Where Did the NBA Logo Come From?
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Where did the NBA logo come from? It’s a question that has been asked by many basketball fans over the years. The answer may surprise you.
The NBA’s Beginnings
On August 3, 1946, the Basketball Association of America was founded in New York City. This organization would eventually become the NBA as we know it today. One of the most recognizable aspects of the NBA is its logo. But where did this logo come from? Let’s take a look.
The NBA’s founding in 1946
The National Basketball Association (NBA) was founded in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The league started with 11 teams, and through a series of team expansions, withdrawals, relocations and suspensions, it currently consists of 30 teams. The United States is home to 29 NBA teams while Canada is home to one, the Toronto Raptors.
The NBA’s early years
The National Basketball Association (NBA) was founded in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The league adopted its current name in 1949 after merging with the National Basketball League (NBL). It is an American professional men’s basketball league. The NBA is one of the four major North American professional sports leagues, and it is widely considered to be the premier men’s professional basketball league in the world.
The NBA logo was designed by Alan Siegel in 1971. The logo consists of a red, white, and blue oval with the word “NBA” above it. The oval is meant to represent a basketball, and the colors are meant to represent the United States.
The NBA Logo’s Beginnings
The NBA logo was created in 1971 by Alan Siegel. It was a modern take on the classic basketball player silhouette. The logo was a big hit and is still used today. Let’s take a closer look at the history of the NBA logo.
The NBA’s first logo
The NBA logo was originally designed by Alan Siegel in 1971. The famous basketball silhouette is in fact that of Jerry West, who at the time played for the Los Angeles Lakers. Since its inception, the logo has undergone several small changes, but the overall design has remained largely the same.
The current version of the logo was introduced in 2017 and pays tribute to both Jerry West and longtime NBA Commissioner David Stern. The white space in the center of the logo now forms the shape of a shield, which is meant to represent “the unifying aspect of sports and competition.” The 24 stars around the edge of the shield represent each of the league’s 30 teams (not including expansion teams), while the three stars above the shield represent the three pillars of Stern’s legacy: global expansion, social responsibility, and innovation.
The NBA’s second logo
In 1969, after a few years of using a rather generic-looking basketball as its primary logo, the National Basketball Association decided to freshen up its look. They turned to Alan Siegel of the Siegel+Gale branding agency, who had previously designed logos for the National Football League and Major League Baseball, among others.
After considering a number of different designs, Siegel+Gale settled on a simple yet powerful image: a red, white, and blue silhouette of Jerry West, one of the NBA’s most popular players at the time. The logo was an instant success, and it remains one of the most recognizable sports logos in the world today.
The Modern NBA Logo
The NBA logo that we see today is a modernized version of the original logo that was created back in 1971. The original logo was designed by Alan Siegel and it featured a blue and red basketball in the middle with the word “NBA” above it. The current logo was designed by the same person and it features a white and red basketball in the middle with the word “NBA” above it.
The current NBA logo
In 1971, the NBA unveiled a new logo that featured a player leaping through the air, presumably en route to a thunderous slam dunk. The player’s silhouette was in white and set against a red, white and blue basketball. The word “NBA” appeared in block lettering above the player. This logo became known as the “NBA dynamite” logo and was used until 1975.
In 1975, the NBA adopted a new logo that featured a red, white and blue basketball inside of a white key. The word “NBA” appeared in red lettering above the basketball. This logo was used until 1986.
In 1986, the NBA adopted a new logo that featured a white silhouette of a player dribbling inside of a shield. The shield was red, white and blue and had stars around the perimeter. The word “NBA” appeared in red lettering above the player silhouette. This logo is still in use today and is known as the “NBA shield” logo.
The evolution of the NBA logo
The NBA logo has undergone several changes since its inception in 1946. The original logo was a simple drawing of a basketball with the letters “NBA” inside. In 1969, the logo was updated to include the silhouette of a player in mid-dunk. The player was later identified as Jerry West, one of the NBA’s all-time greats. In 2017, the logo was updated again to commemorate the NBA’s 75th anniversary. The new logo included minor refinements to the silhouetted player and the addition of “75” below the wordmark.
