Who Is The Player On The Nba Logo?

We all know the NBA logo features a player dribbling a basketball, but do you know who that player is? Here’s a look at the player behind the iconic logo.

Jerry West

Jerry West is an American basketball executive, former player, and coach who currently serves as the president of the Los Angeles Clippers. He played professionally for the Lakers for his entire 14-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). His silhouette from the NBA logo is one of the most recognized figures in American sports.

West’s playing career

Jerry Alan West (born May 28, 1938) is an American former professional basketball player who played his entire 14-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, who picked him in the first round of the 1960 NBA draft with the second overall pick. Playing the small forward position early in his career, West helped take the Lakers to seven NBA Finals, winning four championships.

In 1980, he was named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995 and voted as one of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players ever in 1996. He also received the NCAA’s Silver Anniversary Award in 1984 and was inducted into its Hall of Fame for his outstanding collegiate accomplishments one year later. Throughout his career, West’s main rival was Boston Celtics player Bill Russell; their teams met eight times in the NBA Finals.

West’s coaching career

Jerry West served as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers for three seasons, from 1976 to 1979. In his first season, he led the team to a then-club record 52 wins en route to winning Coach of the Year. His 277 wins as head coach are still the most in franchise history. He remains the only Lakers coach to have been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach. After stepping down as coach, West remained with the Lakers organization in various capacities until he retired in 1994. He was named vice president of basketball operations in 1982, general manager in 1983 and remained in that role until 2000.

In 2000, West became director of player personnel for the Memphis Grizzlies and helped construct a team that would make back-to-back trips to the playoffs for just the second time in franchise history. He stepped down from that position in 2007 but remained with the organization as an advisor until his death in 2020.

Other potential candidates

The player on the NBA logo is Jerry West, however, there are a few other potential candidates. George Gervin, nicknamed “The Iceman”, is one potential candidate. Gervin was a 13-time All-Star and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996. Another potential candidate is Kobe Bryant. Kobe was a 5-time NBA champion and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020.

Oscar Robertson

Oscar Robertson, nicknamed “The Big O”, is an American retired professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and the Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m), 220 lb (100 kg) playmaker was a 12-time All-Star, 11-time member of the All-NBA Team, and one-time winner of the MVP Award in 14 seasons. In 1962, he became the first player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season. His career record for assists per game at 9.5 assists per game was surpassed by Steve Nash during the 2004–05 season when Nash averaged 11.5 assists per game to Robertson’s 9.7 average during that campaign.

Bill Russell

Bill Russell is the most likely candidate for being the player depicted on the NBA logo. He was an extremely successful player, winning several championships with the Boston Celtics. He is also one of only two African American players to be featured on a major sport’s logo, the other being former Houston Oilers running back Earl Campbell.

The current logo

The NBA logo has been through many iterations since its original design in 1946. The most recent logo was unveiled in 2017, and it features the silhouette of Jerry West, one of the greatest players in NBA history. West’s image is intended to represent the league’s past, present, and future.

The player on the current logo

The player on the current logo is Jerry West. He is a retired American basketball player who played his entire professional career for the Los Angeles Lakers. He was chosen as the logo because of his contribution to the team and to the sport.

The designer of the current logo

It’s widely believed that Jerry West, the 14-time NBA All-Star who helped lead the Los Angeles Lakers to nine NBA Championships, is the player featured in the NBA logo. Mr. West was indeed one of the league’s greatest players — he even has a prestigious award named after him, given to the league’s best performer during the regular season — but he is not, in fact, the player depicted in silhouette form on the NBA logo.

The player pictured is none other than Celtics legend and 10-time NBA Champion Bill Russell. In 1969, Alan Siegel of Siegel+Gale was tasked with creating a new logo for the up-and-coming NBA. After considering a number of different designs, Siegel settled on a simple yet elegant silhouette of a player in mid-dunk. The only problem was that he didn’t have any real photos or illustrations to work from. So, he did the next best thing and used a photo of then 39-year-old Bill Russell as his reference point.