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The idea of the NBA's City edition – first rolled out last season – was for teams to get a chance to represent the city in which they play.
The Timberwolves decided to take a step further.
"We started to dig a little deeper and thought, 'What if it was more than just where we play? It was about possibly the most influential person to ever be from Minnesota, '' Timberwolves chief executive officer Ethan Casson said Thursday.
That, of course, meant incorporating a little purple into the jerseys. OK, maybe a lot of purple. If you're going to represent the purple one, you've got to do it big.
The Timberwolves unveiled their city edition jerseys honoring the late, great prince at – where else? – Paisley Park on Thursday morning in front of the media and members of the Prince's Estate, giving the first glimpse to a project that started more than a year ago.
The base color of the jersey is a dark plum, the lettering – a nostalgic make "reminiscing Prince's reign of the 1980s" – is in a shade of fuschia. There's a unique peach leaf at the edge of the shorts, just below the letters "MPLS," which is meant to highlight the well-known Minneapolis sound pioneered by Prince in the Late 1970s. Prince wore while performing in the movie Purple Rain. Nearly every detail of the whole is an ode to Minnesota's man.
Casson said the Wolves proposed the idea of this prince dedication to Prince's estate early on in the process, "and, frankly, they were as excited about what this could be."
"Casson said," We do not get to this point without a little bit more, "Casson said.
Casson said the team did not feel pressure but rather "an obligation to get it right."
"It was more of a celebration than we were building," Casson said. "It's a celebration that we're going to take over the race of the season."
The uniforms will go on sale at 11 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8 and will be available at the team's Target Center. Minnesota will first wear the uniforms at home on Nov. 16 against Portland. The Wolves will wear the jerseys for eight games – at home and three on the road. But the Wolves' celebration of Prince's Day will be so much more than a jersey. Casson called it "a purple takeover."
"Imagine, if you will, going to home game at Target Center and realizing when you're in Prince," he said. "Exclusive Prince music from his storied library, all the halftime acts will have a connection point back to Prince. All the things we're doing in the world, the lighting, everything you can think of that is going to be a connection point back. "
Casson said the team received a total amount of money from the players. He said the players are "blown away" by the uniforms.
The thought is the fans will be, too. Nike for financial assistance in the venture, and the Timberwolves have talked with their merchandise partner about their equipment.
"We're extremely excited about the retail launch of these topics," said Casson said during his presentation. "Not just here locally, not just with Timberwolves fans, not just with folks in Minnesota, but people all over the world."
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