The U.S. and its oldest ally France have a storied history of collaborations. There’s the Statue of Liberty, “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk featuring Pharrell and Nile Rodgers, and George Washington and the French fleet bottling up Cornwallis at Yorktown during the Revolutionary War.
This summer, there will be another: Nike’s Jordan Brand designed the Olympic uniforms for the French basketball team.
The Jordan Brand x France Basketball National Team collab includes home and away jerseys with blue-to-white and red-to-white gradients on the sides and the Jordan Brand “Jumpman” logo on the front right corner. The collection also features T-shirts, a backpack, and training sets.
“The capsule honors the Blues hoopers who have paved the way and those who are ready to take the team to new heights,” Nike said in a statement using a nickname used for France’s national teams “Les Bleus.”
The collection comes on the heels of an impressive showing by the French in this year’s NBA draft. French athletes accounted for three of the top 10 picks, and for the second consecutive season, a French player, Zaccharie Risacher, was selected as the first overall pick.
France’s interest in the NBA could continue to grow as the country provides more talent to the league. Nike’s Jordan Brand is staking its claim by planting a flag on the front of the home team’s jerseys for the biggest global basketball event of the year.
The Jordan Brand is finding other ways into the Paris Games, too. A pop-up shop called District 23, a reference to Michael Jordan’s jersey number, opened in Paris for six weeks of programming, including a “summer school” program for creatives, youth access to basketball courts, and an art installation.
Nike isn’t taking sides, though—it has also designed plenty of other uniforms, including the jerseys for the U.S. Olympic basketball teams.