The Cleveland Cavaliers will celebrate their 55th anniversary by wearing Hardwood Classic uniforms this season that replicate their 2005-10 navy blue alternate design.
The original navy blue alternate uniforms paid tribute to the “Miracle of Richfield” design the Cavaliers wore from 1974-80 with a wine, gold and blue striping pattern on the trim, as well as down the sides of jersey and shorts.
There’s a slanted white “Cleveland” wordmark outlined in gold across the chest, which was also prominently featured on their wine-colored road uniforms from 2003-10, and a matching “C” logo at the base of the collar.
The uniforms, which were notably worn in Games 1 and 2 of the 2007 NBA Finals, are complete with Cleveland’s 2003-10 secondary logo – a “C” with a sword piercing the letter – within the wine-colored side panels.
There’s also an advertisement for Cliffs opposite of the Nike Futura Swoosh on the shoulders, which are the only differences from the original design, as Reebok (2005-06) and adidas (2006-10) were the league’s official outfitter at that time.
The Cavaliers will debut the Hardwood Classic uniforms and an accompanying court design against the Philadelphia 76ers on Nov. 5. They’ll be worn nine times in Cleveland, as well as three times on the road.
That includes home games against the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 8, Boston Celtics on Nov. 30, Golden State Warriors on Dec. 6, Denver Nuggets on Jan. 2, Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 28, Celtics on March 8 and Miami Heat on March 27, as well as at the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 24, New York Knicks on Dec. 25 and Orlando Magic on March 11.
The court, meanwhile, isn’t an exact replica of what the Cavaliers played on when the uniforms were worn, but features a similar two-tone woodgrain with a darker finish inside the three-point lines and out-of-bounds area and lighter center court and keys with a wine-colored free-throw circle.
Cleveland’s 2003-10 primary logo is at midcourt, matching their 2003-05 and 2005-06 designs, and their 2003-10 sword/flag logo inside the three-point lines, whereas the original court displayed a slanted “Cavaliers” wordmark at center court and the aforementioned sword “C” logo inside the three-point arcs.
The court is complete with “Cleveland” on the left baseline and “Cavaliers” on the right, both of which are dark navy blue and joined by an advertisement for Cliffs. The franchise’s “Let ‘Em Know” mantra is also on the bottom sideline.
The Cavaliers’ new Hardwood Classic uniforms will be joined this season by their white Association, wine Icon, black Statement Edition uniforms, as well as an unreleased City Edition design, which will recolor their 2022-23 design inspired by the Cleveland Metroparks.
Photos courtesy of @Cavaliers and @Nike on X/Twitter.
