The Suns "will wear a new jersey this upcoming NBA season that pays homage not just to the city of Phoenix, but the entire metro area," according to Brandon Brown of the PHOENIX BUSINESS JOURNAL. The new jersey design has "The Valley" written across the chest. The Suns "have been one of the Valley's few professional sports teams to keep Phoenix in their name," while the Cardinals, Coyotes and D-backs "market themselves as 'Arizona' teams" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 11/12). ESPN.com's Zach Lowe noted Suns C Deandre Ayton and F Kelly Oubre during the '18-19 season "came up with a nickname for the team's young core: Valley Boyz." Oubre has since "trademarked the phrase and sold merchandise with the name at pop-up shops in the Phoenix area." The Suns' marketing staff "was thrilled as the #ValleyBoyz hashtag picked up momentum" in '19. In spring '18, months before acquiring Oubre, Suns VP/Marketing & Brand Strategy Brooke Campbell said that the team "started the design process on a jersey it hoped would have either 'Valley' or 'The Valley' across the chest -- its first time using any direct verbal reference to the Valley of the Sun in its jersey line." The Suns also "knew they wanted the uniform to be black, which they have not used much in jerseys." The new jersey "features a pixelated desert sunset that also forms the broad outline of Camelback Mountain, a fixture on the landscape in the greater Phoenix area" (ESPN.com, 11/13).
