Images of Team USA Basketball's uniform for the 2014 FIBA World Cup surfaced late Tuesday night, giving fans a taste of what the world's best players will be wearing when they take the court in Spain later this summer.
Players will be outfitted in Nike's lightest, most technologically advanced uniforms yet, and like years past, the team will have a white home uniform and blue road threads. This year's installment uses the same number font as the 2012 gold medal club, but features a contrasting outline around the numbers. The most notable change, however, is the use of gradients around the shoulders and bottom of the shorts.
The white uniform has a solid navy blue block on the shoulders and bottom of the shorts, using sharp navy blue lines to achieve the fade effect desired. Likewise, the blue uniform uses a red gradient fade. It should be noted that the images below are only replica uniforms, intended for sale to the public, as opposed to the actual uniforms that the players will wear.
In fact, like they have since the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the authentic jerseys will have a sublimated patriotic theme on the back.
Another noticeable difference between the uniforms the team wore in London and this year's look is the USA wordmark across the chest. In 2012, the wordmark was angled upward, with the "S" as the highest point. This year, however, the wordmark is facing downward, with the "S" as the lowest part of the acronym.
After winning gold at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, as well as at the 2010 World Championships, USA Basketball looks to hold on to the top ranking in the world. However, second-ranked Spain is in prime position to wrestle that title away from the Americans with a win on its home soil. The Spaniards took silver at the 2012 Olympics and were placed in Group C, on the opposite side of the bracket from Team USA and the rest of Group A, setting up a possible championship game showdown between the two countries.
Images of Spain's uniforms were also leaked by the Nike blog, but were taken down shortly thereafter. Luckily, I saved the images beforehand, which are below.
Make sure to check back as the tournament draws closer for the latest FIBA uniform news.