Ace Bailey walks the NYFW show for the NBA x Nike Standard Issue Collection.
On Sept. 9 during New York Fashion Week, Nike and the NBA hosted a runway show in Brooklyn, where the next generation of hoopers helped inspire Nike’s new vision for NBA style.
More than 400 high school basketball players, along with current NBA players and teams, were part of the research that helped shape the NBA Standard Issue Collection, which Nike and the NBA unveiled this week. With young players in attendance — and Utah Jazz forward Ace Bailey taking part in the show — the collection’s inspiration was on full display as it introduced a new look for players and fans.
The new look came from a simple realization.
Nike saw an opportunity to bring more streetwear and lifestyle into what players wear, creating pieces that could work on the court and beyond basketball. For Lindsey Yamasaki, Nike’s Lead Product Line Manager for licensed basketball apparel, the starting point was the next generation.
“When we looked in the mirror, we said, ‘When is Nike at its best?'” Yamasaki said. “And Nike is its best when it’s inspiring youth. So how do we reconnect with youth and inspire them in a way that we feel like we’re not doing right now?”
Today, the @NBA and @Nike unveiled the NBA Standard Issue Collection, a new leaguewide look for all 30 teams.
The collection is designed to connect what players wear on and around the court with how fans express their passion for the game.
More: https://t.co/R0oKNAauxc pic.twitter.com/kIYUISOU1L
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) September 9, 2026
Nike went straight to the source, and what they found was a generation of hoopers looking for more ways to express themselves.
“They didn’t want the middle,” Yamasaki said. “They really wanted to push the edges of expression.”
That expression wasn’t limited to basketball. Nike looked at the world surrounding young hoopers — from gaming and movies to music and fashion — and used those influences to rethink what NBA apparel could look like.
“Historically, basketball has always been at its best when court and culture are interconnected,” Yamasaki said. “So, we really wanted to dive into their world and understand what that expression looked like.”
That idea shows up in oversized graphics, unexpected details and silhouettes designed to feel at home both on and off the court.
And for the first time, fans can buy the same complete apparel set worn by their favorite NBA players throughout the season.
“If you’re a fan and you see something that resonates with you and your fandom, you’ll be able to buy it,” Michael Brady, the NBA’s Global Head of Merchandise Partnerships & Business Affairs, said. “To have a one-to-one proposition where every product worn on court is available, it’s incredibly unique.”
The Standard Issue, featuring all 30 NBA teams, will launch in two drops on Sept. 15 and Oct. 12.
Alongside it, Nike and the NBA introduced the Specter Edition uniforms, a collection for eight of the league’s oldest franchises that lean into each team’s history and identity.
“While there’s a red thread of commonality between the eight teams’ designs, each team has so much team identity built within it,” Brady said. “There’s some elements of discovery that are unique and special to each team.”
The Specter Edition will drop later this fall.
It’s a new chapter for NBA style — one that brings the game closer to the culture and gives players and fans more ways to make it their own.
