Nowadays, it's not enough for sports teams to just have alternate uniforms. Most teams in the NBA will have not just one, but two alternate jerseys as the NBA's new agreement with Nike makes it so that most teams have multiple alternate uniforms by design instead of just by choice. However, even that isn't enough for the teams who decide to go above and beyond and add alternative courts to go with the jerseys.
The Sacramento Kings are one of those teams who decided to get really creative and add an alternative court design to their visual identity. Their throwback-inspired court was a huge hit and the creativity that they poured into their latest alternative court design should ensure that they'll receive another positive reaction.
The Kings have a black alternative "Global" jersey that's in their rotation, and now they've added a new court to match the black jerseys.
What makes this interesting is that the Kings will add an international flavor to the mix for special nights when they decide to bring this particular court design out. According to a press release from the Kings, the team will celebrate Bollywood and Lunar New Year with themed nights, and they will place a secondary logo with the team's name in Hindi and Mandarin, respectively.
Here's what the court looks like with the Hindi logo:
Additionally, here's what the court looks like with the Mandarin logo:
When you consider that the NBA has been doing everything it can to embrace the transformation of basketball into a truly global game, it makes sense that we would eventually see a team do something like this. That doesn't make it any less of a good and clever idea, though.
The only question now is whether or not we will see other teams across the league emulate this. We've seen teams like the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets celebrate Chinese New Year by wearing jerseys with Chinese characters and lettering on them, but nobody's gone so far as to place a different language on the court like the Kings have done here. It's innovative, it's creative and it's a pioneering move in a league that, again, is trying its best to embrace globalization.
As far as the Kings themselves are concerned, they're not done. The team's press release for this court also hinted at the revelation of another alternative court later on this season. It would correspond with the revelation of their second alternate uniform, so fans of the team's powder blue throwback look should prepare for another good-looking court from the Kings.
That would make two alternate courts for the Kings and three courts overall. You may be wondering when enough is enough, but when the creativity is churning out results like this, then we'll continue to see teams come up with ideas like this until they've had their fill.
