Not only are the Detroit Pistons bringing back the teal horse of the 90s as a Classic Edition jersey next season, but it appears that the team is finally saying goodbye to the “chrome” aka dishwater gray Statement jerseys of the past several seasons.
You know the ones.
James Edwards of The Athletic dropped the unconfirmed bit of inside info on the latest Bun & Cardigan Show podcast with Nicholas Henkel:
In the episode, Edwards says, “The gray ones, my sources tell me, you’ll never see the gray ones again. It’s over. The gray ones are done.”
The Pistons have rocked some version of a “chrome” alternate jersey since the 2015 season. The move was an attempt to embrace the automatic history and culture of Detroit, but it’s really hard to translate “chrome” on a fabric you can’t/don’t want to be shiny and reflective. So instead we got various takes on a rather dull gray.
Since 2017, they’ve tried to inject some life into the jerseys as part of the official Jordan Statement editions with blue numbers and red piping around the solid gray fit.
But the gloomy gray chapter of the Pistons era is about to be closed. We’ll see what the future holds and how far they are willing to remake a brand that wants to hew close to its classic roots but often garners reactions of “stale” and “boring” among NBA fans, Pistons and non-Pistons fans alike.