From 1991-1992 through the 1996-1997 season, Champion held the exclusive uniform license for the NBA. Champion produced the on-court uniforms for all 29 teams, and was the only licensee able to produce replica and authentic jerseys for retail. Starting in the 1997-1998 season, the NBA divided the uniform licenses between Champion, Nike and Starter. While Champion could no longer produce authentic jerseys for the 19 teams now held by Nike or Starter, they
Welcome back! Love the website, thanks for keeping it going.
Question: Were there ever retail Authentic Champions produced without an NBA patch on the shoulder? In particular, I am trying to figure out if a 1992 Barkley Sixers #32 (he wore 32 briefly to honor Magic) with no NBA patch is legit. Thanks for any help you provide.
Thanks for checking out the site! This is tough one to answer, as I have seen both Barkley #34 and #32 authentic Sixers “falling star” jerseys (1991-1992 season) without the NBA logo. Normally I would say not legit since the whole point of an authentic jersey is to be exactly what the athletes wear on the court, and the NBA logo on the left (sometimes right) shoulder is essential. But this is an instance where there might be an exception.
Here’s what I know….the Sixers unveiled the new uniform design at the start of training camp on October 3, 1991. This was Champion’s first uniform that they designed in-house since assuming the NBA uniform license a year earlier (at the start of the 1990-1991 season). At the opening of the 1991-1992 training camp, Barkley was presented with his normal #34 jersey for a photo op (jersey has the NBA logo). On November 7, 1991 Magic Johnson announces he has HIV and a few days later on November 12, 1991 Barkley announces that he is switching to #32 in honor of Magic. On November 15, 1991 Barkley wears #32 for the first time against the Celtics, and would wear it the remainder of the year before being traded in the off-season to the Suns. Champion only made replica Barkley Sixers “falling star” jerseys in #32.
With all of the being said, the only authentic jerseys Champion sold for retail during the 1991-1992 season were Michael Jordan, Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing and David Robinson. From my research, Barkley Sixers authentic jerseys were never produced or sold at a retail level (in fact, for the three years the Sixers wore the “falling stars” design, Champion never released an authentic Sixers jersey for retail). But given that the Sixers redesigned “falling stars” uniform was Champion’s first crack at design, prototypes/samples probably made their way into the market at some point (employees from the design team took some, marketing team used some as retail display pieces, etc). So it’s possible the Barkley jerseys that are out there are samples and not having the NBA logo was to signify they were sample pieces and not for resale. I’ve only seen non-game-worn authentic Barkley “falling stars” Sixers jerseys come up for sale like three times in 20 years, so there aren’t many out there which reenforces this theory. And if they aren’t samples, then they are just after-market customizations by someone who got a hold of blank jerseys at some point (again, Champion produced this style of jersey for three seasons from 1991-1992 through 1993-1994).
So in conclusion, they aren’t legit based on the fact that they were never produced for or sold at a retail level. They could possibly be super rare samples, but they could also be after-market customizations. And worst case, they are complete counterfeits. As a collector, I wouldn’t buy one. Hope this helps!
Thank you for the thorough response! Looking forward to your gallery updates.
Dude. Awesome write up. Next ones if like to see are:
NBA @ 50 throwbacks
Olympic jerseys
May I be the first to say, this post is gold!! The write up is an education, as always, and I can only agree with you that the Stockton gold jersey is undoubtedly the rarest of the bunch. I knew they existed but have never seen one for sale or in the flesh in my life. Wonderful photos too and I’m looking forward to your next post.
Hello friend I’m Rodrigo from Chile.
Continuing his theme, I have a Scottie Pippen jersey Gold version
You have more information on this jersey
Please, please make a post on the collection of all NBA@50th Champion jerseys made. A lot of people including myself would really appreciate this info.
Thanks!
Ask and you shall receive (even if it’s 4 months later). NBA at 50 gallery is posted in the Special Edition section. I’ll be writing some blog posts shortly addressing the collection.
Really grateful for all the time and effort you put into this site, thanks, I will be checking out the NBA @50 section shortly!
Can i follow you on social media ?
Keep up the great site
Greets from belguim
Thanks for checking out the site. Unfortunately I’m not on social. I already have difficulty finding time to finish this site (it’s like 4 years in the making) let alone keep up social media. But maybe once I finally get this completed I’ll start an Insta or something.
Hey! Thanks for doing this.. never give up! 🙂 I love this site and makes me more proud for my Champion NBA jersey collection. One question for you. Champion never made any jerseys in korea right ? So the jerseys with the tags with”made in korea’ are fake. Thanks! Greetings from Hungary!
Champion actually did produce jerseys in Korea during the end of their licensing deal in 2001-2002. At that time they were only producing authentic for 8 teams (Atlanta, Charlotte, Los Angeles Clippers, New Jersey, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Utah), and all the authentics were made in Korea. As for replicas, some were made in Korea and some still made in Mexico during the 2001-2002 season.
Hello, I have a Larry Bird Jersey that the tags say made in Korea. Is it legit?
Probably not legit, Bird retired before Champion started making jerseys outside of the US (he retired after the 1991-1992 season, which was the first season Champion started producing replica jerseys for retail). But, Champion did keep producing Bird jerseys for several years after his retirement due to his popularity and the fact that it appears Bird allowed them to keep licensing his name (same with Magic Johnson). So you will see Bird replica jerseys with “assembled/made in Mexico” tags. But Champion didn’t start producing jerseys in Korea until the end of their licensing run starting in the 2000-2001 season and that was only for select teams (and did not include Boston).
Hi, nice article! i am confused about the champion AU jersey for iverson rookie year. i saw the pro cut version with gold nba logoman, and also the AU version with regular color of nba logoman but that AU version has two tags on bottom:left one is the team logo and right one is size tag. people kept telling me that any iverson rokkie AU jersey with regular nba logoman is DIY or fake. is that true or there is indeed an official version of regular AU version with regular nba logoman. thanks!
Since Iverson’s rookie year in 1996-1997 was the last year for the design of that style of Sixers jersey, and since that was the 50th Anniversary season of the NBA, all authentic jerseys should have the gold NBA logo. The retail version of the Iverson jersey should have the gold NBA logo, although there is a possibility that maybe if any were issued immediately after the 1996 draft (Summer 1996) that maybe they wouldn’t have the gold logo (assuming Champion was using old jersey stock with regular NBA logo to get jerseys to market quickly). I don’t know that to be the case and personally I would only buy Iverson’s rookie authentic jersey with the gold NBA logo.
As for Procuts, I don’t touch those because counterfeiting is rampant. That being said, here are some rules: any legit Procut jersey from 1996-1997 season would have the gold logo. And any Procut jersey would NOT have a collar label. Also, any Procut would have the body length on the left jock tag label. A true Procut is supposed to be the same size the player wears on the court (so for Iverson’s rookie year that would be a size 42 with body length +2). If it’s not the same size a the player wore on the court, then someone just took a blank Procut and letter kit and mashed them together (so that’s semi legit, but not a true Procut). Without the body length listed, then it’s a complete fake. Starting in 2012, a couple of sellers on Ebay started flooding the market with fake Iverson rookie Procuts, most new with tags. Let’s just say most people in 1996-1997 who bought legit Iverson rookie athentics were wearing them and cut the tags off. And there wouldn’t be that much deadstock with tags laying around since Champion knew the design was going to change for the 1997-1998 season. So rule of thumb, if you see a lot of a players authentic jersey floating around with tags still attached, it’s fake. So there are a ton of fake dual-tag/Procut Iverson jerseys out there…I still see them all the time on Ebay.
Love your site, great stuff!
Keep it up!
PS: M&N just did a similar series of jerseys but they also released gold shorts, did Champion make shorts as well back in
The limited edition Champion Gold apparel line did include replica shorts. They are extremely hard to find.
Hey Brother. You need to start monetizing your depth and breadth of knowledge. Quick question… Did champion produce jerseys from the 1988 olympic team to sell to public around the 88 or 92 olympics? I found a Dan Majerle replica jersey on Ebay that looks 100% legit. Did they produce 88 olympic jerseys around the 92 olympics since the 92’s were so popular? Or did someone get a blank and screen print their own? (saw a couple on ebay actually.) Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks man!
Champion didn’t start producing replica jerseys until late 1991 (they became the exclusive uniform provider for the NBA starting in the 1990-1991 season, taking over for MacGregor Sand Knit). So 1992 was the first year they did Olympic jerseys, and that was because it was the first year the Olympics allowed NBA/pros to compete…hence the Dream Team. That made replica Olympic jerseys marketable and a very hot item. For 1988 Olympics, USA basketball was amateurs/college players, and no one would have made jerseys to my knowledge…and no way you could put a name of a college player on the back of a jersey and sell it at retail.And Champion definitely didn’t go back and do a throwback version for the 1988 Olympics. Only Throwback line Champion ever did was the 50th Anniversary collection. So those jerseys are fake.
1 question a jordan champion pink jersey vintage jersey really exist ?
There is no Jordan “pink” jersey
Hello, hoping that you still keep up with this page, it has become a great resource!
I recently saw a Red Chicago Bulls Champion Michael Jordan Gold Logo jersey. The placement of the NBA logo seemed a little off to me so I was wondering if it was real. After a quick search I couldn’t find any Gold Logo Champion jerseys in Red for MJ. Maybe my question will be answered quickly by just asking did they even make a Red one?
Thank you for all your hard work! Love this whole site!
Yes, all of the Jordan Authentic jerseys produced for the 1996-1997 season had the gold NBA logo to commemorate the NBA 50th Anniversary. The Jordan Authentic jerseys are mostly in road/red, but also in alternate/black pinstripe. To my knowledge Champion did not produce any home/white Jordan authentic jerseys (unless you find a pro cut).
Hi I have a gold line Kobe Bryant jersey size 44 I was wondering if maybe you will know the value of this as there aren
Size 44 is one of the most popular sizes, so you can probably get $250 for it (maybe more). It’s one of the rarer Champion Gold jerseys. Good luck!