Nuggets drop classic jersey to celebrate 60 years and ABA history

For the first time since they became the Denver Nuggets, the club is putting on the orange.

On Monday the team unveiled its ABA 50th Anniversary Classic Edition uniform, a modern take on the orange road jerseys worn by the Denver Rockets, the franchise’s original name. Denver will wear it nine times during the 2026-27 season. Seven of those games are at Ball Arena, where the Nuggets will also play on a matching Classic Edition court.

Trading Navy and Gold for Orange pic.twitter.com/rqel2erqz9

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) October 12, 2026

The jersey has an arched “DENVER” across the chest, outlined in white like the 1970s original, along with the original Rockets logo. The Nuggets have gone back to their ABA roots twice before, with Rockets throwbacks in 1994 and 2006-07. Both times they used the white home look. This time they go for the road oranges.

Four franchises came over from the ABA in the 1976 merger: Denver, Indiana, San Antonio and the New York (now Brooklyn) Nets. All four will wear ABA-inspired Classic Edition uniforms this season to mark 50 years since the merger. The timing works out for Denver, too. The franchise started in 1967, which makes this 60 years of pro hoops in Colorado.

The Rockets name lasted until 1974. The club became the Nuggets ahead of the merger to avoid a conflict with the NBA’s Houston Rockets. Two years later, Denver made the ABA Finals in the league’s last season, 1975-76. They lost to Julius Erving and the Nets. That history comes back this season. When Denver plays one of the other three former ABA teams in a Classic Edition game, both teams will wear their throwbacks.

That happens five times. The Nuggets first host the crown jewel of the ABA Indiana on Dec. 27, where each team wears the uniforms, their old finals rival Brooklyn on March 1 and then it’s San Antonio on March 3. Their only two road games in orange are also against old ABA rivals: Feb. 28 at San Antonio and March 25 at Brooklyn. In late February and March, Denver will play four throwback-vs.-throwback games in less than four weeks.

The other Classic Edition home games are Jan. 21 vs. Washington, Feb. 4 vs. Dallas, Feb. 11 vs. Chicago and April 8 vs. the Los Angeles Clippers.

https://t.co/zIVqvKXKdH pic.twitter.com/3t7lasuSXH

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) October 12, 2026

The orange look is part of a busy uniform rotation. Denver is also bringing back the white rainbow skyline City Edition, first worn in 2018-19, along with its Mile High City jerseys — that is according to a leak. The Nuggets have used throwbacks to celebrate milestones before. When the franchise turned 50, Nikola Jokic wore the rainbows on the night Dikembe Mutombo’s number went to the rafters. Ten years later, the team has gone back further, to before the rainbows, before Alex English and Doug Moe, and before Denver was even in the NBA. Back to when Spencer Haywood broke barriers out of high school and became the franchise’s first star with an MVP in his rookie season.

Fans can pick up the Classic Edition jerseys and other ABA 50th anniversary gear next week.

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