50 Fun Facts About NBA Logo

Which player's silhouette is the basis of the NBA's own logo?

The league has never officially confirmed it, which is why his nickname "the Logo" stuck instead.

Who designed the NBA logo in 1969, a year after overseeing the Major League Baseball logo?

It debuted in 1971 and has barely changed since, apart from a typeface tweak in 2017.

Who designed the Boston Celtics' Lucky the Leprechaun logo?

The logo stayed green, white and black until a full-colour makeover for the club's 50th anniversary in 1996-97.

What is the name of the leprechaun on the Celtics logo?

A white shamrock in a green circle has served as the main alternate mark since 1998-99.

The Chicago Bulls' charging red bull logo, adopted in 1966, was created by which graphic designer?

An early-1970s alternate added a cloud reading "Windy City" under the bull's nose.

The Toronto Raptors' original dinosaur logo was inspired by the popularity of which film?

By the end of 1994 the expansion team was already seventh in the league in merchandise sales.

Toronto dropped the idea of reviving the Huskies name because any logo would resemble which team's?

A nationwide contest chose the Raptors name and colours instead.

The Raptors' 2014 primary logo was described by the team as a ball torn by what?

It replaced the cartoon dinosaur that had defined the franchise since 1995.

The Milwaukee Bucks name refers to which Wisconsin state animal?

Fans actually voted for Robins, the state bird, but the judges took the second-place choice.

What is the name of the Bucks' deer mascot?

The word was coined by longtime play-by-play announcer Eddie Doucette and won a naming contest.

What does the Portland Trail Blazers' famous pinwheel logo actually depict?

Founder Harry Glickman's cousin designed it as a graphic of two five-on-five teams facing off.

The Golden State Warriors' "The City" logo depicts what landmark?

The 2010 update showed the bridge's new eastern span; the original 1969-71 version showed a cable car.

The Atlanta Hawks' 1972-95 hawk-head logo is nicknamed after which video game character?

A modernised version returned as a secondary logo in 2014 and became primary a year later.

In the San Antonio Spurs logo, a stylised spur replaces which letter?

The wordmark is set in Eurostile and has been in use since the club moved to San Antonio in 1973.

The Spurs' 1989-2002 logo used which unusual colour set, known as the Fiesta colours?

The uniforms stayed silver and black the whole time.

What kind of animal's head, with a flaming mane, featured on the Detroit Pistons logo from 1996 to 2005?

The teal-era logo was a horsepower pun; the mascot Hooper survived after the theme was dropped.

The 76ers' first logo in 1963 carried 13 stars above the numeral 7 to represent what?

The stars returned when the club revived a modified version of its classic look in 2009.

The Utah Jazz's music-note logo, with a note forming the J, honours which city as the birthplace of jazz?

The franchise kept the name and note after moving from Louisiana to Salt Lake City in 1979.

The Jazz's 1996-2004 purple-mountains logo was designed by which NBA creative director?

He based it on the logo for the 1993 All-Star Game, held in Salt Lake City.

The Houston Rockets' 1972-95 logo, a gold ball with two red trails, was nicknamed after which condiments?

Fans coined the name; the club later went navy and silver, then returned to red in 2003.

What weapon pierces the words "Cleveland Cavaliers" in the team's modern logo?

The very first Cavs logo in 1970 was a swashbuckling cavalier pointing a sword.

The Denver Nuggets' 1980s rainbow-skyline logo is nicknamed after which video game?

The team ditched the rainbow colours for navy, gold and wine in 1993-94.

What was the name of the cartoon prospector on the Nuggets' logo during their final ABA seasons?

When Denver joined the NBA in 1976 it kept the pick-axe on its jerseys.

Stan Fabe, a Tucson printer, designed the Phoenix Suns' first logo for how much?

The Streaking Sun mark that followed has been on the chest, shorts or beltline ever since.

In the Orlando Magic logo, a star replaces which letter of the team name?

Walt Disney World artists sat in on the design meetings, and 5,000 suggestions came in from the public.

The Miami Heat's primary logo is best described as what?

A chrome-treated version starred on the sleeved "Big Logo" uniforms of 2013.

The Pelicans' "Bird-de-Lis" mark combines a pelican, a crescent basketball and what?

The team unveiled the pelican identity, with navy, gold and red, on January 24, 2013.

As of 2025, the Memphis Grizzlies were one of how many NBA teams whose primary logo had no basketball?

The Bulls, Cavaliers, Bucks, Hawks, Trail Blazers, Warriors, Rockets and Spurs were the others.

Who is credited with designing the original Vancouver Grizzlies logo in 1995?

The teal bear was joined by "howling bear", "G-bear" and "ball and claws" alternates over the years.

According to owner Clay Bennett, the Thunder's 2008 logo borrowed elements from which college programmes?

The Sonics name, colours and logo were left behind in Seattle for any future franchise.

Who designed the Knicks' classic 1964 roundball logo?

Before it, the team's logo was a dribbling Father Knickerbocker character.

The Knicks' original 1946-64 logo showed which character dribbling a ball?

Knickerbocker was the nickname for New York's early Dutch settlers.

The Clippers' original logo had three white sails and an orange circle representing what?

The three-sails mark was revived in 2024 by the club's G League team in San Diego.

Which Washington player sat on the committee that chose the Wizards' first logo in 1997?

The new blue, black and bronze matched the owner's other team, the NHL's Capitals.

What is the Wizards' 2015 primary logo, a D.C. landmark on a basketball, nicknamed?

Its red, white and blue revived the colours of the old Bullets.

The Dallas Mavericks replaced which object on their logo with a horse in 2001?

The new midnight blue and silver colours were borrowed from the neighbouring Dallas Cowboys.

The Charlotte Bobcats' 2004 logo was designed not to resemble that of which other Charlotte team?

Designer Chris Weiller had to keep his snarling orange cat clear of the NFL's cat next door.

The original 1988 Charlotte Hornets logo showed a teal and purple hornet doing what?

The colours became so popular that teal spread across sports in the early 1990s.

The Sacramento Kings' logo carries an object atop half a basketball; what is it?

The franchise took the Kings name in Kansas City in 1972 to avoid confusion with baseball's Royals.

The Brooklyn Nets' 2012 identity was defined by which colour scheme?

Minority owner Jay-Z helped drive the marketing behind the move to the Barclays Center.

Which team's logo shows its full name in purple across a gold basketball?

The Laker nickname itself dates from Minneapolis and Minnesota's "Land of 10,000 Lakes".

The Indiana Pacers' logo is built around which letter?

The "P" first appeared on the white uniform in 1970-71.

The Bulls' early-1970s alternate logo added a cloud beneath the bull's nose reading what?

Otherwise the charging red bull's face has barely changed since Dean P. Wessel designed it in 1966.

The Toronto Raptors' original silver colour was named in honour of whom?

The original palette was purple, bright red, black and 'Naismith silver', after the Canadian inventor of basketball.

By the end of 1994, where did the Raptors' popular dinosaur logo rank them in NBA merchandise sales?

The team had not yet played a game; purple was dropped from the scheme for the 2008-09 season.

In 1997-98 the 76ers made black, silver and which other colour their core colours?

Red, white and blue survived only as trim colours in a redesign aimed at a youthful hip-hop audience.

In the 76ers' 1997-98 logo, a single silver star sat inside which character?

A streaking basketball ran below the logo.

Which head designer led the creation of the Timberwolves' original 1989 uniforms?

A planned green alternate jersey was dropped; the same design team reworked the look in 1996 after Kevin Garnett was drafted.

In which year did the Timberwolves unveil a new logo ahead of the Nike-designed uniform era?

The April 11 reveal came with four new uniforms, all reading 'Wolves' and carrying Nike and Fitbit logos.

Which colour joined blue on the Timberwolves' original 1989 uniforms?

Black and grey were added and the blue darkened in the 1996 redesign.