Nike shared its ambitious plans of revamping the apparel that NBA players will be wearing both on and off the court for the upcoming 2026-27 season. The sportswear giant and the league unveiled their joint Standard Issue Collection this week, coinciding with September’s New York Fashion Week. Nike went all out with its presentation of the product by bringing it back to NYFW with its very own runway show dubbed “End of Ordinary.”
The results are bold graphics on oversized but modern apparel pieces for all 30 NBA teams. For the show, Nike and the NBA enlisted younger individuals to model the pieces, along with a special appearance from Utah Jazz’s Ace Bailey. The casting was intentional, as Nike’s product line manager of Global Apparel Basketball, Lindsey Yamasaki, told Complex that the collection is designed to inspire the next generation of NBA fans.
“I think that's a little bit of the headspace we've been in through a performance lens. We actually kind of cleared the slate and said, ‘How do we do what Nike does best, which is connect with youth?’” Yamasaki said. “Nike's at its best when we're inspiring youth, when we're catching their attention and inspiring the next generation. So we went back to the drawing board and said, ‘Let's get out there and get to know our next-generation fan, our next-generation consumer, and what they care about.’”
Despite being marketed towards the youth, the Nike x NBA Standard Issue Collection is made to be worn by fans of all ages and the actual NBA players on the 30 teams.
Ahead of its first drop on Sept. 15, we spoke to Nike’s product line manager of Global Apparel Basketball, Lindsey Yamasaki, to learn about what went into designing the range, future Nike x NBA releases, and more. This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
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Complex: Can we start with the name itself? How did you guys come up with the name?
Lindsey Yamasaki: The Standard Issue Collection has always been our foundational franchise within Nike Basketball Apparel, but we reset that to include a broader range of silhouettes. We have fleece materials, we have woven materials, we have tops, bottoms, and in a way we've expanded and created what we're seeing as essential basketball apparel, which historically within the NBA, as an example, or in signature basketball, as an example, we would be pulling across all of Nike to find the silhouettes we want to bring in. Now we're pulling everything from Nike Basketball Apparel.
I read that you studied what Nike players and the youth liked for the silhouettes of the collection. How have you tried to see what both were wearing and then recreate that in this collection?
That's a little bit of the headspace we've been in through a performance lens. We actually kind of cleared the slate and said, “How do we do what Nike does best, which is connect with youth?” Nike is at its best when we're inspiring youth, when we're catching their attention and inspiring the next generation. So we went back to the drawing board and said, “Let's get out there and get to know our next generation fan, our next generation consumer, and what they care about. And what does their life look like?” Yes, to answer your question directly, we were in touch with our NBA athletes the whole time, validating with them, understanding the materials that they wanted and needed, and creating innovations for them, but we're marrying that with a direct connection to what our youth consumer is looking for.
I got the gist that it was designed for the youth, but I saw a lot of pieces and thought any fan could wear them.
Well, that and I think what we needed was just a new, modern, and different take. We needed to freshen up our silhouettes. It's always through the lens of knowing basketball players are going to be wearing this on and off the court—but how do we give it a fresh look and a more youthful energy that can span the range of any fan?
I know D Book has his own apparel line that I saw last year. That line had some of my favorite pieces.
So again, it's all pulling from our Standard Issue Collection. So when you look at Ja, when you look at Book, when you look at our modern athletes, you're going to see those silhouettes come to life. But we do spend a lot of time with Book understanding his aesthetic, what he cares about, how he likes to present himself, and thinking through the lens of that and marrying that with what we know our consumer is drawn to.
I think with the NBA, it's interesting when we're in focus groups and learning from what we call our one-of-one youth hooper. He doesn't have a deep history of loving NBA apparel and wearing that. He sees it as his dad's, his uncle's, as this kind of OG vintage thing. So that was part of the genesis of ‘How do we create cool NBA apparel?’ And so understanding what that aesthetic looks like. We learned he doesn't want anything in the middle, like left chest, smooth, right chest logo. He wants the edges of expression. So the way we define that, which is actually using his language—is “loud and calm." He wants really expressive, vibrant, “look at me,” oversized logos. He wants to be bold, but then there's this other side of him that's, again, on the other edge: calm, authentic. It's premium, it's minimal. And so we push the edges of those expressions to really appeal.
How did you guys come up with the designs? Who designed the art on the pieces?
Yeah, we kind of pounded the pavement. We spent a lot of time at tournaments. We went to EYBL Peach Jam. Got it. And I was a professional basketball player. When we came back, we were blown away. We were like, ‘This is the coolest sporting event we've ever been to.’ And we're like, "What about it?" We're in this tiny gym. It's hot. There are NBA scouts, college scouts, standing room only, but these kids were so raw, so intense. I mean, Carmelo Anthony's team playing Kevin Durant's team—they’re yelling at each other. There was a grittiness, and it's almost like they're fighting for their futures. And so it was that energy, and marrying that with the aesthetic they were describing to us—it just felt really gritty. It felt intense. It felt bold. So it was really born from getting to know him and getting to understand those pressure-cooked moments that he's in.
Can we break down the different materials on the pieces? I know Aero-Fit is going to be part of this collection.
So Aero-Fit is one of the innovations we're super excited about. It's the most breathable material Nike has ever had. And it's not just in the jerseys. We have it in the tops. You'll see it in their game tops, so pregame, long sleeve, short sleeve. Again, it has a kind of modern silhouette, but this material is like, we always say, if we think of Aero-Fit, think of air conditioning, because it's not only pulling the moisture away, there's air flowing through. So it's super breathable, super comfortable. And I think that's when we know Nike's at its best is when we're pushing innovation and bringing new materials for performance.
Another is the Standard Issue Stretch. We knew we had to get our fleece propositions right. So we would lay out all these different fleeces in front of the kid, and they would point to the ones that they liked the most. As we know, brushed-back fleece is cozy but not great for playing hoops. And a lot of these guys are playing hoops in sweats, they're playing hoops in hoodies, cutting them off. So what is that material? And this one that is where this came from—Standard Issue Stretch. It's like a Dri-Fit double knit, smooth on both sides. So we can have that versatility of being off court and on court. I think what we also love about this material is that it kind of maintains a little bit of shape, so it maintains that lifestyle silhouette, which he really liked, kind of that premium aesthetic.
How long did the team work on this, and how long did it take before you realized, “This is the final product?”
It really was kind of going back to square one. And so when you go back to square one, and you're creating something, you have to take bold risks. And it's getting buy-in with the immediate team, getting buy-in with your leadership team, and getting buy-in from the league, to every team. So the process for getting this to the point it is, I mean, the product life cycle is two years. But in some ways, the way we revolutionized this apparel also took that long to get to the point where we're ready to say, "This is the polished product; here you go." We're so proud of it. We think it's going to be a part of the fabric of this generation when you think of Nike Basketball culture or basketball culture.
Going back to studying the youth, did you guys think ahead to a point where you’re saying “Oh, this will be a vintage product in the future?”
Yeah. I mean, if I'm honest, one of our goals—and this is kind of removing the filter a little bit—was, “Let's make stuff that kids are going to talk about in 20 years.” That matters, knowing that we can influence basketball culture on a grand scale. When we're putting stuff on our NBA athletes, when we're putting stuff out there for kids to idolize, we want it to be cool. And I think we realized this was our moment to really ensure that we were taking a risk, going bold, and reconnecting so we could do that.
The first release will be all-encompassing, but I’m assuming there will be moments throughout the season for special styles.
Yes, it's split up into three chapters at least. This lifestyle collection, all-encompassing, with 30 teams, has this sort of rugged look to it. The Spectra jerseys—second chapter—Christmas Day is when they'll be released and unveiled to the public in that basketball setting. Then City Connect jerseys jump into 2027.
