The Harlem Globetrotters will be celebrating their 100th anniversary next year and the famed basketball franchise is teaming with Jeff Hamilton to design a special uniform for the historic season.
This is not the first time Hamilton has worked with a sports league. The Los Angeles-based designer has longstanding partnerships with the NBA, NFL and, more recently, FIFA for the World Cup 2026. Best known for his leather jackets, his designs have been worn by everyone from Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant to LeBron James over the years.
At the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, when a panel selected the 50 greatest players in NBA history, each honoree received an NBA-commissioned Hamilton leather jacket to wear to the ceremony. Hamilton also designed the commemorative jackets 25 years later when the NBA announced a 75th anniversary team to honor the 75 greatest players in NBA history.
Hamilton’s designs have influenced other brands including Converse, which released a collection of shoes in 2021 inspired by his NBA championship jackets.
“Our 100-year anniversary has provided the perfect opportunity to refresh our uniform,” said Keith Dawkins, president of Harlem Globetrotters & Herschend Entertainment Studios. “Our goal is to create a look that better reflects our iconic history, leverages the equity that we’ve built up over the years, while also doing something that is fresh and appealing to our global audience. Partnering with Jeff Hamilton, one of the sporting world’s most legendary designers, is an opportunity to build something truly special for our centennial and beyond.”
In addition to the uniform, Hamilton will design a series of collections for other fashion brands next year and the Globetrotters will also be working with other companies on consumer retail partnerships for their 2026 season.
“While we have worked to design fashion pieces with some of the biggest and most storied franchises in sports, especially in the NBA, this collaborative partnership with the Globetrotters is both special and will be one of our most unique,” Hamilton said. “There is no organization with such positive global appeal than the Globetrotters, and our pieces will be both reflective of their history in sports, pop culture and diplomacy, as well as their appeal to an audience that will learn about their story for the first time. It will be one of the must-haves for the world of fashion and sport as their 100th season unfolds.”
In the 2025 season, the Globetrotters played in 46 North American cities as well as 50 markets globally. Their tours have showcased the sport of basketball to tens of millions of people in more than 124 countries and territories on six continents.