The Pacers Brought Back the Pinstripes: Grading Indiana's New Gold Statement Jersey

via the Indiana Pacers

The pinstripes are back. The Pacers unveiled a new Statement Edition uniform for 2026, and it does the thing every good throwback-adjacent jersey should do: it takes the look from one of the greatest eras in franchise history and reimagines it for right now. Gold, black pinstripes, navy lettering, and a couple of details that hit right in the heart of Indiana. We love it, with one small reservation.

The Design: 1997, Reimagined

The base is gold, run with black pinstripes and navy-blue lettering, a direct callback to the pinstriped look the Pacers introduced in 1997 and wore through one of the best stretches the franchise has ever had. This is not a straight retro drop, though. The team calls it the pinstripes "reimagined," and that is the right way to describe it: same DNA, cleaned up and modernized for the current era rather than photocopied from the '90s.

"Indiana" runs across the chest, which is the detail that makes it more than a nostalgia play. Putting the state name front and center ties the jersey to the whole state rather than just the city, and it reads sharp against the gold. The gold-and-navy combination is one of the more distinctive palettes in the NBA, and leaning back into the pinstripes gives Indiana a Statement look that nobody else in the league has.

The Details That Earn It

Two touches push this from "nice throwback" to genuinely special. There is an asymmetrical line running down the side of the shorts with a small representation of the state of Indiana on it, the Pacers logo tucked inside, and a star marking Indianapolis. And stitched at the bottom of the jersey, just above the tag, is "Boom, Baby!", the signature call of the late Bobby "Slick" Leonard, the Hall of Fame coach and broadcaster who was the voice of the Pacers for decades. That is exactly the kind of local, earned detail that makes a uniform mean something.

It is also a jersey the star wanted. Tyrese Haliburton, the face of the franchise, had been openly pushing for the pinstripes to come back, so this is not a design handed down from on high, it is one the team's best player and its fans were both asking for. That rarely happens, and you can feel it in how confident the whole thing is.

The One Thing Holding It Back

We grade it an A-, and the only reason it is not an A or an A+ is the shorts. The asymmetrical Indiana graphic down the side is a cool idea in isolation, but it is a little busy against the clean pinstriping of the top, and it is the one element that does not feel as timeless as the rest of the kit. Everything from the waist up is close to perfect. Simplify the shorts, or dial that side graphic back, and this is one of the best jerseys in the NBA, full stop.

The Bottom Line

The Pacers nailed the hard part. Bringing back the pinstripes could have been a lazy nostalgia grab, but the gold base, the "Indiana" wordmark, and the "Boom, Baby!" tribute make this a Statement jersey with real soul, and getting the buy-in of a franchise cornerstone like Haliburton is the cherry on top. Tidy up the shorts and it is elite. As it stands, it is an A-, and one of our favorite new looks of the year.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Pacers' new Statement Edition jersey for 2026?

It is a gold uniform with black pinstripes and navy-blue lettering, reviving the pinstriped look the Pacers introduced in 1997. "Indiana" is written across the chest, the shorts carry an asymmetrical graphic of the state, and "Boom, Baby!" is stitched at the hem as a tribute to broadcaster Slick Leonard.

Why do the Pacers' new jerseys say "Boom, Baby!"?

"Boom, Baby!" was the signature call of Bobby "Slick" Leonard, the Hall of Fame Pacers coach and longtime broadcaster who died in 2021. It is stitched just above the jock tag as a tribute to him.

Did the Pacers bring back the pinstripes?

Yes. The 2026 Statement Edition revives the black pinstripes on a gold base, a "reimagined" version of the franchise's iconic 1997 look, and Tyrese Haliburton had publicly pushed for their return.

What grade does the Pacers' Statement jersey get?

We grade it an A-. The gold pinstriped top with the "Indiana" wordmark and the Slick Leonard tribute is close to perfect; the only thing keeping it from an A or A+ is the busy asymmetrical graphic on the shorts.