Four NBA franchises born in the old American Basketball Association are putting that history back on the court. The Brooklyn Nets, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs have unveiled new ABA Classic Edition uniforms and courts ahead of the 2026-27 season, according to NBA.com. The rollout marks 50 years since the 1976 merger that brought the four teams into the NBA.
The Main Development
All four franchises joined the NBA through that 1976 merger, and each is marking the anniversary with its own Classic Edition look. The Nuggets are swapping their familiar navy and gold for an orange-based design, per NBA.com. The Pacers are rolling out both a new Classic Edition uniform and a Classic Court built around their ABA roots. The Spurs unveiled their own Classic Edition uniform honoring the franchise’s ABA origins.
Brooklyn’s reveal carries extra weight. The Nets’ new uniforms and court, shown in a video and photos first reported by Bleacher Report, double as a celebration of the franchise’s 60th anniversary. Brooklyn will debut the look in its season opener on Oct. 21 against the Charlotte Hornets, and the jerseys go on sale Oct. 19, according to NBA.com.
What It Means
Pairing uniforms with redesigned courts gives the tribute a stronger visual footprint than a jersey change alone. The Pacers’ Classic Court extends the ABA theme to the floor itself, a detail NBA.com highlighted alongside the team’s new uniform. For Brooklyn, tying the ABA callback to a 60th-anniversary celebration gives the release a second layer of significance beyond the merger milestone.
Context: The 1976 Merger
The ABA folded into the NBA in 1976, and the Nets, Nuggets, Pacers and Spurs were the four franchises that survived the merger intact. Half a century later, all four are using Classic Edition releases to connect their current rosters to that origin story, a coordinated nod to a shared piece of league history rather than a single team’s anniversary campaign.
What’s Next
Brooklyn’s new look arrives first, with the jersey hitting stores Oct. 19 and the on-court debut set for the Oct. 21 opener against Charlotte. Specific dates for when the Nuggets, Pacers and Spurs will wear their Classic Edition uniforms during the season have not been detailed.
For more on this story, see Total Apex Sports’ Brooklyn Nets coverage.
Don't stop here
Every Score. Every Story. One Home.
Breaking sports, entertainment and news from across the Total Apex network, updated all day.
Get the Full Story →
