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Mascots For NBA Teams Without Them


rebelx

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Here are my ideas:

Sixers: Hip-Hop really was a terrible mascot, and I'm glad they got rid of him. Kind of surprised that the team hasn't yet replaced him, given that they were actively trying to for a while. I would have been okay with that Ben Franklin character they were proposing, but I understand why he rubbed some fans the wrong way. Now that the team has abandoned him and those awful dog and moose characters, maybe they ought to just bring back Big Shot, especially because I've heard that a number of fans want him back. He was kind of cool in a retro sort of way.

Warriors: I'm not going to lie; I kinda miss Thunder. There was something cool, almost Zeus-like, about him. He was, of course, a victim of the club's rebranding. They could have still kept him, kind of like the Pistons kept Hooper after ditching the horsepower logos, but I guess he was just never as popular with fans in the Bay as Hooper was (and still is) in Detroit. I don't know that the team is even planning on developing a new mascot, but if they were, what would a good one be? They definitely wouldn't want to revisit their Native American-related past to get one, and it wouldn't even make any sense anyway seeing as how there hasn't been any Native American imagery in their logos for years now. Maybe they could have an animal, say, a bobcat (plenty of which live in the nearby wilderness). This would give people an excuse to save Rufus Lynx from the dustbin of history, which he'll surely otherwise go to at the conclusion of this season (this would be sort of like the Canadiens rescuing Youppi!, except without the mascot remaining in the same city). You could simply change his color from orange to athletic gold, and voila!

Clippers: It's kind of tough with this team, but maybe a sailor of some sort. Kind of like Popeye, except less goofy looking. This team really needs to spice up the generally bland identity it's had for so long, and having a mascot may help some.

Knicks: This one is pretty easy. Just take the guy who was their logo years ago, name him The Knickerbocker, and call it a day.

Lakers: My Lakers are a very tricky one. The question of whether this team even needs a mascot aside, it's hard to think of something related to the logos and identity, kind of like with the Dodgers and, to a lesser extent, the Clips. You'd probably have to have something invoking LA specifically. I kind of picture an outlandish movie star-type character. On top of that, he could be some local animal, like a rabbit (oddly enough, this would make him kind of like the aforementioned Hip-Hop, but preferably better-designed). In fact…if he were, specifically, a movie-star jackrabbit, you could call him Jack, after the team's most well-known fan. :D

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I would have been okay with that Ben Franklin character they were proposing, but I understand why he rubbed some fans the wrong way.

No matter what century, ol' Ben just can't keep his hands to himself.

"The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."

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Lakers could go with a giraffe like they have on previous alt logos

Whoa, weird! I never knew about this until now! Pretty bizarre logo...

It's really amazing how unrecognized this went.

Here I was thinking that you were talking about the rebound. *facepalm*

thundersignature.png

and

sport-scarf_bucs_zpsc424092b.png

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Thunder did not die with the Warriors' rebrand.

Really? When did it actually happen?

When Seattle's team moved

Hmmm...now that you mention it, I had read some random forum post a couple years ago suggesting the mascot being in jeopardy because of OKC's name or some such thing. I didn't pay it much heed at the time, because the scenario didn't seem all that likely, and just continued to assume that Thunder was dropped in 2010. Guess there was truth to it after all. That's pretty strange. Just because the mascot had the same name as the relocated team, they were forced to drop him? You can't trademark just that word. What happened, exactly?

I still wonder whether Thunder, if he'd lasted that long, would have survived the rebranding anyway, and I'm guessing probably not. How popular was he, actually?

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Thunder did not die with the Warriors' rebrand.

Really? When did it actually happen?

When Seattle's team moved

Hmmm...now that you mention it, I had read some random forum post a couple years ago suggesting the mascot being in jeopardy because of OKC's name or some such thing. I didn't pay it much heed at the time, because the scenario didn't seem all that likely, and just continued to assume that Thunder was dropped in 2010. Guess there was truth to it after all. That's pretty strange. Just because the mascot had the same name as the relocated team, they were forced to drop him? You can't trademark just that word. What happened, exactly?

I still wonder whether Thunder, if he'd lasted that long, would have survived the rebranding anyway, and I'm guessing probably not. How popular was he, actually?

http://peninsulapress.com/2011/01/03/thunder-enlightening-whatever-happened-to-the-golden-state-warriors-mascot/

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I grew up in the Bay Area, I knew about Thunder's farewell immediately. Also remember that the Warriors' usage of Thunder's likeness was already being phased out before Seattle moved. He wasn't on their shorts nor was the original logo with him used often, if ever

Go A's!

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That looks like a weird combination of Statler and Waldorf.

I've got a dribbble, check it out if you like my stuff; alternatively, if you hate my stuff, send it to your enemies to punish their insolence!

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I actually liked Hip Hop, but I think they got rid of him as a way to distance themselves from the Iverson era. I have connections with some of the people who were involved with the process of the mascot designs the Sixers rolled out a couple years ago. But had they went forward, I think that Ben Franklin would have been the most reasonable choice.

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