USBL Basketball League (20 Teams, Logos, Jerseys, and Courts)

[jaha32]

On 10/25/2021 at 12:21 AM, Dion Jones Jr. said:

I love this, so much! I love how u incorporated the chevrons to the jersey and how it would fit with the logo, another Brilliant way to incorporate the logo with the jersey, in this case the striping. 

Thanks! Sometimes simple side striping like this works best.

[Bomba Tomba]

A sand/bone colored jersey would be a good alt, if you ever decide to make alts

[jaha32]

8 hours ago, Bomba Tomba said:

A sand/bone colored jersey would be a good alt, if you ever decide to make alts

If I do make alts at some point, it would definitely be that sandstone color. 

[jaha32]

The next team is based in Colorado so, big surprise, it has a mountain theme. 14er is a term used to describe any peak over 14,000 feet, and 53 of the US's 96 fourteeners are located in Colorado (thanks Wikipedia). I remember visiting my uncle in Colorado and as we drove through the mountains he talked about these peaks called 14ers, and I thought that there should be a team with that name. And there did. There used to be an NBA G-League team called the Colorado 14ers so the name might sound familiar.

 

On the jerseys, I included lines sloping upward at the exact same angle as the mountains in the logo. It ended up having a Trail Blazers look to it.

 

 

 

[Chromatic]

Overall I like the design, but I think "Rocky Mountain" doesn't really work as a place name. First, it feels kind of redundant when coupled with the team name, which is mountain themed as well. Second, 'Rocky Mountain' seems too vague of a location. With teams like 'Golden State' or "Tampa Bay" are somewhat nebulous, you still get a fairly good idea of where they play. The Rocky Mountains span nearly the breadth of the continent, so I don't think that really works. Third, I think 'Colorado 14ers' sounds better from a strict phonetic standpoint.

 

I've really enjoyed this series as a whole, keep it up.

[jaha32]

22 hours ago, Chromatic said:

Overall I like the design, but I think "Rocky Mountain" doesn't really work as a place name. First, it feels kind of redundant when coupled with the team name, which is mountain themed as well. Second, 'Rocky Mountain' seems too vague of a location. With teams like 'Golden State' or "Tampa Bay" are somewhat nebulous, you still get a fairly good idea of where they play. The Rocky Mountains span nearly the breadth of the continent, so I don't think that really works. Third, I think 'Colorado 14ers' sounds better from a strict phonetic standpoint.

 

I've really enjoyed this series as a whole, keep it up.

I'm glad you like the series so far. I hear what you're saying about the name being redundant, which was intentional. For me part of the fun of making concept teams is trying things that aren't necessarily conventional or common in the real world.  And there actually was a Colorado-based hockey team called the Rocky Mountain Rage so there is a precedent with the name. I want to avoid using real team names in recent history so that eliminates 'Colorado 14ers'. Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho have no professional sports teams so this name could also make them feel included in the fan base, even if distantly. If I do end up changing my mind on this, which is always possible, I'd probably go with Denver.

[jbird669]

I love the uniform for the Rocky Mountain team, but the nickname needs changed. 14ers does not roll of the tongue or sound right. What about Colorado Hilltoppers? Or Colorado Mountaineers?

[jaha32]

Rocky Mountain Altitude is the only other name I can think of at the moment, but 14ers sounds much more authentic to me since it uniquely represents this location, whereas Hilltoppers sounds like a generic high school or D3 program, and Mountaineers is decent but predictable. I'm not really sure why this name doesn't work (it's much better than the awkward Delaware 87ers) so I may have to come back to this one later and see if I change my mind. 

[MilSox]

I like the Rocky Mountain name as long as Utah doesn't have  team. Because typically the Denver/Colorado team is the de facto home team for that entire reason.

 

14ers is a solid identity for the reasons you named. Kind of ties them to Colorado, yet doesn't alienate the rest of the rocky states. But for some reason I really love Rocky Mountain Altitude. Sounds very basketball to me.

[jaha32]

On 11/10/2021 at 3:29 PM, NicDB said:

I like the Rocky Mountain name as long as Utah doesn't have  team. Because typically the Denver/Colorado team is the de facto home team for that entire reason.

 

14ers is a solid identity for the reasons you named. Kind of ties them to Colorado, yet doesn't alienate the rest of the rocky states. But for some reason I really love Rocky Mountain Altitude. Sounds very basketball to me.

Utah won’t have a team so this Rocky Mountain team will likely be the only team in the Mountain time zone aside from Arizona. For now I’ll stick with the 14ers name. If some other nickname, like Altitude, grows on me in time I’ll consider it but I’ve already planned the names and still like 14ers.
 

What constitutes a good team name is subjective anyway. Are Phillies or Mets even real words? How about 76ers? SuperSonics is an adjective with an ‘s’ slapped on the end, and it’s a great name. Nuggets, Cubs, Pistons, Packers, Phillies, Padres are all unique but if we weren’t familiar with them we’d think they’re strange. Familiarity makes them work…even Utah Jazz which makes no sense.

[jaha32]

I went back and inserted a different wordmark to the 14ers gray jersey. The gray and blue sets now both have the same mountain logo on the front top.

 

The Sacramento Miners are the next team and they're named after the gold rush that hit California in the mid 19th century. This is again based on a team I created as a kid which contained the letter S over a basketball in purple and orange (it may remind some of the last Sonics logo).

 

As I made logos over the years, I became more interested in using geometric precision and shapes when possible, and consistent line width to make the logos easier on the eyes. I think this logo is a good example. The spacing between the letters in Miners is the same width as the lines on the ball, and the vertical line on the ball flows seamlessly between the N and E in Miners. The head of the axe flows around the same circular contour of the outer S. Also the axe handles are positioned at the same angle as the ends of the S. The result is that everything locks together.

 

Jersey Option A

Jersey Option B

[Dion Jones Jr.]

2 hours ago, jaha32 said:

I went back and inserted a different wordmark to the 14ers gray jersey. The gray and blue sets now both have the same mountain logo on the front top.

 

The Sacramento Miners are the next team and they're named after the gold rush that hit California in the mid 19th century. This is again based on a team I created as a kid which contained the letter S over a basketball in purple and orange (it may remind some of the last Sonics logo).

 

As I made logos over the years, I became more interested in using geometric precision and shapes when possible, and consistent line width to make the logos easier on the eyes. I think this logo is a good example. The spacing between the letters in Miners is the same width as the lines on the ball, and the vertical line on the ball flows seamlessly between the N and E in Miners. The head of the axe flows around the same circular contour of the outer S. Also the axe handles are positioned at the same angle as the ends of the S. The result is that everything locks together.

 

 

 

I really like this one, it's gives me a very nice Suns vibe but more simpler, looks great as per usual

[Bomba Tomba]

The yellow numbers get lost in the orange if you ask me

[jaha32]

10 hours ago, Dion Jones Jr. said:

I really like this one, it's gives me a very nice Suns vibe but more simpler, looks great as per usual

I had the same thought too once I saw these finished up.

8 hours ago, Bomba Tomba said:

The yellow numbers get lost in the orange if you ask me

I thought the lack of color contrast on those numbers might be an issue. My goal was to keep the color distribution somewhat consistent between each set. I’ll see what it looks like with some colors switched around.

[MDTrey4]

I agree with Bomba Tomba here about the contrast of the numbers on the orange jersey. I also think this set lends itself well to a white uniform. I know you haven't been doing third uniforms but that could be a good light one for Sacramento.

[Bomba Tomba]

10 hours ago, MDTrey4 said:

 I also think this set lends itself well to a white uniform.

BIG NO. White appears nowhere on the logo, and I like how OP strays away from the tired old tradition that one uniform must always be white. Honestly, I think real life leagues should also follow his example.

[jaha32]

20 hours ago, MDTrey4 said:

I agree with Bomba Tomba here about the contrast of the numbers on the orange jersey. I also think this set lends itself well to a white uniform. I know you haven't been doing third uniforms but that could be a good light one for Sacramento.

 

9 hours ago, Bomba Tomba said:

BIG NO. White appears nowhere on the logo, and I like how OP strays away from the tired old tradition that one uniform must always be white. Honestly, I think real life leagues should also follow his example.

I could make a third white jersey, and I do plan on having maybe one or two  teams with one white jersey, but like you said, I’m only making two jerseys for each team so far and to be forced to have one of them white just because it’s tradition, limits the creative options I feel.

 

I’m thinking of the the Lakers who only wore purple and yellow jerseys for the longest time and it showed that you don’t need white, and then one year (almost 20 years ago) they busted out white jerseys and it was really unusual seeing them in white at first. 

 

I have no plans to expand to city edition jerseys or anything like that. I’m just focusing on each team’s core identity right now.

[jaha32]

I went back and added jersey option B for Sacramento. What do you think - upgrade?

 

There's less yellow in the new version, which is fine since I consider purple and orange to be the primary team colors and yellow is still very present as an accent color in the trimming. I tried yellow as a number outline but the orange numbers looked bloated/blurry with a yellow outline and I wanted to keep things clean.

[Dion Jones Jr.]

I think option b is much better looking in my opinion

 

[MilSox]

Not really feeling the colors to be honest. They don't feel industrious enough for a team named after the mining industry.