It’s gotten to a point in professional sports where the jersey your team is wearing while playing is just as newsworthy as the outcome of the actual contest. Though no professional sports league releases the actual sales numbers of jerseys for their respective players, there’s a great deal of interest in whose uniform is selling the most. For the past few years, Kobe Bryant has maintained a monopoly on the NBA’s number one jersey, but after moving to Miami last year, LeBron James overtaken the Lakers star.

Knowing just how rabid their fan base is, Visual Concepts has included a laundry list of impressive alternates and retro jerseys for NBA teams in this year’s NBA 2K12. The only problem was they were locked, and not due to release without a special code. Pointed out by Pasta Padre is the diligent work of a select few 2K12 die-hards, which led to the early unlocking of previously unseen jerseys which are supposed to debut during the 2012 NBA season. Included in the mix are new Sixers blue jerseys, a Memphis ABA throwback, and a Brooklyn Nets throwback.

Since the NBA season is in jeopardy right now, this is as close as we may come to seeing these uniforms. In some cases, that’s a shame. In other cases, it’sa blessing. We're looking at you, Toronto alternate jersey. Shame on you.