The Cornucopia of Possible NBA Logo Changes

[tBBP]

It's sad to me that the NBA thinks that the 70s/early 80s aesthetics are actually good. they're not. NBA, let them die in peace.

THIS.

All of these new retrograde identities are really starting to make me miss the late '80s and the '90s. Remember when identities were actually fun? I can understand clean and classic...but there's a threshold that, once crossed, becomes snoozapalooza, which is exactly what most of these are.

[deep]

THIS.

All of these new retrograde identities are really starting to make me miss the late '80s and the '90s. Remember when identities were actually fun? I can understand clean and classic...but there's a threshold that, once crossed, becomes snoozapalooza, which is exactly what most of these are.

i think they are going back to the old logos because it worked for them in the first place before they tried to modernize them. eg 76ers and now golden state.

jazz logo though is a huge downgrade, they had a chance to modernize the logo a bit so it looked a little less plain...maybe its the colors.

[The_Admiral]

This was the best version of the 5-on-5 pinwheel.

I don't think the NBA situation is as dire as some of you are making it out to be. Last decade, we had a modern classic from the Cavaliers, almost one from the Bucks (oops, forgot to make a new logo), and quality neo-retros from the Pistons and Supersonics. The proliferation of lifeless navy/columbia outings was a shame, and so was the Hornets' busy pile of crap on the other end of the continuum, but it could've been much worse.

[TrueYankee26]

Considering this trend, when the Nets move to Brooklyn they'll have an updated version of this logo

[DrJack]

True, true. This logo is loved by Blazer fans, and is worn on retro gear all around the city. But by no means do I want the team to switch back to it!

The past is the past.

Yeah, that's not a great logo.

It is, however, overwhelmingly superior to the sharpy-pointy version they use now. Switch it back, or scrap it entirely and start fresh.

What?!?!?! NO! The evolution of the Blazer pinwheel has been awesome. We're about 5 or 6 seasons from the next evolution. Don't go back to the 70's, but don't start over either. I'm so glad Portland avoided the temptation to do something dumb in the 90's, because so many teams have regretted it (Pisotns, Sonics, Warriors, 76ers, Rockets, and so on).I love seeing a logo evolve and grow with the team, and the Blazers are the best example of this! These are also great:

[Yac12]

I also like seeing a logo evolve during a teams history. Although, there are teams that should avoid evolving like the Bulls, Lakers, and Celtics.

Edit: I just looked at the logos in more detail on the site and the Lakers and Celtics logos have evolved.

[chakfu]

I love seeing a logo evolve and grow with the team, and the Blazers are the best example of this! These are also great:

I agree that evolving logos are nice, and think Phoenix is another pretty good example. But I really think the last iterations of the Seattle and Detroit logos really oversimplified to the point that they lost what made them interesting (space needle, piston in a cylinder). I think the previous versions of those logos were nicer examples of evolution, apart from the horrible color changes. (Granted, the Piston horse head was probably too busy. No pun intended- GRANTed)

[chakfu]

This was the best version of the 5-on-5 pinwheel.

I don't think the NBA situation is as dire as some of you are making it out to be. Last decade, we had a modern classic from the Cavaliers, almost one from the Bucks (oops, forgot to make a new logo), and quality neo-retros from the Pistons and Supersonics. The proliferation of lifeless navy/columbia outings was a shame, and so was the Hornets' busy pile of crap on the other end of the continuum, but it could've been much worse.

Agreed - the height of the drab trend was a few years ago with the blue/blue Jazz and the plain Magic jerseys - two teams whose traditions and very names militate against drabness.

[OMMF]

***

[sc49erfan15]

I agree that evolving logos are nice, and think Phoenix is another pretty good example. But I really think the last iterations of the Seattle and Detroit logos really oversimplified to the point that they lost what made them interesting (space needle, piston in a cylinder). I think the previous versions of those logos were nicer examples of evolution, apart from the horrible color changes. (Granted, the Piston horse head was probably too busy. No pun intended- GRANTed)

I'll ignore your terrible pun in exchange for a giant for the "piston in a cylinder." Is that really what it is? It always looked like a badly-drawn basketball to me, but is it really supposed to represent a piston in a cylinder?!

[CubsFanBudMan]

A couple of new discoveries..pretty unique drafts caps BTW, but looks like more confirmation on what we know.

Cavs: Wordmark and color change

Warriors: New logo, and secondary logo

Probably has been pointed out already, but I guess this confirms that the asymmetrical outer border was by design. I wonder why.

Interesting alternate logo, too. Seems they decided to update the old primary logo by replacing the star with a W. Overall, I think this is a very good "new, yet old" rebranding of the franchise. The Warriors are one of the NBA's oldest teams and this identity helps people remember that. It has a clean and simple look that many of the older NBA franchises demonstrate.

I think the most disturbing part for me about the Cavs hat is that it's navy blue. I thought this uni change was supposed to play up the wine and ... yellow. All that navy makes me think this might be worse than I thought. (I'm a big fan of the current road uni.) The big S at the end is a close second. Never have been a fan of that design trend. And these modern wordmarks are all so curvy. The recent changes to the Magic, Bobcats and now Cavs all seem so similar.

As far as the Warriors, I hope they don't fade the bridge like that anywhere else. Kind of ruins the logo. I don't mind the actual golden state with the W as a secondary. Simple.

And my guess is the reason New York and New Orleans have those names is because that's what appears on the front of their jerseys, home and road. Not sure what the deal with Portland is, but at least it's not "rip city."

[IceCap]

I like the Warriors' alt logo actually. The font is still troubling though.

I'm not sure where the "Cavs are minimizing navy" rumour came from. When word that they were changing first came out it was just that they would be switching the faded/old/Vegas gold out for a more athletic/yellowish gold, and that seems to have been what happened. Still don't like it. The current Cavs look, when used properly, is one of the best in the NBA. This is just change for the sake of change, and in this case I would say athletic gold is a slight downgrade of the faded gold. The new wordmark just looks generic.

The Jazz, it's a mixed bag. I like the current logo, I just think it needs more purple and powder blue and less navy. That being said I don't dislike the J/note logo, and they even fixed the incorrect basketball, which is a plus. The colour scheme is also good, in theory. It looks drab in execution however. A brighter green and a faded gold would really improve it.

[Gothamite]

I think the Cavs' color scheme is extremely "drab in execution." Dark red, dark blue and a very dark metallic. Athletic gold will provide some necessary pop.

[CubsFanBudMan]

Now that I think of it, the new wordmark makes the Cavs draft hat looks like it could have been a '90s Nuggets cap. (Keeping the gold would have made it even moreso.)

[jimbojohnny56]

J NOTE IS THE BEST LOGO EVA!!!!!!!!!!

[54Chevy]

Highly disappointed with the Cavs new "look".

[andrewharrington]

A couple of new discoveries..pretty unique drafts caps BTW, but looks like more confirmation on what we know.

Cavs: Wordmark and color change

I finally figured out what is bothering me so much about that Cavaliers wordmark on the hat. I thought it was just the wordmark that appears on the baselines at The Q, only vertically arched with an enlarged C and S, but it's not. Look at the "AVA" part of Cavaliers. The sides of the A's go straight down, which looks really clunky around the V.

Here's the floor with the aforementioned baseline wordmark:

http://sportslogos.net/images/logos/6/222/full/au5kgggwr73guhbsehhe0dr99.gif

Much cleaner than what they're going with for 2010-11, no?

I believe they used to use the new wordmark lettering on the baseline, but switched it in the past few years or so. For some reason I recall seeing that exact lettering somewhere. It's obviously an homage to the lettering on this jersey:

And I would expect the rest of the uniform to follow suit and be reminiscent of older Cavaliers uniforms, though not necessarily the candy cane ones seen here. I would have preferred the athletic block lettering from the photo here as opposed the the modern version on the draft hat.

[IceCap]

I think the Cavs' color scheme is extremely "drab in execution." Dark red, dark blue and a very dark metallic. Athletic gold will provide some necessary pop.

Agree to disagree then. Though I will be fair and wait until the uniforms are unveiled. If I'm wrong I'll happily admit it.

[chakfu]

I agree that evolving logos are nice, and think Phoenix is another pretty good example. But I really think the last iterations of the Seattle and Detroit logos really oversimplified to the point that they lost what made them interesting (space needle, piston in a cylinder). I think the previous versions of those logos were nicer examples of evolution, apart from the horrible color changes. (Granted, the Piston horse head was probably too busy. No pun intended- GRANTed)

I'll ignore your terrible pun in exchange for a giant for the "piston in a cylinder." Is that really what it is? It always looked like a badly-drawn basketball to me, but is it really supposed to represent a piston in a cylinder?!

Not entirely sure about it - but if it's not a piston in a cylinder, then it was a terrible logo from day one. Wordmark on a basketball. Whee.

[LEWJ]

I'm liking what I've seen for the Cavs so far.

The colors are a definite upgrade, IMO.

And I like the simplicity of the wordmark.

The only thing I'm not sold on is the use of the same logos (so far...) with that wordmark.

I think the jerseys will be a nice compromise of new vs. old.

Hopefully it turns out nice, hopefully with very little or [preferably] no navy.