesive than what came before them. Even though the green was removed, they at least look decent and allowed for the Timberwolves to not feel any further embarrassment since the way they played probably was more than sufficient enough in doing that. Lack of team success aside, these were a serviceable look but always left something to be desired as a result of how good the original trees looked.

2018-present

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At the end of the 2017 season, the Timberwolves unveiled another complete rebrand for 2018 and beyond featuring navy blue, royal blue and lime green as their primary colors. Believe it or not, this is probably my favorite logo in franchise history. I have always thought the howling wolf was cool and the addition of the North Star was a nice touch. Even though this uniform set is really solid and has a sense of uniqueness to it with the striping, it severely lacks in the identity department. While boring is not always bad, it usually isn't ideal when your team name is centered around a scary animal and your beloved previous branding was anything but boring.

Now that we have gone over all of the primary uniforms that the Timberwolves have rocked throughout the years, let's get to the most important part of this post...

Proposed Rebranding

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The Timberwolves absolutely knocked their City edition uniforms out of the park for the 2021-22 season, blending elements from all of their previous uniform designs into one. To me, these are almost perfect: they include the best color scheme in franchise history, the trees and font from the KG era, and the big logos on both sides of the shorts. However, if I am being extremely nitpicky, the only thing I would change is removing the element used from the 2018 city jersey, aka the darkening from the front of the jersey to the back. Although it doesn't look bad, I think it would look more cohesive as one solid color.

With that being said, the Timberwolves should come out with a full rebrand based upon this uniform. In my opinion, this rebrand is staring them right in the face since fans absolutely raved about these uniforms. Plus, it would just be so easy. Make a white version of this jersey for at home, keep this one for the road, a green one as the Statement jersey (obviously using the original shade of green, NOT neon green), and a black one for the City jersey. I would be okay with tinkering around with the wording; that isn't necessarily what is important to me (for example: having the white ones say "Wolves" and the blue ones say "Minnesota", maybe one of them saying "Twin Cities" or full on "Timberwolves"... you get the point).

Luckily, Instagrammer @mtd.designs put together an awesome concept that lines up very closely with what I was thinking:

I'm grateful for the amazing job that @mtd.designs did in designing this, and it coincidentally is almost exactly what I envisioned for them too. As for the alternates, the greens came out very nicely and the blacks look very sleek while paying homage to the original trees. Now, all that we have left to do is make sure A-Rod and Marc Lore catch wind of this and we'll have the rebrand we so desperately want in no time.

The NFL rule change we have all been waiting for

 

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Heading into the 2022-2023 season, the NFL has finally changed their one helmet rule and is allowing teams to add another alternate lid to their collection if they would like to. This is a rule that many fans have been wanting the NFL to get rid of, and they finally did it this season to the excitement of uniform geeks like myself. Without further ado, in no order my thoughts on each new alternate helmet are presented below.

Chicago Bears

Photo via Chicago Bears

I have always been very fond of the Chicago Bears orange jersey and have considered it a nice way for the team to branch out a bit from their very traditional primary uniforms. However, for some reason I am not really feeling the orange helmet with the orange jersey. The classic, shiny blue helmet paired perfectly with the bright orange jersey, and I felt like they each made the other one pop a little bit. Although I do not dislike the helmet at all, this is just overkill to me. Who knows, maybe my thoughts will change a little when I see them on field for the first time. But as of right now, I much prefer the way the blue helmet looks with the orange jersey.

Carolina Panthers

Photos via Carolina Panthers

For the entirety of the Panther's existence, they have donned the same uniforms with the same helmets, albeit with a few minor additions like black pants and blue color rush uniforms. Even though this uniform set has always been solid, I have felt that they could use more of a modern update to go along with their unique colors. With that being said, the implementation of a black helmet is a solid place to start. I believe that they should focus on their black and blue and use silver as more of an accent color. This helmet just does a better job of complimenting their uniforms and I am excited to see if they will wear them with any combinations other than all-black, especially considering that the helmet goes with almost all of their uniform combinations pretty well.

Dallas Cowboys

Sports Illustrated

With the one helmet rule being abandoned the Cowboys wasted no time in bringing back their throwback uniforms with the iconic white helmet to go with it. However, a little wrinkle that many fans are not aware of is that they will also be wearing their white helmets with their white color rush uniforms this year. As you can see above, the throwback helmet on the left will don the original Cowboys star and a grey facemask while the color rush look will use the modern star and a white facemask (teams are allowed to use multiple different facemasks on the same helmet). Even though is certainly an unpopular take, I actually believe that the white helmets with the throwback look is better than their current look with the silver helmets and pants. Keeping it ultra-simple with navy blue and white looks so clean in comparison to the multiple different shades of silver and blue used in the Cowboys primary uniform pictured below.

USA Today

Atlanta Falcons

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The Falcons are another team to immediately bring a throwback look back into the mix, with this one including their classic red helmets with black and white decals and a hint of gold running along each side of the stripe. I love this look for them and there is just something about it that I like so much more than their modern helmet and logo combination. Maybe it's the uniqueness of a red helmet to go along with the simplicity of the black jerseys and white pants. All in all, I certainly would be an advocate for them making the red helmet their primary look to go along with the throwback 'F' Falcon logo featured on it.

Cincinnati Bengals

Photo via Cincinnati Bengals

My favorite of all of the alternate helmets unveiled for this season (and now one of my favorite helmets in the entire league), the Bengals listened to their fans and created a "White Tiger" lid for the team to rock with their white color rush uniforms. Cincinnati has had a distinctive helmet design for years now with the tiger stripes, and the addition of the white alternate is just the icing on the cake when it comes to the success of their uniform redesign over the last couple of years. There is not much else to be said about this helmet besides that it is simply beautiful.

New Orleans Saints

nfl.com

In a bit of a surprising move the Saints unveiled a black alternate helmet for this season that is intended to be worn with their white color rush uniforms. I personally am a huge fan of the look, especially with the center stripe encompassing a bunch of mini fleur-de-lis logos. You really can't go wrong with the black and gold and I expect this to add some exciting flare to a uniform set that was already really solid. I would love to see them wear this with other uniform combinations as well; I think it would look excellent with both the black and white jerseys, especially if they wear the black pants to go along with it.

Arizona Cardinals

USA Today

Even though I am of the belief that the Cardinals desperately need a uniform rebranding, I have always been a fan of their black uniforms and think that the black helmet is a nice addition to them. I am usually a sucker for a shiny black helmet, and that is no difference when it comes to these lids. I also thought that the incorporation of the red flakes was a subtle but nice touch to give the helmets some originality. Although I would not be opposed to the Cardinals moving away from black in an eventual rebranding, I do enjoy the black in their uniforms as it seems to take some of the attention away from the rather ugly design of their jersey and pants.

New York Giants

Photo via New York Giants

The Giants decided to bring back this throwback look for the upcoming season featuring a deep shade of blue to go along with their classic shade of royal blue on the jersey with white pants. I think they nailed this one when you consider how good the darker blue looks with royal blue, kind of reminiscent to the throwbacks the Vikings rocked in the later half of the 2000s. Additionally, I have always preferred this "Giants" logo on their helmet in comparison to the NY logo they currently use.

New England Patriots

Photo via New England Patriots

As I mentioned in my 2022 NFL Helmet Rankings, I like the Pats current branding but would love to see them go back to this throwback look on a full-time basis (However, I understand the unwillingness to change from a reliable look you won six Super Bowls in). With that being said, I was obviously pretty stoked to see them unveil these threads for the upcoming season. The emphasis on red and white with accents of royal blue looks so clean, and the Pat Patriot logo is very cool and is certainly something different than what you would find on your typical NFL helmet.

New York Jets

Photo via New York Jets

I am a big fan of the entire rebrand the Jets rolled out a few years ago from the helmets to the jerseys and pants. Nonetheless, there is nothing wrong with making minor improvements to something that was already going smoothly, and that is the case with this alternate helmet. I think the black lid will make the whole blackout uniform a little more cohesive and just give them a sharper look overall. On top of that, I wouldn't mind seeing them being creative with this and maybe trying it out with their white jersey and black pants.

Philadelphia Eagles

Photo via Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles went with a lid that is the exact same design as their current one but in black instead of midnight green; they intend to wear it with their all-black uniforms. Although it is a nice helmet with an iconic design, I almost find it to be a little unnecessary. I think the midnight green helmet looks clean with the all-black threads.  Nonetheless, this is another case in which I would like to see them play around with wearing the alternate lid with other uniforms. Black helmet, white jersey, and black pants sounds like it could work. It should also be mentioned that this will probably only be a one-year thing as the Eagles are bringing back their Kelly green throwbacks next year that the fans have been anxiously waiting for.

Houston Texans

KPRC

Houston was one of the first to unveil an alternate helmet with one that is identical to their blue lid except for the shell is a shiny red. I typically am a fan of red helmets, and my feelings are no different here. The Texans have a great logo and I expect this to look really nice with their red alternate jerseys. Davis Mills is going to look so cool when he's throwing touchdowns in this helmet. Also, I was actually expecting the Texans to come out with an alternate white helmet instead of red. For those of you who are unaware, when the Texans branding was originally unveiled in 2002, the owner did so by using a white helmet. The reasoning for this was that the organization believed that white was a better background for putting the logo on display instead of blue. Even though I would enjoy seeing them bring out a white helmet as well, I can't complain too much because the red one is pretty sweet.

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Washington Commanders

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Washington went with a full rebrand by changing their nickname the Commanders and putting out new uniforms. For an alternate look, they went with all-black (even though black has never been one of their colors) and that comes with a black lid featuring numbers on each side and their "W" logo placed directly on the front. Overall, I do not really understand the direction the Commanders are going in here. The black feels out of place and the placement of the logo seems awkward and forced.