When Good Logos Go Bad
A logo is supposed to define a team and represent its best qualities. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like most NBA franchises ever received that memo. Why go with any semblance of creativity when you can opt for generic and unoriginal? The better question might be, why fix it when it ain’t broke? If the throwback fad has taught us anything, it’s that old-school jerseys rocked…but not always. Here’s a look back at the worst logo decisions in league history.
Detroit Pistons (1996-2001): For some inexplicable reason, the Pistons ditched the classic blue uniforms and went with a hideous teal color scheme, changing the original logo into what appears to be red basketball giving birth to a flaming horse head. Apparently, it was supposed to represent “horsepower,” to keep with the whole “pistons” car theme. Ugh…a carburetor would’ve been better . Not coincidentally, once the team went back to an “updated” version of the original blue-and-red basketball in 2001, they soon won a title…probably because the players were no longer embarrassed to step out of the locker room.
Washington Wizards (1997-): Okay, so Bullets wasn’t a great name for a team playing in one of the most crime-infested cities in the country…but the Wizards? That’s the best they could do? Nothings screams intimidation like a children’s cartoon character and “I love gooooooold” alternate jerseys. The other names in the mix were apparently the Dragons, Express, Cauliflower, Stallions, and Sea Dogs — I only made up one of those. By the way, if Washington had chosen ‘Stallions,’ I would’ve been a fan for life, just for the “Rocky” connotations. I guess what I’m trying to say, is that if I can change, and you can change, then all terrible logos and team names can change!
Toronto Raptors: Toronto has kept the same logo since entering the NB
A in 1995, and it’s a damn shame. I guess the creators were trying to capitalize on the success of “Jurassic Park,” since I can’t think of any other connection between Canada and dinosaurs (well, aside from Oliver Miller). Not to mention, the creepy red raptor is wearing a jersey with a capital ‘R’ on the front, just in case you forget which team you were rooting for, and sneakers that thoughtfully leave enough room for two claws to stick out in the front. In fairness, I always thought this alternate logo was kinda cool, but of course, that hasn’t been around since 1998.
Denver Nuggets (1982-1993): It’s supposed to be the Denver skyline across a colorful pattern, but it looks more like a couple of grazing camels to me. Are those supposed to be Lego bricks? Stacks of Tetris blocks? The makers were either on a crazy acid trip or…no, there’s no other possible explanation.
Atlanta Hawks (1995-): I don’t consider the new “bluer” Hawk to be any different than the old one, and it loses extra points for reminding me of those awful “they turned blue!” Coors commercials. Anyways, the old-school logo is probably the most incredible and absurd logo in all of sports. I didn’t even realize it was a hawk outlined by a red circle until a few years ago. Did the makers realize that it looks like Pac-Man eating a pac-dot, or was that done on purpose? Either way, it’s infinitely more creative that some angry bird clutching a child-drawn basketball in its claws.
Oklahoma City Thunder: If the only other choices for the team name were Marshalls, Energy, Wind, Baron, or Bison, I would’ve just gone with the latter and used a picture of (the late)? Mr. Dele as the logo…but alas. To make matters worse, the Thunder decided that their logo needs to look like the illegitimate bastard child of the New Jersey Nets and New York Liberty. What the hell does it have to do with thunder? Shouldn’t there be a lightning bolt in there somewhere? Or maybe a Storm, just to stick to Seattle even more?
Golden State Warriors (1997-): The only good thing stemming from the OKC Thunder was supposed to be the demise of the Warriors “Thunder” mascot and logo. What kind of franchise puts their spandex-covered mascot in the logo anyway? But instead of going back to the classic city logo from the Run-TMC days, the Warriors have changed just about nothing. Okay, so they use the alternate logo a little more now…which still has a freaking thunderbolt going through a capital ‘W.’ How does this make sense?
Cleveland Cavaliers (1995-2003): Let your imagination go wild, Cleveland! I’m pretty sure this logo was created using only Clip Art images and a Microsoft Works textbox. It’s a basketball going through a net in black box, with a streaking blue line that looks like someone screwed up with a highlighter. And just in case the capital CAVS font wasn’t awkward enough, the thin black lines going through the center give it that special touch. Cleveland wore these uniforms until 2003 — think about that for a second.
Milwaukee Bucks: I don’t think Milwaukee has ever gotten it quite right. The original logo looks like a female reindeer dressed in an ugly Christmas sweater, but at least it has that ‘classic’ look. The new logo, which was introduced in 1993, isn’t all bad, except for one thing — those creepy purple eyes! But of course, Milwaukee couldn’t live without the Christmas theme for long, so they introduced a green and red color scheme in 2006, but thankfully changed the deer’s eye color….just don’t bring back those alternate ‘roadkill‘ jerseys, please.
Sacramento Kings (1986-1994): I guess it’s supposed to be some kind of badge, or maybe the bottom of a blue basketball with a red crown on top of it. It’s amazing that the franchise used the exact same horrid logo for almost 25 years, even back when the team was known as the Cincinnati Royals. Although I still don’t understand where the light-blue jerseys with the player names written underneath the numbers came from, since that was never even one of the team’s primary colors. Let’s just pray we’ll never see that monstrosity again.
Dishonorable Mention:
*Houston Rockets: Anything is better than the cartoon spaceman/shark or the bleeding R.
*Miami Heat: Ooh, it’s a burning ball going through a hoop! Um…didn’t the Phoenix Suns kinda have that idea back in the ’60’s?
*This Timberwolves jersey, which thankfully turned out to be some kind of prototype. The new logo isn’t all that bad, though I still wish they’d go back to the original Wolf from the NBA Jam days.
*Every team that “tweaks” its logo and uniform every few seasons just to sell more merchandise.
