Pulling back the curtain on the creative process behind the City Edition jerseys

“My first day with the Mavs was September 10, 2001. The day before 9/11,” Al Whitley said.Whitley has been the Dallas Mavericks’ head equipment manager for the past 17 years.

“I grew up with Steve Nash, who is one of my childhood best friends,” Whitley said as we sat down to talk about his journey and role with the Mavericks. Whitley grew up with Nash in Canada and always dreamed of living in the United States.

After playing four years at Santa Clara University, Nash was drafted by the Phoenix Suns in 1996. He was traded to Dallas in 1998 and would spend the next six seasons with the Mavericks.

“Through Steve, I was fortunate enough to meet Mark Cuban and we hit it off and became friends,”…