By Cam Wolf
Copyright gq
The Brooklyn Nets have had plenty of ups and downs over the past decade and change—from superstar signings to crash-and-burn trades—but throughout it all, they’ve remained one of the NBA’s most stylish franchises on the hardwood. Former minority owner Jay-Z helped craft the team’s sleek black-and-white identity upon their move from New Jersey to Brooklyn in 2012. Ever since, the Nets have built the league’s most daring roster of uniform collaborators, working with everyone from KAWS to Jean-Michel Basquiat’s estate on special-edition kits. Today, the Nets are announcing the return of arguably their most popular unis ever: the Notorious B.I.G.-inspired “Brooklyn Camo” jerseys from the 2018-19 season, which were made in partnership with the rapper’s estate and feature Coogi-inspired multicolored stripes down the sides.
The Brooklyn Camo look is returning as part of the NBA’s new Remix program, which will see several teams re-release their most beloved past “City Edition” jerseys. For the Nets, the move was a no-brainer. Andrew Karson, who heads up marketing for the Nets’ parent company Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, says he fields constant requests from fans to bring back these uniforms—especially since they weren’t all that easy to find the first time around, having been produced in highly limited numbers. Bringing the jerseys back is smart business for a franchise that’s made fashion a central part of its identity—including launching an in-house luxury label, bǝrō (pronounced “borough”), last year.
Brooklyn will leverage its connection to Biggie Smalls even further than before this season. In addition to the jerseys and an accompanying custom court, the estate is also planning several “Biggie Nights,” featuring halftime performances by artists with a connection either to Brooklyn or the late rap icon. By hitching their wagon to B.I.G., the Nets are hoping to deepen their roots in the borough they call home . “Biggie is the loudest, coolest Brooklyn voice ever,” says Elliot Osagie, the CEO and founder of Benin City Entertainment, which manages the legacy and estate of the Notorious B.I.G.
Given Biggie’s global appeal, the uniforms have found an audience far beyond the diehards excited about Nets lottery pick Egor Dëmin’s upside. The Brooklyn Camo jersey has become something of a pop cultural force, even popping up recently on a character in Benito Skinner’s hit show Overcompensating.
NBA jerseys are planned several years in advance, so it’s just a coincidence that, much like that underdog 2018-19 squad, the Brooklyn Camo jerseys will once again be worn by a Nets roster full of young up-and-comers. It’s the perfect spirit for a team representing Biggie. “When you’re starting with these kids and it’s a hungry underdog team, it just carries a different meaning when they’re rocking the Biggie jersey,” Osagie says. “It really puts you in the mode of Ready to Die. Just go through the lyrics of a song like ‘Juicy’: It was all a dream!”
As is often the case with the Nets, whatever happens this season—good or potentially disastrous—at least they’ll look great doing it.
