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Branding the Nets with a new jersey, by artist Eric Haze

A 10/3/19 press release, BROOKLYN NETS UNVEIL STATEMENT EDITION UNIFORMS BY NIKE, talks about art and, of course, contains two corporate logos:
The Nets have unveiled their 2019-20 Statement Edition Uniform by Nike, created in collaboration with iconic Brooklyn-based artist Eric Haze.
The concrete gray jersey features HAZE’s hand-drawn “BKLYN” letters across the chest. His signature stars run down the jersey’s left side as a contemporary twist on one of the team’s most iconic throwback looks. The side piping is an updated take on the herringbone pattern that has been a fixture on the team’s primary home and away jerseys since play began in Brooklyn, and also appears on the Nets home court.
“NETS” is spelled out down the left side of the shorts, and the team’s secondary logo sits on the right thigh. As with all Nets uniforms, the jersey will feature the Infor patch on the top left chest.
Eric Haze has contributed to the worlds of contemporary art, graphic design and branding for over four decades. As a founding member of the influential New York City collective, The Soul Artists, HAZE exhibited paintings and drawings alongside close friends such as Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat in the early 1980’s.
HAZE then transitioned to the graphic arts, soon emerging as the premier graphic designer of the exploding hip-hop movement, creating iconic logos and album covers as art director for some of the most influential and historical names in the genre including LL Cool J, EPMD and The Beastie Boys. Last season, HAZE also designed the original *BED-STUY* mark on the jock tag of Nets City Edition uniform.
The uniforms debuted on court at Barclays Center two nights ago versus the Rockets; the Nets will wear them for 22 (of 82) games.

Here's Haze, in a promo video. "The energy and the commerce and the sense of ownership that Brooklynites now feel over Barclays and the Nets as a team and a brand is no accident," he says. "There is a promise that Brooklyn holds for the future, and I think the Nets and the brand are aligned with that promise of a better Brooklyn."

Brand alignment, since 2012. Maybe that should be the motto. Plus a sponsorship patch.

The backstory

As Kristian Winfield explained in the 10/6/19 New York Daily News, How Eric Haze designed the logo for the Nets 2019-20 City Edition jersey, it started last year:
When Eric Haze accepted the task of designing the logo for the Nets’ 2019-20 City Edition jerseys, he knew his work was cut out for him. Haze’s involvement with the Nets started last season, when the franchise debuted their “Brooklyn Camo” Coogi sweater-inspired jerseys. He was responsible for designing the “jocktag” that reads “BED-STUY” on the bottom-left of last year’s City Edition jersey.
Fun fact: Haze has been married to actress, tv host, Barclays advisory board member, and one-time arena opponent Rosie Perez since September 2013.

As Winfield reported:
Haze sat court-side with his team while the Nets wore his creation for shooting and ball-handling drills during their open practice. Part of his team was Haze’s wife, the actress Rosie Perez, who he says had an influence on the direction of the jersey design.
“Probably her input is turning me into a real Brooklynite," Haze told The Daily News. "We’ve been married for six years, and I’m a Manhattan kid who gave up the island to come to the borough, and my wife is a true blue borough girl, and that’s how we live.”
As Jaime DeJesus wrote 10/10/19 in the Brooklyn Reporter:
Since Nike took over creating NBA jerseys in 2017, each team has been provided with a statement jersey, which according to Nike.com, “sets the tone for big games or rivalries and is inspired by the team’s desire to make a bold statement every time they step on the court. For each team, the aesthetic expresses the specific spirit of the current roster.”

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