Youth Basketball Uniforms

Find out more specifics about youth basketball uniforms.

The youth basketball uniforms have been designed keeping in mind that basketball is an indoor game, and the players sweat heavily in closed environments. The basketball jerseys are therefore sleeveless and loose fitting with large armholes. They are made of top quality mock mesh, dazzle, tricot mesh or pro mesh material, which is light and thin to wear. The shorts are baggy with elastic waistbands and drawstrings. This helps the players to run and jump freely. All basketball players are required to wear sneakers.

In the early days, the male uniform consisted of a pair of long pants and a T-shirt while the female players dressed in frilly skirts and flat-bottomed sneakers. Today the women’s uniforms are better designed, and more suitable for play.

The team's name is printed across the upper chest area. It also carries the player’s number. Several teams print the player’s number on the back of the jersey for the player to be identified by the officials, coach or referee. The NBA players especially are required to wear jerseys with numbers printed on the back.

There is great importance attached to the jersey number. The number varies from 4 to 15 at international tournaments. At the high school and college levels, the numbers range from 1-5, 10-15, 20-25, 30-35, 40-45, and 50-55, plus 0 and 00. Some states require the high school teams to wear even-numbered jerseys when playing at home, and odd-numbered jerseys if they're playing at other colleges. Also, teams can choose either 0 or 00; they can’t have both.

All teams can come up with their own color schemes for uniforms. But the placement of logos, numbers, players’ names etc is regulated by the basketball tournament committees. Any addition to the uniform needs to be cleared by the tournament committee. This regulation ensures that there is uniformity in the way basketball uniforms are designed.