OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma City Thunder today unveiled four new uniforms for the 2019-20 season. The lineup includes a new City Edition designed in partnership with the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. This City uniform aligns with the upcoming 25th anniversary of the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. The Thunder and the memorial worked closely with Nike to embody the spirit of resilience and remembrance to pay respect to the lives lost and all those impacted by the bombing. It also captures the memorial’s mission of educating current and future generations about the Oklahoma City community’s response to the tragedy, with a focus on the Oklahoma Standard of service, honor and kindness.
“April 19th, 1995 changed our city forever. The Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum serves our community by helping us remember those lost, yet also tells a story of a city that comes together with compassion,” said Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti. “The Thunder is honored to continue to strengthen our relationship with the Oklahoma City Memorial with this endeavor. Additionally, the chance to help further the memorial’s efforts around the Oklahoma Standard expands our support beyond that of the uniform. Although the Oklahoma Standard means something unique to everyone individually, raising awareness of its importance and ultimate evolution alongside that of our city is essential. Any progress we can make to help preserve and ultimately further articulate the simple acts of service, honor and kindness that have helped contribute to Oklahoma’s community identity is a pivotal aspect to the broader civic impact we envision.”
As part of the Thunder’s partnership with the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, the team will underwrite a new permanent exhibit, which will emphasize and highlight examples of the Oklahoma Standard and provide valuable learning tools to deliver that message to local, national and global audiences. To honor the partnership, the Thunder will fund free admission to the National Memorial Museum once a month for the year 2020.
The uniform design features symbols that represent elements of the memorial. Across the chest, “Oklahoma City” appears in gold-lined letters, with the twin Gates of Time spanning down the side of the jerseys that carry into the shorts. The times 9:01 and 9:03 appear within the vents of the shorts. They reflect the innocence of the city at 9:01 before the attack, followed by the time the city began to come together and heal at 9:03. The white on the side of the shorts represents the Reflecting Pool, a shallow depth of water that provides comfort and peace. “Service,” “Honor” and “Kindness” appear above the jersey’s tag – reflecting the ideals of the Oklahoma Standard, and the manner in which Oklahoma citizens treat one another and their community.
The Survivor Tree, a 90-year-old American elm at the site of the memorial, is also depicted in full color on the belt of the uniform’s shorts. The tree serves as a symbol of human resilience and strength as it withstood the force of the 4,000 pound bomb. Inside the jersey, a blue ribbon is layered with the words, “We Remember Those Who Were Changed Forever, April 19, 1995.” Along the back of the neck, Thunder blue, navy, yellow and sunset stripes tie the uniform to the team’s traditional colors and represent the many gifts of remembrance that visitors left on the fence at the original site and continue to leave at the memorial today.
”Our partnership with the Thunder has continued to grow stronger. For more than a decade, every player experiences and comes to understand the Oklahoma Standard by visiting the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum,” said Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum Executive Director, Kari Watkins. “We have been working together on this meaningful uniform for months. This is a unique way to expand our mission to a global audience and to remember all those impacted. This uniform has many important symbolic elements that are reflective of this sacred site.”
“We are excited about taking our partnership with the Thunder to a whole new level,” said Kim Neese, survivor and chair, Memorial Conscience Committee. “As the 25th Anniversary of the bombing draws near, having Oklahoma City’s team wear this inspirational uniform continues to honor and remember the 168 people who were killed and all those who were changed forever.”
The City Edition uniform is one of four new uniforms the Thunder will wear next season, including refreshed Icon (blue) and Association (white) uniforms, and a new sunset Statement uniform.
“Refreshing our uniform lineup allows us to put a new twist on the classic Thunder image,” said Thunder Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Brian Byrnes. “These updates keep us true to our roots, but allow us to modernize and embolden the Thunder Basketball uniform portfolio as we continue to evolve our brand to proudly reflect our state and city.”
Like the blue Icon uniform before it, the team’s white Association uniform will now have “Oklahoma City” across the chest in sunset and Thunder blue, with a state outline of Oklahoma on the belt of the shorts. The uniform also has matching neck and arm striping with the primary team logo on the front left leg. This marks the second time the state outline has appeared on a Thunder uniform, as it was also featured on the team’s 2017-18 City Edition uniform.
On the Thunder blue Icon uniform, the chest now reads “Thunder” on the chest in sunset, with matching neck and arm striping. The blue uniform also features the primary team logo on the front left leg with increased tape striping on the arm and neck. Both uniforms boast a rich color palette, elevating the contrast of the team’s current brand profile. The Icon and Association uniforms will both be worn at home and on the road starting next season.
The team’s 2019-20 Statement Edition brings a fan favorite color scheme back to the Thunder’s uniform lineup with a bold sunset design. It marks the first time Thunder blue and sunset have appeared together on a uniform, with a staggered “OKC” in Thunder blue across the chest and gradient tonal sound waves down the back.
