Leaked: New 2026-27 NBA Wordmarks for the Hawks, Nets, Rockets, and Timberwolves Reveal Three Throwbacks and One Wild Card

NBA Uniform Tracker just leaked the confirmed new wordmarks for the 2026-27 NBA season, and four teams are getting refreshed jersey branding next year. The Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Houston Rockets, and Minnesota Timberwolves all have new wordmarks locked in. Three of them are throwbacks pulling from older eras of the franchise. One of them is the Rockets, and the Rockets are doing something completely different. Here is every new NBA wordmark and uniform mark for the 2026-27 season, graded.

Atlanta Hawks Pac-Man Throwback Wordmark

via NBA Uniform Tracker

The Atlanta Hawks 2026-27 wordmark goes back to the Pac-Man hawk era, the 1972-1995 logo and color set worn through the franchise's Dominique Wilkins prime. Red background, white HAWKS block letters with yellow outline, the iconic talons-and-basketball hawk underneath. We like the move. It is not our favorite Hawks era, but the Pac-Man hawk is one of the most recognizable logos the franchise has ever fielded, and the red-white-yellow color story is unmistakably Atlanta on broadcast. Going backwards reads as a confidence move after years of Hawks identity drift between the throwback, the volt green Trae Young era, and the current red-and-black set. Grade: B+

Brooklyn Nets New Jersey Era Throwback Wordmark

via NBA Uniform Tracker

The Brooklyn Nets 2026-27 wordmark is also a throwback, pulling the red script Nets logo and red-and-blue color palette from the New Jersey Nets era of the late 1970s and 1980s. We like the look. We do not love it. The Nets identity has been clean and minimalist black-and-white since the Brooklyn rebrand in 2012, and the red script throwback adds a different flavor that works on the jersey but does not quite stick the landing. It is a fine direction, just not the breakthrough Brooklyn identity moment we would want from a team that has been searching for a visual signature since Jay-Z's original Brooklyn rebrand a decade ago. Grade: B

Houston Rockets New Wordmark System

via NBA Uniform Tracker

The Houston Rockets are the wild card. NBA Uniform Tracker leaked two different Rockets wordmarks for 2026-27, but they are not competing options. They are a paired system: HOUSTON on one jersey, ROCKETS on the other, both in the same bold italic-slanted typeface with matching numerals. Neither piece is a throwback. Both look completely new, which is the confusing part, because the Rockets just changed their uniforms in 2024-25 with the return of the red-and-white ketchup-and-mustard color story.

via NBA Uniform Tracker

If both wordmarks are real and they are hitting the jersey for 2026-27, Houston is doing another full uniform overhaul one season after the last one. We are confused, and we do not love the way these look. The italic slant feels generation-removed from the cohesive red, white, and gold Rockets identity the franchise has spent decades building. We need to see these on a full jersey before we render a final verdict, but on the wordmark alone, the Rockets are making us nervous about the 2026-27 set. Grade: C

Minnesota Timberwolves Original Blue and Green Throwback Wordmark

via NBA Uniform Tracker

The Minnesota Timberwolves 2026-27 wordmark goes back to the original 1989-1996 Wolves identity, the royal blue and green tree-line palette worn through the Christian Laettner and Kevin Garnett rookie seasons. The arched WOLVES wordmark with green outline and the matching numbered font pair cleanly with the Classic Edition black uniforms the Wolves have already been leaning on through their recent playoff runs, and the throwback fits the franchise's broader embrace of its older eras. It is a clean piece of the leak with no surprises. Grade: B

For how these wordmarks translate onto the jerseys themselves, our NBA traditional jersey index tracks which teams still run a classic look and which have drifted, and the interview with the Orlando Magic's Chief Marketing Officer covers who actually signs off on an NBA identity change.

The Bottom Line on the New 2026-27 NBA Wordmarks

Four NBA teams are getting refreshed jersey wordmarks for the 2026-27 season. The Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, and Minnesota Timberwolves are all going throwback, which is the across-the-board NBA trend right now (the Knicks Classic Edition, the Lakers Classic Edition, the Spurs Fiesta era reboot, and now three more franchises leaning on their history). Throwback uniforms move merchandise, signal franchise confidence, and give the broadcast a visual identity that holds up against the current league-wide minimalist drift.

The Houston Rockets are the outlier. A paired HOUSTON and ROCKETS wordmark system, neither piece a throwback, both completely fresh, one season after the franchise's last full uniform redesign. We are confused, we do not love the leaked marks, and we need to see the full jersey before we know whether the 2026-27 Rockets are a brand evolution or a brand confusion. We will keep grading every new NBA wordmark, jersey, and uniform leak through the 2026-27 reveal cycle.

FAQ: 2026-27 NBA Wordmarks Leak

Which NBA teams are getting new wordmarks for the 2026-27 season? Four teams have confirmed new 2026-27 wordmarks per NBA Uniform Tracker: the Atlanta Hawks, the Brooklyn Nets, the Houston Rockets, and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Hawks, Nets, and Timberwolves are throwbacks. Rockets are a completely new design system.

Are the new Atlanta Hawks 2026-27 wordmarks a Pac-Man era throwback? Yes. The leaked Hawks 2026-27 wordmark uses the Pac-Man hawk logo and the red-white-yellow color palette from the 1972-1995 jersey set worn through Dominique Wilkins's Atlanta prime. It is one of the most recognizable logos in Hawks history.

What does the new Brooklyn Nets 2026-27 wordmark look like? The Brooklyn Nets 2026-27 wordmark is a red script Nets logo with a red and blue color palette pulled from the New Jersey Nets era of the late 1970s and 1980s, a clean throwback away from the all-black-and-white Brooklyn rebrand identity the franchise has worn since 2012.

Why is the Houston Rockets 2026-27 wordmark confusing? The Rockets leaked two new wordmarks for 2026-27, a paired HOUSTON and ROCKETS system in a bold italic-slanted typeface. Neither piece is a throwback and the Rockets just redesigned their uniforms in 2024-25 with the ketchup-and-mustard color return, which means Houston is doing another full uniform overhaul one season later.

Are the Minnesota Timberwolves bringing back the blue and green throwback for 2026-27? Yes. The leaked Timberwolves 2026-27 wordmark uses the royal blue and green tree-line palette from the original 1989-1996 Wolves jerseys worn through the Christian Laettner and Kevin Garnett rookie seasons, paired with the franchise's existing Classic Edition black uniforms.