words // Brandon Richard
via Press Release
In the summer of 1992, a basketball team widely regarded as the best ever assembled took the court in Barcelona, Spain with a goal of world domination. The first ever USAB team to feature active professional players were given the name "Dream Team," and were naturally considered huge favorites to bring home gold. They not only met, but exceeded expectations, winning every game they played by an average margin of 44 points. The effects of the Dream Team are still being felt today, the game continuing the expand globally and
To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Dream Team's victory in Barcelona, Nike Sportswear created a line of apparel paying homage to the team. The standout piece is the Dream Team Destroyer Jacket, a premium execution of a silhouette that has become one of Nike Sportswear's best pieces. The jacket tells some of the great stories of The Dream Team's summer. Present are the traditional Destroyer's wool body and leather sleeves, but the detailing is where this piece comes into its own.
Led by Nike Sportswear Graphic Design Director, Russell Stott and his team the left-side sleeve features three chenille patches. Each with a different story. The uppermost patch shows detail outlining the average point differentiation by which the team won their games (43.8) as well as a XXV reference to Barcelona as the 25th 'games' in sporting history. The middle patch talks to some of the locations that this years team will visit before the summer and the lower patch utilizes the USAB logo.
On the left-breast of the jacket there is a USA flag embroidered with inspiration from military and space travel as well as each game score stitched in. U S A is embroidered in a toweling-effect on the right-hand side of the body with a USAB pin-badge included. The numbers of the team's 'starting five' - 15, 9, 7, 14 and 6 - are also embroidered on the right-sleeve. We've also included a large embroidered XX to represent the 20th year since the games and "Land of the Free, Home of The Brave' in italicized fonts above the front pockets on either side.
"When we were looking through our archives, we also found a replica of the Dream Team jersey that Nike had created with a message to the team created on the jack tag. We've re-imagined that graphic on the inside of the jacket, calling out the 20th anniversary. In addition to The Destroyer Jacket, which is really the pinnacle piece of the collection we've also created elements of this storytelling on an AW77 Hoody, Crew sweat, Tees and Caps. In addition to the apparel collection we're also going to be re-issuing some of the footwear styles that the team wore for the tournament," added Stott. Nike Sportswear footwear styles include Nike Air More Uptempo, Nike Shox BB4, Nike Air Force 180, Nike Air Zoom Huarache 2K4 and Nike Air Force 1 Hi.
Look for Nike Sportswear's Dream Team Collection to hit retail this summer and stick with Sole Collector for updates on all products.
