How Tim Canton is courting the NBA to KC

March 10, 2020

Brock Wilbur,

Photo courtesy of Tim Canton.

Tim KC Canton is one of our favorite dudes in the city. From co-founding Panic Fest to his work with Boom Howdy, he just exudes a love for this town. Hell, his middle name is KC. He was born to champion this community.

A few weeks back, Canton started dabbling in a new hobby that he was sharing on social media. The reaction was overwhelmingly positive. Canton started using his exceptional graphic design skills to craft mock-up designs for NBA jerseys… for an inevitable KC team. Showing just how many options exist for color palettes that don’t overlap with other teams in the league, and pulling names and themes from our city’s history and themes.

Essentially, doing the NBA’s job for them. You’re welcome.

“I started creating Kansas City NBA jerseys as a design exercise with the hope of creating a conversation around bringing an NBA team back to Kansas City,” Canton says. “And our online community that we’re building can act as a hub for fans to share their ideas and feelings toward the possibility of an expansion team. I have been a fan of the NBA since I was a small kid re-enacting clutch shots from NBA stars like Michael Jordan and monster dunks like Shaquille O’Neal while dropping dimes like Penny Hardaway on my Nerf hoop.”

“The rivalries, video games (NBA Jam, NBA Live and NBA2k), trading cards and jerseys made me fall in love with the sport that I also grew up playing. As a lifelong Kansas City sports fan I lived through the lean years of the Royals and Chiefs but with the recent success of those franchises as—well as Sporting KC—it showed me Kansas City sports fans are hungry for winners and I believe the city could and would support another professional sports team. With the rabid Kansas Jayhawk fan base that exists in the city, along with those fans in the 5 state area that travel to Kansas City for the Big 12 tourney, the hunger for basketball is alive and well.”

At NBA HQ, it seems unavoidable that there’s an ongoing conversation about how to expand the league right now. When it comes to recent battles with China, growing the national league seems like the best option in making up for lost revenue. Kansas City is one of the largest media markets without an NBA franchise and is statistically a larger TV market than Oklahoma City or New Orleans.

When the NBA organization is ready to acknowledge that we’ve come into our own, here are some options that Canton is offering up for consideration—and why he choose them.

MONARCHS JERSEYS:

“The Monarchs collections barrows the name from the Negro Leagues and continues the legacy and heritage of something very important to our city. I took a fresh approach to branding using black, cream and dark tan to create a more modern palette that calls back to nostalgia. I also included two “Heritage Collection” jerseys that use the vintage logos and colors paired with pinstripes on the jersey to celebrate the Monarchs baseball roots.”

Jerseys Social Template Monarchs Heritage Away

Jerseys Social Template Monarchs Heritage Home

HOWLERS:

“Quick one-off.”

KINGS JERSEYS:

“The Kings currently reside in Sacramento, but we have seen teams rebrand in the past to grant the name of their team to another city. The last example of this was the Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans. So it is not impossible to think the Kings could someday make a return to Kansas City. I explored options with the traditional logo and tried to put a modern twist on it with design elements. I then took one step forward and created a new brand refresh for the Kings that featured a powder blue, grey and royal blue palette. This, of course, is a tribute to the Royals and falls in line with our legacy brands of the Chiefs, Royals, and Monarchs.”

HYPE JERSEYS:

“My last exploration took a completely different approach. I wanted to create something that felt unique and had energy behind the brand. Enter the Kansas City Hype. It exudes adrenaline without any context. My design approach took me in the direction of trying to combine both the Royals and Chiefs color palettes in a new and exciting way. Blending the blues and reds together into something new and fresh. So far the fan-favorite from this jersey collection has been the “City of Buckets” which is a direct play off of the City of Fountains.”