Amanda Knapp
In basketball, away colours, also known as road colours, are the choice of coloured clothing worn by the visiting team during a game. In the National Basketball Association (NBA), the away team typically wears dark-coloured jerseys, while the home team wears light-coloured jerseys. This convention is thought to have originated from the era of black-and-white television, where the home team wore white to distinguish the teams for viewers. However, exceptions do exist, such as the Los Angeles Lakers, who wear their iconic purple and gold chromatic scheme for home games.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Teams wearing the same colours | Away team must change |
| Home kit colour clash | Away team must change |
| Home and away kit colours | Away team wears darker colours |
| Home team colours | White or yellow |
| Away team colours | Dark colours |
| Exception | Michigan Wolverines, LSU Tigers, Missouri Tigers and West Virginia Mountaineers wear yellow at home |
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What You'll Learn
Home teams wearing white
In basketball, the home team usually wears white jerseys, while the visiting team wears a darker colour. This convention originated during the era of black-and-white television, when viewers needed a way to distinguish the two teams. White jerseys were chosen for the home team because they stood out against the dark backgrounds of the NBA arenas, which were originally lit by gas lamps.
In the NCAA, the home team almost always wears white, while the visiting team wears dark colours. However, there are exceptions to this rule, such as the Michigan Wolverines, LSU Tigers, and Missouri Tigers, who wear yellow at home.
In the NBA, the home team typically wears light-coloured jerseys, while the away team wears dark-coloured jerseys. Until the 2017-18 season, the league mandated this colour scheme. However, the NBA has recently experimented with a variety of uniforms for each team, and now, the home team often wears their primary colours.
The tradition of the home team wearing white jerseys may also be due to the fact that it was easier to keep white jerseys clean at home. Additionally, having the home team wear white jerseys provides consistency for fans, as visiting teams will often have different jersey colours and designs.
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Colours on the road
The colours worn by sports teams are often steeped in tradition, and basketball is no exception. In the formative years of basketball, teams would usually follow the custom of "white-at-home, colours-on-the-road". This tradition likely originated during the era of black-and-white television, when viewers needed a way to visually distinguish the two teams. Wearing white at home also made sense from a practical standpoint, as it was easier to keep these uniforms clean at home, especially in the 19th century.
In the National Basketball Association (NBA), the home team typically wore light-coloured jerseys, while the visiting team wore darker colours. However, in recent years, the NBA has experimented with a variety of uniforms, and teams now have multiple kits in different colours. For example, the Los Angeles Lakers introduced a new chromatic scheme of purple and gold in 1967, becoming the first NBA franchise to make non-white jerseys their standard home attire.
In NCAA Division I college basketball, the home team almost always wears white uniforms, while the visiting team wears dark colours. There are, however, some exceptions to this rule, such as the Michigan Wolverines, who wear yellow at home.
While the tradition of wearing colours on the road in basketball has evolved, with teams now often having multiple kit options, the original custom of wearing darker colours when travelling still holds true in many cases.
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Avoiding colour clashes
In basketball, avoiding colour clashes is essential to prevent confusion for officials, players, and spectators. While the specific colours worn by each team vary, the home team typically wears lighter colours, while the visiting team wears darker colours. This convention helps to visually distinguish the two teams, especially for viewers who may be watching on black-and-white television or from a distance.
In the National Basketball Association (NBA), the home team usually wears white or light-coloured uniforms, while the away team wears darker colours. This convention is also observed in NCAA Division I college basketball, where the home team often wears white uniforms, and the visiting team wears dark colours. However, there are exceptions to this rule, as some home teams in the NCAA may wear yellow, orange, or lavender if it sufficiently contrasts with the visiting team's uniforms.
To further avoid colour clashes, teams may need to be prepared with alternative kits. For example, if the Celtics want to wear a green jersey at home, they must ensure the away team has white uniforms to avoid confusion. Additionally, some leagues, such as the NBA, may limit the number of colours allowed in uniforms, usually restricting teams to three colours.
While colour clashes in basketball uniforms are generally avoided by having the away team wear darker colours, there are exceptions. In some cases, the home team may wear darker colours during playoff games. Additionally, certain leagues or competitions may mandate that away teams always wear an alternative kit, regardless of whether there is a potential colour clash.
Outside of the game itself, colour consistency across a team's merchandise, mascot, and marketing materials is essential to maintaining a cohesive brand identity and helping fans show their support accurately.
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Dark colours for away teams
In basketball, away kits are also known as road colours or uniforms. In the past, away kits were worn to prevent confusion for officials, players, and spectators when two teams wore similar colours. In basketball, the home team usually wears white or light-coloured jerseys, while the away team wears dark colours. This tradition may have come from Major League Baseball, where, at the turn of the 20th century, teams wore dark jerseys on the road and light jerseys at home. This was partly due to the difficulty of finding laundry services outside of their home cities.
In the NBA, until the 2017-18 season, the home team was required to wear light colours, and the away team wore dark colours. Since then, the home team can choose whether to wear light or dark colours, and the away team must wear a jersey of sufficient contrast. This is usually white, yellow, or another dark colour. The NBA now refers to the lighter jerseys as "Association" uniforms and the darker jerseys as "Icon" uniforms.
In NCAA Division I college basketball, the home team almost always wears white, and the away team wears dark colours. However, there are exceptions, such as the Michigan Wolverines, who wear yellow at home, and the Kansas State Wildcats, who wear lavender.
In summary, in basketball, the away team usually wears dark colours to contrast with the home team's lighter colours. This tradition has been in place for many years, although the specific rules have changed over time.
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The history of away colours
The use of away colours in sports is designed to prevent confusion for officials, players, and spectators when two teams with similar colours play against each other. In most sports, it is the visiting or road team that must change into their away kit. In some sports leagues, a team wears its away kit only when its primary kit would clash with the colours of the home team. In other leagues, away teams must always wear an alternative kit regardless of a potential colour clash. This is common in North American sports, where "colour vs. colour" games are rare, having been discouraged in the era of black-and-white television.
In NCAA Division I college basketball, the home team almost always wears white uniforms, while the visiting team wears dark colours. There are exceptions, such as the Michigan Wolverines, who wear yellow at home. In the National Basketball Association, home uniforms are usually white or yellow, and visiting teams wear darker colours.
Historically, the home team in basketball would wear a white jersey, with only occasional exceptions for teams who wore a different light colour as their preferred home colour, such as the Lakers and their gold jerseys. However, in recent years, it has become rare for teams to wear white jerseys at home. In the 2023-24 NBA season, home teams wore white jerseys in just 27% of games. Teams now have much more freedom to wear the colour of their choosing, and the notion of a "home" or "away" jersey has been eliminated by some kit manufacturers, such as Nike, which now classifies team wardrobes into different "editions".
The use of away kits is a recent development in some sports. For example, in cricket, which has been played in all-white clothing for most of its history, the first professional match played in coloured clothing was in World Series Cricket in Australia in 1979. The first Cricket World Cup to use coloured kits was in 1992.
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Frequently asked questions
Traditionally, away teams in basketball wear dark colors, while home teams wear light colors, usually white. This is to prevent confusion for officials, players, and spectators.
The tradition of away teams wearing dark colors dates back to the era of black-and-white television when having one team in white made it easier to distinguish between the two teams.
Yes, there are exceptions. For example, the Los Angeles Lakers are known for wearing their purple and gold jerseys at home. Additionally, in NCAA Division I college basketball, some home teams wear dark colors, such as the Michigan Wolverines and the LSU Tigers.
In most sports, if two teams have similar colors, the away team will wear an alternative kit to prevent confusion. However, in recent years, the NBA has experimented with a variety of uniforms, and it is not uncommon for both teams to wear dark jerseys.
