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Crowning the best throwback jersey of all time is a nearly impossible task. Everyone has their biases depending on their favorite team or the era they grew up in. Some people strictly look at throwbacks through a sports lens, but many of them have gained additional notoriety through streetwear and hip-hop over the years. When you make a list like this and cap it at 25, it’s impossible to please everyone. Frankly, it’s difficult to even showcase all of the good ones with only 25 slots. We still wanted to give it our best shot.
To try and make things a bit easier, we have not included soccers clubs from around the world in this ranking (we’ll save that for another day). This strictly looked at throwbacks across the NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL.
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Without further ado, these are our picks for the top 25 best throwback jerseys of all time.
We aren’t in Canada where hockey is most popular. This team doesn’t even exist anymore. But some jerseys transcend region and time period. The Nordiques jersey was given a second wind in the lifestyle space, thanks to a similar release by Supreme that riffed on the design in 2013.
When players like Ken Griffey Jr. become cultural icons, the jerseys they wore live forever. The Seattle Mariners actually only wore these teal alternates for two years in the ’90s, but they are the jersey that plenty of people immediately think of when they look back at the iconic team that featured Griffey Jr. and a young Alex Rodriguez.
The city of Philadelphia has been blessed with iconic jerseys for all of its major professional franchises. Whether you remember seeing the powder blues on Mike Schmidt when the team won the World Series in 1980 or The Doctor of Thuganomics many years later, they’re undeniably one of the best. There’s just something about that shade of blue.
Speaking of powder blue, we had to show some love to the Chargers’ powder blues popularized by Ladainian Tomlinson in the 2000s. These were actually a callback to the team’s threads from the ’70s and the Bolts still wear a variation of them to this day, but nothing beat’s the LT-era powder blues.
Thankfully, the T’Wolves brought these back for Anthony Edwards and company to wear, but these are some of the best details on any jersey. The green pine tree trim on the collar and sleeves is perfection.
Everyone loves the Raptors jerseys with a giant dinosaur on the front of them, but don’t sleep on these short-lived Bucks alternates with a deer swooping up the side. Everything was just better in the ’90s. Also shoutout to Wale for this fit. I can’t help but think of it every time these jerseys come up in conversation.
Not much to be said here. These were a short-lived alternate jersey during the Bulls’ dynasty in the ’90s. You just can’t go wrong with a pinstripe. Every jersey that Michael Jordan wore become iconic. This one just happens to be the best of the bunch.
Yes, Wayne Gretzky wore this one on the ice, but this jersey is one of the best ever for much more than The Great One. It’s been worn by countless West Coast hip-hop legends over the years and has become a symbol of the city beyond just its NHL franchise.
The Rockets transitioned to something much calmer than this and have kept things that way ever since. We aren’t sure why. Just look at how amazing this one looks. Shoutout to The Franchise.
Like many of the other teams highlighted on this list, the Suns wore something much more lively in the ‘90s. The purple version with the basketball sun streaking across the front is one of the best from NBA’s best jersey era.
The Phoenix Coyotes don’t exist anymore. To be honest, a pro hockey team in Arizona always felt a bit odd, but the area’s rich Native American history did make for an incredible reference point. The franchise is immortalized, thanks to these incredible sweaters. The logo and trim around the collar and sleeves has also made them a favorite for lifestyle wear to this day.
It didn’t matter what team you routed for. If you grew up in the ‘90s, there’s a high possibility that you owned or desperately wanted some teal and purple Hornets gear. Whether it was a puffy Starter coat or a Grandmama jersey, the color scheme is one of best. Unfortunately, the team’s success has never quite matched up.
This is a prime example of the player who wore it making it that much more iconic. There are few athletes who have had as much cultural impact as Allen Iverson. Everyone wanted to wear his Sixers jersey during his prime in the 2000s, Philly fan or not. After over 20 years, the Sixers organization has finally answered countless prayers and is bringing these back next season. It’s about time.
Does it get more ‘90s than a purple and teal Mighty Ducks jersey? Whether you were an NHL fan or not, you probably grew up with at least a bit of reverance for the Mighty Ducks. Thanks to the beloved Disney franchise, which actually inspired the birth of the NHL team, these sweaters have become timeless.
Despite the Pistons winning titles in multiple eras in their much simpler blue and red jerseys, they’ve never worn anything remotely as good as the teal joints from the Grant Hill era. The look is a stark departure from the franchise’s typical colors, but that’s part of what makes it so great.
Originally worn by the Lakers when they first moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles in the ‘60s, these jerseys were given a second life when the Kobe/Shaq era Lakers broke them out for select games in the late ‘90s and 2000s. Fab rocked a Kobe jersey in the “Trade it All” video. The rest is history. People are still recreating Fab’s look to this day for ‘90s parties and Halloween costumes.
Hopefully, the NBA brings the Seattle Sonics back sooner or later. When they do, we just hope they bring them back with these forest green and maroon jerseys famously worn by Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp. This is yet another example of an NBA franchise taking a departure from its traditional color scheme in the mid ‘90s and it paid off.
As the story goes, this is the jersey that catapulted Mitchell & Ness and its throwbacks into icon status after Big Boi wore it in Goodie Mob’s “Black Ice (Sky High)” video. Some people think these are ugly. We obviously disagree, but we’d be lying if we said the Big Boi moment didn’t give them a lot of juice.
The Melo/Iverson era powder blues are also incredible, but they are relegated to second place in Nuggets history because of the rainbow skyline. Worn in hip-hop videos many times over and copied by streetwear brands like Supreme, there aren’t many jerseys this unique. They’ve been able to stand the test of time.
Whether the Eagles kelly greens remind you of scramblin’ like Randall or “The Minister of Defense” Reggie White, there’s no denying they are one of the best NFL jerseys of all time. There’s a reason that Birds fans were begging for them to be brought back for years. Two season ago, it finally happened. Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley have already added to their legacy. The legendary status of the kelly greens will only get bigger. Go Birds.
It’s truly a shame that these were taken away from us. Thankfully, the Tennessee Titans wear them a couple times a year again. Even so, these still represent the city of Houston more than anything else. Remember when Travis Scott used them as inspiration for his Air Jordan 4 collab in 2018? Like we said before, there’s just something about powder blue that always looks amazing. The Oilers jerseys are the best example of that.
The creamsicles have lived two lives. For years, they were hated in part because the Bucs were pretty horrendous when they initially wore them. Thanks to hip-hop, these are now embraced as one of the best jerseys ever made by a younger generation. There’s just nothing else quite like that mix of orange and red. We can’t wait to see the Bucs take the field in them again this upcoming NFL season.
The color. The details. The font. The logo. The original Vancouver Grizzlies jerseys are just the perfect storm. There’s a reason that you still see Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Mike Bibby throwbacks being rocked in the wild to this day.
The Shaq and Penny pinstripe is amazing in every colorway, but the black alternate is the best of the bunch by a slim margin. Few summer fits can rival the Penny throwback with a pair of Royal Foams. The only unfortunate part of these jerseys for Magic fans is that they are a reminder of what almost was. If one of those Magic teams in the ‘90s captured a title, these may have taken the top spot. Second place isn’t too bad though.
You knew this was coming, but is there really even another option? This jersey has gone diamond in the streets. Any given summer day, you are guaranteed to stumble upon at least one of them. Sure, it’s become a bit oversaturated, but don’t let all the frat bros wearing their DHgate fakes trick you into thinking that this isn’t the greatest jersey ever created. Shoutout to Vinsanity, T-Mac, Damon Stoudamire, and the rest of the ‘90s Raptors roster that helped make this one the GOAT.
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