NBA colors move more than football colors do. Teams relocate, change owners and rebrand for new arenas, and a lot of them have tried a color for a decade and then walked it back. Purple came and went in Toronto, Milwaukee and Sacramento. Teal came and went in Detroit. Two teams just brought back looks from the 1980s and 1990s for 2026-27.
So we went back to the start for all 30 teams, using the clubs' own histories and press releases, NBA.com, state and city historical sources and newspaper archives. Where the famous story doesn't hold up, we say so. Where a team never explained its choice, we say that too. This is the follow-up to How Every NBA Team Got Its Name and the NBA version of How Every NFL Team Got Its Colors.
Quick Facts: NBA Team Colors
- Borrowed from a high school: the Cavaliers. Founder Nick Mileti dressed the team in the wine and gold of his alma mater, John Adams High in Cleveland.
- From a city or state: the Knicks' orange and blue are New York City's official colors, which come from the Dutch. The Pacers' blue and gold are a tribute to Indiana's state colors.
- From the sky: the Suns' purple and orange were picked to match an Arizona sunset.
- From a fashion designer: the Hornets' teal and purple, by Alexander Julian in 1988.
- From a rapper and the subway: the Nets' black and white, designed by Jay-Z and inspired by 1950s New York subway signs.
- From a festival: the Jazz took Mardi Gras purple, green and gold from New Orleans to Utah.
- Left behind in another city: Oklahoma City had to leave the SuperSonics' green and gold in Seattle.
- Biggest color news of 2026: the Rockets brought back red and yellow, the look fans call "ketchup and mustard," and the Timberwolves went back to the bright blue and green of their 1989 start.
Atlantic Division
Boston Celtics
The Celtics have worn green and white for their whole history, and the reason is the most famous color story in the league. Walter Brown founded the team in 1946 and picked the name for the old Original Celtics of New York, saying it had "a great basketball tradition." The Boston Globe notes that, as legend tells it, Brown added: "Boston is full of Irishmen. We'll put them in green uniforms." No document from 1946 records that line, so we treat it as the story the club has always told rather than a verified quote. The leprechaun logo, credited to Red Auerbach's brother Zang, came in the early 1950s. Gold and black have been added as accents over the years. The team has never moved and never changed its main color. Boston Celtics uniform schedule 2026-27
Brooklyn Nets
The Nets were red, white and blue for 45 years. The franchise started in 1967 as the ABA's New Jersey Americans, became the New York Nets on Long Island in 1968 and the New Jersey Nets in 1977, and kept a patriotic palette the whole way. That ended with the 2012 move to Brooklyn. The team said its new black and white look was designed by part-owner Jay-Z and inspired by New York subway signs from 1957, the last year the Brooklyn Dodgers played. CEO Brett Yormark called it "a big departure from where we were with red, white and blue" and said the colors "speak to Brooklyn's strong traditions and grittiness." Black, white and gray are still the Nets' colors today. Brooklyn Nets uniform schedule 2026-27
New York Knicks
The Knicks wear the city's colors, and the city says so. The team's NBA.com history said its colors "have always (except for the years from 1979-80 through 1982-83) been orange, blue and white," which it called "the official colors of New York City." In June 2026, during the Knicks' title run, the Mayor's Office put it plainly: "The Knicks' blue and orange are an homage to New York City's official colors." Those city colors go back to the Dutch, who founded New Amsterdam, and the orange, white and blue flag of the Dutch Republic. We found no record of who at Madison Square Garden made the call in 1946, so we don't credit founder Ned Irish personally. Today the Knicks wear royal blue, orange and white, with silver and black as accents. New York Knicks uniform schedule 2026-27
Philadelphia 76ers
The 76ers' red, white and blue come with the name. When the Syracuse Nationals moved to Philadelphia in 1963, a fan contest named them for 1776, and the patriotic colors followed. The one real break came in 1997. Team president Pat Croce, with input from Allen Iverson, modernized the logo and added black, gold and silver, and the team says the road jersey was black for the first time. The Philadelphia Inquirer described it as ditching red and blue for black and gold. The 76ers went back to red, white and blue with a throwback-style logo for 2009-10, under chairman Ed Snider, and a 2015 refresh kept the same palette. Today the colors are red, white and blue, the closest any NBA team gets to a flag. Philadelphia 76ers uniform schedule 2026-27
Toronto Raptors
Fans named the Raptors, but they did not pick the colors. Those came from the design team led by creative director Tom O'Grady, who later said the first concept was green and bronze. The investors said it was "not enough Canada," so the dinosaur turned red. "Let's change the raptor to red and reflect Canada without having a maple leaf," O'Grady recalled. The purple was chosen to stand apart from the purples already used by the Lakers, Suns and Jazz. The original palette also included a silver widely reported as "Naismith silver," after Canadian basketball inventor James Naismith, though we could not find the team's own 1995 wording. Purple faded out in the 2000s, and the 2015 rebrand set red, black, white and silver, with a black and gold alternate. Purple came back as a 30th-season Classic Edition in 2024-25. Toronto Raptors uniform schedule 2026-27
Central Division
Chicago Bulls
The Bulls have worn red, black and white since 1966 and have never changed them. Founding owner Dick Klein is said to have taken red and black from his high school in Fort Madison, Iowa, where he played in the 1930s, though we found that only in secondary sources. The logo is better documented. Designer Dean Wessel told the Chicago Tribune in 1993 that Klein sent back his first bull with a note: "I want blood on the horns. Blood!" That is why the tips of the horns are red. The bull itself fits the name, which came from Klein's son calling his father's early ideas "a bunch of bull." Chicago Bulls uniform schedule 2026-27
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers wear a high school's colors. The Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame says founder Nick Mileti named the 1970 expansion team and "dressed [it] in the Wine and Gold colors of his alma mater, John Adams High." A popular story blames owner Ted Stepien for the switch to orange and blue, but that doesn't hold up. The change came in 1983, after the Gund brothers bought the team from Stepien. Blue and orange, and later blue and black, carried the Cavs through the 1990s. Wine and gold came back in 2003, when LeBron James arrived, with navy as a third color. The June 2022 rebrand dropped navy and brought back a metallic gold. The colors today are wine, gold, black and white. Cleveland Cavaliers uniform schedule 2026-27
Detroit Pistons
The Pistons' teal era is the strangest five years in the team's color history. The franchise began as Fred Zollner's Fort Wayne factory team and wore royal blue and red from the 1940s, colors it kept through the 1957 move to Detroit and the Bad Boys titles. In 1996 a new horse-head logo arrived with teal, burgundy, black and gold. The team never gave a clear reason. Jerry Stackhouse, who played in those uniforms, told ESPN that "whatever focus group at the time, I guess determined that teal was the color of the future." Red, white and blue came back for 2001-02. In 2017, for the move to Little Caesars Arena, the Bad Boys-style logo returned with a chrome outline the team tied to the auto industry. Teal now shows up only as a throwback. Detroit Pistons uniform schedule 2026-27
Indiana Pacers
The Pacers' blue and gold are Indiana's colors. A group of investors founded the team in the ABA in 1967, and Pacers historian Mark Montieth has written that the blue and gold "are a tribute to the state's official colors," the ones on the Indiana flag. We found no document that names which founder made the choice, so we credit the group. The shades have deepened over time, from a medium blue and yellow toward the navy and gold the team wears now, with cool gray as a third color. The Pacers first wore pinstripes in 1997, during the Reggie Miller years, and for 2026-27 they are back on a gold Statement uniform. The colors today are navy blue, gold and gray. Indiana Pacers uniform schedule 2026-27
Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks named one of their colors after their city's bricks. Milwaukee started in 1968 in green and white with red trim. In 1993 the team switched to purple, green and silver with a realistic buck head, a 1990s look that lasted until purple was dropped in 2006. The 2015 rebrand gave every color a local name. The team said Good Land Green is "the traditional color of the franchise." Cream City Cream honors Milwaukee's "Cream City" nickname, which comes from the pale bricks many of its buildings were built with, and the team said "we're the only NBA team to feature a cream hue." Great Lakes Blue "underlines the importance of the Great Lakes and multiple rivers." Red was dropped. Purple has come back only on throwback uniforms. Milwaukee Bucks uniform schedule 2026-27
Southeast Division
Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta was not always red. The Hawks arrived from St. Louis in 1968 in red, white and blue, then switched in 1970 to a mod lime green and blue. Red came back and became the team's main color, and the modern Hawks treat it as the constant. In 2015 they named their palette Torch Red, Volt Green and Granite Gray. Chief creative officer Peter Sorckoff said "the green was about looking back into our history," and that the team wanted "some colors we could own." The 2020 update kept Torch Red and Granite Gray, added Infinity Black and swapped the green for Legacy Yellow, which the team called "an homage to the golden era of Hawks basketball." Those four are the official colors today. Atlanta Hawks uniform schedule 2026-27
Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets' teal came from a fashion designer. When George Shinn's expansion team arrived in 1988, he hired North Carolina designer Alexander Julian, who put the Hornets in teal and purple with pinstripes. Julian has said the team was first leaning toward the arena's colors, a Carolina blue, white and teal, and that teal and purple were already his signature. The look was a merchandise sensation. Uni Watch notes that nearly every new big-league team of the next decade wore purple, teal or both. The franchise took the colors to New Orleans in 2002. When Charlotte got the Hornets name back for 2014-15, owner Michael Jordan brought back purple and teal too, citing a fan survey in which an "overwhelming majority" wanted them. They are still the team's colors, with black and gray. Charlotte Hornets uniform schedule 2026-27
Miami Heat
The Heat's colors are the most obvious in the league, and we still could not find anyone explaining them. Miami entered the NBA in 1988 with a logo of a flaming ball dropping through a hoop, in red, orange, yellow and black. Fire colors for a team called the Heat need little explanation, but we found no team statement or newspaper account of who chose them, and the logo designer credits we found come only from logo blogs. The palette has barely changed. Black remains the dominant color on the court. The best-known detour was the 2017-18 "Vice" City Edition, built on 1980s Miami pinks and blues, which has come back many times since. The colors today are red, black, yellow and white. Miami Heat uniform schedule 2026-27
Orlando Magic
The Magic have kept the same colors since 1989, and the team names them simply: Magic blue, Magic black and Magic silver. The original home uniforms were white with black pinstripes, a look that became one of the most popular of the 1990s, worn by Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway. Many fans assume Disney chose the colors, since the name points to the Magic Kingdom. We found no source that says so, and no team account of who picked blue and black. What we can confirm is that the palette has survived every redesign. The June 2025 rebrand brought back the star and a 1990s feel for 2025-26, and the team's release used the same three color names it used in 2010. Orlando Magic uniform schedule 2026-27
Washington Wizards
Washington changed its colors when it changed its name, then changed them back. The Bullets wore red, white and blue. When owner Abe Pollin renamed the team the Wizards for 1997-98, the colors became what the team's jersey timeline calls "a lighter shade of blue, black, and bronze." Pollin also owned the Capitals, who had just moved to a similar blue, black and bronze look. In 2011 new owner Ted Leonsis went back to red, white and blue, with uniforms closer to the old Bullets. Leonsis said the colors "harken back to a good part of our past" and that fans and former players had asked for them. The colors today are navy, red, white and silver. The cherry blossom City Edition is back for 2026-27. Washington Wizards uniform schedule 2026-27
Northwest Division
Denver Nuggets
Denver's most famous colors came from a contest. Under president Carl Scheer, the Nuggets held a design contest in the early 1980s, and the result was the Rainbow Skyline: the city's skyline against the Rockies over stripes of color, worn from 1981-82 to 1992-93. The team says it represented "the vibrancy and growth of Denver." The leading entry is often credited to Scheer himself. After years in navy and then powder blue and gold, the team set its current palette in 2018: Midnight Blue, Sunshine Yellow, Flatirons Red and Skyline Blue. The red is named for the Flatirons, the red sandstone slabs above Boulder, and the light blue nods to the team's early look. The rainbow has returned as a City Edition several times. Denver Nuggets uniform schedule 2026-27
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves just went back to where they started. The 1989 expansion team wore blue, green and white, and the bright kelly green and blue look lasted into the mid-1990s before the team moved darker. We found no account of who picked the first colors or why, though Minnesota's forests and lakes are the obvious reading. The 2017 redesign leaned toward navy. Then on June 7, 2026, the team unveiled a full rebrand that brings back the brighter blue and green of the early years, keeps the howling wolf and North Star and returns the pine trees from the 2008-17 era. CEO Matt Caldwell said it reflects "the pieces of Timberwolves basketball fans have always connected with." We graded it A+. Minnesota Timberwolves uniform schedule 2026-27
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder's colors exist because Seattle kept the old ones. The franchise played 41 seasons as the SuperSonics in green and gold. Under the 2008 settlement that let Clay Bennett's group move the team, the SuperSonics name, logo and colors stayed behind for a future Seattle team, and Oklahoma City agreed not to use them. Bennett revealed the Thunder on Sept. 3, 2008, in blue, orange-red, yellow and navy. The usual explanation is that the blue comes from the Oklahoma state flag and the red and orange from the prairie sunset. We could not find Bennett saying that himself, so treat it as the common reading rather than his stated reason. The team calls its main shades Thunder Blue and Sunset, with navy and yellow. Oklahoma City Thunder uniform schedule 2026-27
Portland Trail Blazers
The pinwheel came first. Portland revealed its name in March 1970, and the logo was drawn by Frank Glickman, a cousin of founder Harry Glickman: two sets of five lines, one for each team of five players, coming together. The team has worn red, black and white from the start, and we found no record of who chose those colors or why. Silver was added around 2002. In 2017 the team quietly reworked the pinwheel, putting red on top, swapping silver for white and setting the lines at 45 degrees, a nod to the 45th parallel that runs near Portland. Team president Chris McGowan called the changes subtle. The colors today are red, black and white. Portland Trail Blazers uniform schedule 2026-27
Utah Jazz
The Jazz are purple because of Mardi Gras. The team began in New Orleans in 1974 and took the festival's purple, green and gold as its colors, according to Utah Humanities. Owner Sam Battistone kept the name and colors when he moved the team to Salt Lake City in 1979. Purple stayed through the mountain era that began in 1996, then gave way to navy and light blue. In 2022 owner Ryan Smith wanted only black and white. The Salt Lake Tribune reported that the NBA and Nike said no, since the Spurs and Nets already use it, so the compromise added a bright yellow. That lasted three seasons. In 2024 the team announced Mountain Purple, Midnight Black and Sky Blue, fully in place for 2025-26. A team brand director noted "we've had purple in some form or fashion in our brand for 75% of our time." Utah Jazz uniform schedule 2026-27
Pacific Division
Golden State Warriors
Blue and gold are California's state colors, and the Warriors are named for the Golden State, so most fans assume one came from the other. The connection is likely but unproven. California adopted blue and gold as its official colors in 1951, borrowing them from the University of California, whose yearbook was called the "Blue and Gold." We found no team source that says the Warriors picked their colors for that reason. The franchise came west from Philadelphia in 1962, and in 1969 its "The City" logo put a blue bridge on a gold disc. The team became Golden State in 1971 to represent the whole state. Its 2019 move to Chase Center brought a slightly darker blue. The colors today are royal blue and golden yellow. Golden State Warriors uniform schedule 2026-27
LA Clippers
The Clippers have changed colors almost as often as cities. They began in 1970 as the Buffalo Braves in orange, black and white, with light blue added in 1973-74. The team moved to San Diego in 1978 and became the Clippers, and by the time it reached Los Angeles in 1984 it was wearing red, white and blue. We found no account of who chose any of those early palettes. Steve Ballmer bought the team in 2014, and the 2015 rebrand added black. The biggest change came on Feb. 26, 2024, ahead of the move to Intuit Dome. The team introduced a nautical look built on what it called "naval blue, ember red, and Pacific blue," with a compass C and a ship. Those three are the colors today. LA Clippers uniform schedule 2026-27
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers were blue for their first 20 years. The Minneapolis Lakers wore blue, and the team kept blue after moving to Los Angeles in 1960. Purple and gold arrived in 1967, when owner Jack Kent Cooke moved the Lakers into his new Forum. The team's own history says Cooke "felt the hues gave us a regal connotation." That makes the popular "purple is for royalty" story true, at least as the team tells it. Cooke dressed his new NHL Kings in the same purple and gold, and for years the purple was known as "Forum Blue." Purple and gold have been the Lakers' colors ever since. At home they wear purple or gold instead of white, and we break down which one wins in our Lakers home jerseys story. Los Angeles Lakers uniform schedule 2026-27
Phoenix Suns
The Suns took their colors from the sky. When general manager Jerry Colangelo built the 1968 expansion team, he wanted the colors to reflect Arizona. Team executive Jim Brewer later told Cronkite News: "If you look at an Arizona sunset, it has a lot of purple and orange in it." Brewer added that the colors were "unique, no one was using them at the time." That story holds up, and it is one of the cleanest in the league: the name and the colors come from the same idea. The 1992-93 redesign, built for the new arena and Charles Barkley's arrival, kept purple and orange, and every look since has too. Black became a regular third color. For 2026-27 the City Edition swaps black for bright teal. Phoenix Suns uniform schedule 2026-27
Sacramento Kings
The Kings were red, white and blue for most of their history, through Rochester, Cincinnati, Kansas City and their first years in Sacramento. Purple came in 1994. The Kings' own history blog says the team nearly went with burgundy, gold and black instead, though we could only confirm that secondhand. The purple, silver, black and white look carried the Chris Webber teams of the early 2000s. In 2016, for the move to Golden 1 Center, owner Vivek Ranadivé introduced a logo in royal purple and granite gray that honors the 1985 Sacramento logo. The colors today are purple, gray, black and white. Sacramento Kings uniform schedule 2026-27
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks started out blue and green, with a cowboy hat on the M inspired by original owner Donald Carter. We found no account of who chose the green. The 1980s look lasted 20 years. The change began under Ross Perot Jr. and was finished after Mark Cuban bought the team in 2000. The new look, unveiled in January 2001, put a silver and black stallion on a bright blue ball. A team executive said the old look "had gotten stale," and Cuban said: "I want a uniform so cool that kids want to wear it to school." The release didn't say Cuban personally chose the colors, so we call it a Cuban-era change. The colors today are royal blue, navy, silver and black. Dallas Mavericks uniform schedule 2026-27
Southwest Division
Houston Rockets
The Rockets' red and yellow started as green. The team was founded in San Diego in 1967 in green and gold. When it moved to Houston in 1971, it swapped the green for red, and the red and yellow look fans call "ketchup and mustard" carried the Rockets through the 1980s and their 1994 title. In 1995 owner Leslie Alexander switched to navy, red and silver pinstripes, and a 2003 rebrand settled on red, black and silver. Then on June 4, 2026, the Rockets brought the yellow back. The team named the colors Rocket Red and Championship Yellow, and vice chairman Patrick Fertitta said: "We heard our fans... Ketchup and Mustard is back!" Our full grade is in the Rockets rebrand story. Houston Rockets uniform schedule 2026-27
Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies' first colors were Vancouver's. The 1995 expansion team was announced in turquoise, bronze and red, and we found no account of who chose them. When the team moved to Memphis in 2001 it kept the Vancouver look for three seasons. The 2004 rebrand gave Memphis its own palette, with names built on the city: Memphis Midnight Blue, Beale Street Blue, Smoke Blue and Grizzlies Gold. The team's release described the gold as a subtle reference to the colors of Egyptian royalty, since Memphis is named after the ancient Egyptian capital. That line comes from the team's 2004 announcement, which we could only read in excerpts. The colors today are Beale Street Blue, Memphis Midnight Blue and gold. Memphis Grizzlies uniform schedule 2026-27
New Orleans Pelicans
When the Hornets moved from Charlotte in 2002, their teal and purple came too. In 2008 the New Orleans Hornets reworked the look with what was reported as Creole blue and Mardi Gras gold. Then Tom Benson bought the team, and the 2013 switch to the Pelicans replaced teal and purple with navy, gold and red. The team's August 2013 release said dark blue and gold would be "the prominent colors" and red would "serve as an accent." Credit for the palette is murky. A report quoted Gayle Benson, Tom's wife, saying she preferred navy blue, red and gold, and the explanations of what each color means have varied by source. The colors today are navy, gold and red. New Orleans Pelicans uniform schedule 2026-27
San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs went black and silver when they came to San Antonio. As the ABA's Dallas Chaparrals from 1967, the team wore red, white and blue. When a San Antonio group led by Angelo Drossos and Red McCombs moved it south in 1973, the colors became black, silver and white. Why is unclear. One book says a member of the ownership group was an Oakland Raiders fan, but it never names him, so we can't confirm it. The Fiesta colors are the other myth. The turquoise, pink and orange first appeared in the 1989 logo and on warmups, never as the main uniform colors, and were dropped around 2002. They came back for a 2020-21 City Edition. The colors today are black, silver and white. San Antonio Spurs uniform schedule 2026-27
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are the Lakers purple and gold? Owner Jack Kent Cooke switched the team from blue to purple and gold in 1967, when it moved into his new Forum. The team says he "felt the hues gave us a regal connotation." The Lakers had worn blue in Minneapolis and in their first years in Los Angeles.
Why are the Celtics green? Founder Walter Brown is said to have chosen green for Boston's large Irish population, and the team name honors the old Original Celtics of New York. The famous quote, "Boston is full of Irishmen," is a story the club has always told, not one we found in a 1946 document.
Why are the Knicks orange and blue? They are New York City's official colors, which come from the Dutch who founded New Amsterdam. The team's history and the Mayor's Office both say so.
Why are the Suns purple and orange? The 1968 front office picked them to match an Arizona sunset. Executive Jim Brewer said the colors were also unique at the time.
Why are the Hornets teal and purple? Fashion designer Alexander Julian picked them in 1988. Teal and purple were already his signature colors, and the look set off a decade of teal across pro sports.
Why are the Utah Jazz purple? The team started in New Orleans in 1974 and took Mardi Gras purple, green and gold. Purple came and went in Utah, and the team brought it back as Mountain Purple, fully in place for 2025-26.
Why are the Cavaliers wine and gold? Founder Nick Mileti used the colors of his old high school, John Adams High in Cleveland, in 1970. Orange and blue arrived in 1983 under the Gund brothers, not Ted Stepien, and wine and gold returned in 2003.
Why aren't the Thunder green and gold like the SuperSonics? The 2008 settlement that let the team leave Seattle kept the SuperSonics name, logo and colors in Seattle for a future team. Oklahoma City started over with blue, orange-red, yellow and navy.
Why did the Nets switch to black and white? When the team moved to Brooklyn in 2012, part-owner Jay-Z designed a black and white look inspired by 1957 New York subway signs, replacing 45 years of red, white and blue.
Did the Rockets bring back ketchup and mustard? Yes. On June 4, 2026, Houston revealed Rocket Red and Championship Yellow for 2026-27, bringing yellow back for the first time since the 1995 switch to navy pinstripes.
Are the Warriors blue and gold because of California? Probably, but we could not prove it. California adopted blue and gold as its state colors in 1951, and the team is named for the Golden State, but we found no team source that ties the two together.
Were the Spurs' Fiesta colors ever their uniform colors? No. The turquoise, pink and orange first appeared in the 1989 logo and on warmups. The Spurs' uniform colors have been black, silver and white since 1973.
The Bottom Line
Most NBA colors are younger and less settled than football's. The ones with a clear reason behind them, like a city's flag, a sunset, a festival or a founder's high school, are the ones that stuck. The ones picked to chase a trend, like teal in Detroit or purple in Milwaukee, are the ones teams walked back. Houston and Minnesota just proved the point again by going home to the colors fans never stopped asking for.
More NBA Coverage
- How every NBA team got its name
- How every NFL team got its colors
- Every new NBA uniform, logo, court and patch for 2026-27
- NBA uniform schedule 2026-27: what every team is wearing
Color histories via NBA.com, the teams' own histories and press releases, the Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame, Utah Humanities, the California State Capitol Museum, the New York City Mayor's Office, Cronkite News and newspaper archives including the Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Salt Lake Tribune.
