A graphic design history of the NBA

13 min readApr 7, 2019

NBA is a spectacle and within it, visual culture is crucial. Logos in the NBA are the first showcase for a team, and it is common for their eye-catching visuals to attract spectators to a specific team among the thirty in the association. Over the past 70 years, the league has undergone drastic changes; there have been changes in names and/or territory that have led to logo redesigns to keep teams fresh and modern. Graphic design therefore plays an important role in representing a team’s history, city and essence.

NBA team logos are the foundation of a team’s brand identity. The designer’s goal is to design visuals that are relevant and resonate with the fans. A logo therefore functions as a piece of fan-culture and a way to generate enthusiasm and emotion for a team.

Generally the main goal, when creating an NBA logo, is to respect the past and represent the future. The designer must paying tribute to the historical past, and generating excitement for the future.

Neither the players nor the spectators are really aware of the presence of heraldry in sport and more specifically in the NBA. Let’s take the example of the New Orleans Pelicans. The three colors of the logos are also present on the Louisiana flag. The blue, a symbol of freedom, represents the State of Louisiana; red evokes brotherhood; gold gives a majestic look and marks a connection with the “golden” Saints, the city’s NFL team. The logo includes three historical symbols: the pelican, the fleur-de-lys and the crescent moon reflected in the balloon. The pelican, a historical symbol of the city and represented on the Louisiana flag, symbolizes the determination not only to survive, but to prosper. Even when the odds are against the city and region, it has demonstrated on several occasions: for example, Hurricane Katrina. The fleur-de-lis on the city flag is the emblem of royal France and marks the city’s French colonial heritage. This Heritage can be found in architecture and local traditions. French inspiration can also be found in the typography of the logo, which is inspired by street signs in French neighborhoods. Lastly the crescent moon represents New Orleans position next to the Mississsippi River.

The Philadelphia 76ers is another example of a logo with rich references to the city’s history. The name of the franchise, 76ers, refers to the importance of the city during the American colonial era. The Philadelphia 76ers logo has several symbols. There are the thirteen stars in the logo that refer to the former colonial flag of the United States. This refers to the thirteen original colonies. The team’s colors are red, white and blue: the patriotic colors which represents the city’s defining role during the American revolution. The new secondary logo represents Benjamin Franklin, nicknamed the First American, an iconic figure and resident of the city and state of Pennsylvania.

The graphic shape of many NBA logos lead back to coats of arms. Each shape of the historical coat of arms had a meaning and represent or define a people. Our eyes and brains have a natural tendency to mentally simplify and classify what we see from what is familiar to us; logos that take on an easily recognizable shape are more memorable.

In the NBA, the shape of logos is therefore meaningful. For example, the New York Knicks have a triangular shape in their logo which is reminiscent of a superhero’s crest. The round shape of the Toronto Raptors represents a shield, which leads the team to combat. The logos of the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns and Portland Blazers are anchored in a rectangular shape, reminiscent of tournament shields of the Middle Ages. The meaning we give to shapes, consciously or unconsciously, depends to some degree on our culture and personal knowledge. As shown in the logo of the Toronto Raptors, the circle can mean a shield and therefore a symbol of strength or of combat. Comparitively, for the New York Knicks, the circle used in their secondary logo refers to the tokens of the New York subway. These mark different cultural and design cues that are used to represent and define a team’s logo.

NBA teams are represented in their logo by a symbol, usually an intimidating animal (Taurus, grizzly bear, dinosaur, hornet, falcon, wolf…). In some cases, the animal or symbol has a link with the city’s history, such as the New Orleans Hornets, formally the Charlotte Hornets. The hornets refer to the resistance of Charlotte to the British Empire during the American revolution. Charlotte would later become known as the “hornet’s nest”. This is also the case with the Chicago Bulls. Chicago was a platform for the exchange of beef produced in the south of the country and destined for urban areas on the Atlantic coast. The Milwaukee Bucks, with an abundance of fallow deer in the state of Wisconsin, are represented by a deer. For other teams, like the Toronto Raptors, the animal is less meaningful. The name coming from a public vote, and in this case, Raptors referring to the film Jurassic Park.

Other teams prefer to represent their geographical location in their logo. For example, the Denver Nuggets included in the classic “Tetris” logo a representation of the Denver skyline and Colorado summits.

Some teams have chosen to illustrate a cartoon character. Most teams used cartoon characters in their early days before digital technology revolution. The first Denver Nuggets logo is an original example of the use of characters in the NBA logos. The nuggets represented a gold digger, referring to the Pikes Peak gold rush of the 1850–1860s. The original Milwaukee Bucks logo represents a caricatured of a cartoonized deer. This logo will last for almost 30 years.

By analyzing some logos, we can see some interesting hidden symbols. We can see on the Dallas Mavericks logo an M on the top of the horse, probably for Mavericks, but also maybe for Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the team. The Portland Trailblazers’s logo consists of five silver and five red stripes, which is an allegory of basketball: five players competing against five others. Also, if you flip the Chicago Bulls logo, you’ll see a robot or an alien reading a book.

20 of the 30 NBA teams have a basketball in their logo. This use of the ball helps to distinguish the different logos of the city’s sports teams, who often have the same colors and can therefore be confusing. Basketball is also a sport where the player’s relationship with the ball is very important, as it even becomes a precious object for basketball players, as Michael Jordan says: “Basketball is a way of life. Basketball is a relationship between you and the ball.”

The most common colors in NBA logos are blue and red. These are the patriotic colors, used by the Washington Wizards, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Detroit Pistons… We notice that they are mainly the first teams to have formed the NBA. It can be seen throughout history that most teams are struggling to protect a color code that allows people to link colors to a team. For example, ask any American what he associates the yellow and purple colors with, he will answer you without hesitation the Los Angeles Lakers.

In 1990, the arrival of the Mac and digital technology marked a major change in the design of NBA logos. Indeed, before they were sober and wise, often drawn by hand. From that date, everything will be digitized, taking advantage of modern technology. Visual effects such as 3D, shadows, color gradients have become easy to achieve. This period was also marked by the arrival of a new NBA league commissioner, David Stern, who would remain at the helm for more than 20 years. He will employ creative directors to control the brand’s image and redesign the logos of a lot of teams. This period also corresponds to the globalization of the NBA, with the impact of Michael Jordan and the “Dream Team”, the United States team that made its mark on the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games.
Teams have gone off the traditional paths and today we can see some flashbacks. Today, NBA logos seem to be a trend towards graphic simplicity, but which leads to a very boring standardization.

A logo redesign can also result in a fashion trend. Indeed, as explained above, in the 1990s, with the arrival of digital technology, most teams renewed their identities. The Golden State Warriors are an interesting case study.

We can see how the team went from the iconic Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, to a “warrior/superhero/blue alien” character, and then back to a logo representing the Bay Bridge. The Warriors were based in the San Francisco Bay area since 1962 and moved to Oakland after 9 seasons. The team kept the yellow and blue and the circular mark of the historical logo, and used the new Bay bridge in its logo, to unite the original Warriors house with the current team headquarters. The logo is thus a reminder in its graphic representation of the team’s first logo.

The Detroit Pistons have undergone the same evolution. The franchise was born in Indiana, Fort Wayne. It was there that its founder Fred Zellner founded a piston manufacturing company. When they moved to Detroit in 1957, the team decided to keep the name because it’s so much in line with the city’s history: Detroit, nicknamed Motor City, is the country’s automotive capital, with GM, Ford and Chrysler all having their headquarters in the city.

The first logo represented a drawing of a joyful robot composed of pistons. The team decided to drop this design and go for a more standard look in the 1960s. This logo was replaced in 1987 by a flamboyant horse in a turquoise blue sky. This is the era of flashy logos in the NBA. In 2005, they decided to forget the “equestrian” logo and replace it with a logo reminding the team’s history. In 2017, the Pistons further simplify their logo, with a very similar design to 1979’s one…

Originally created in 1988 as an NBA expansion team, the Charlotte Hornets became one of the most popular and exciting team in the league in the 1990s, not because of their results, but because of an attractive logo and a color, the turquoise. Alexander Julian, fashion designer, known for incorporating bright colors into high-end men’s clothing, “invented” the turquoise color, with the creation of the identity and uniforms of all Charlotte Hornets. Originally from North Carolina, he influenced a generation of sports logos. We can note the San Jose Sharks in NHL, the Florida Marlins in MLB or the Jacksonville Jaguars in NFL who used the same color in their logo later.

The uniforms and the color were a success. This become a national sales phenomenon despite being affiliated with a team that has never gone beyond the second round of the playoffs during their fifteen seasons. In 1995, after only seven seasons in the franchise’s existence, more Hornets jerseys were sold than any other NBA team. Turquoise had become the hottest color in Charlotte.

“When it came out, I felt like I had dropped a teal bomb on Charlotte,” Julian said. “There was a new housing development that changed its name to ‘Teal Acres.’ The Park Hotel, which was the best hotel in town, changed its logo to teal. The towels were embroidered in teal. I felt a little like Doctor Frankenstein. I had created a monster. It took off like crazy.”

A NBA logo must have 4 essential qualities: simplicity, readability, memorization, and timelessness. The perfect example of a very successful NBA logo is the Chicago Bulls, designed in 1966 by Dean P. Wessel. As an anecdote, this American designer will only receive match tickets as a reward for this logo, which will become an icon over the years. This logo is the only one in the NBA that has never been redesigned.

The creative process of the New York Knicks logo throughout history is an interesting case with its rich iconography. This logo was Thomas O’Grady’s first major project when he was hired by the NBA in 1990 as a Creative Director. He worked with Michael Doret, who was a NY native and a Knicks fan.

The Doret’s sketches represent a real treasure trove of “pseudo-retro” and avant-garde logos.

Doret’s mission was to create a new logo that captures the essence of New York, with a symbol of New York City. The Statue of Liberty was an option, but it was déjà vu. Madison Square Garden was an other option, but The Empire State Building was the best choice. The result is a 3-D art deco, with a triangular shape in the background who gives a super-hero feeling. The inspiration came from Superman, Batman and Gotham City. It’s energetic. It’s nostalgic. And the most important thing, it’s New York. Then the NBA decided that obtaining rights to a New York landmark could be problematic. So they asked Doret to remove the Empire State Building, although it was the fundamental link to the city. Thus, the Knicks adopted the logo without any real New York symbol.

The “NYK Subway Token” that the Knicks have used as a secondary logo since 1995 is also Doret’s work. The design was inspired by the old tokens of the New York metro.

“Being a New Yorker and growing up riding the subways, I always had that image of the subway token with the Y cut out of it somewhere in the back of my head. I just saw an opportunity to somehow use that iconic NY image for an iconic NY team.”

In 2015, the Milwaukee Bucks were looking to generate some excitement as they introduced a new logo and identity designed by NY-based Doubleday & Cartwright. The NBA franchise that was formed in 1968 has a remarkable visual history: the famous MECCA floor design by Robert Indiana in the 1970s, and the Bucks jersey with a script font worn by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the 1970s which remain among the most classic uniforms in the NBA. But more recently, the Bucks’ identity had become “confused” along the way, with a red and green game that evoked more Christmas than domination on the court.

The MECCA arena, by pop artist Robert Indiana — 1977

The new identity of the Milwaukee Bucks was developed by Doubleday & Cartwright, who turned to the history of the Bucks and the city. The team has adopted a new color palette. The green represents the dense forests of Wisconsin. The cream, a color with roots in the region’s history: Milwaukee is known as the Cream City, because of the pale yellow bricks used in the city’s older buildings. Wisconsin is also known as “America’s Dairyland”, one of the nation’s leading milk producers. Finally, the blue is a nod to the importance of the Great Lakes in the region.

Most of the NBA animal mascots are predators, while a deer is viewed more as prey. The designers had to be careful not to render a deer’s head as a hunter’s trophy. The final result is very successful: a very stylized deer head, with the inner antlers that suggest the shape of a basketball and the deer’s chest that looks like an M.

When the logo is historical and symbolic of the city, it brings together generations of fans. This study was done to remind us that we sometimes like the NBA not only for basketball. Logos, jerseys, colors can be as attractive as a star.

This project is a series of NBA gameday posters. I played with shapes, colors, to create minimalist and smart illustrations. Architecture, logos, historical elements, etc…. have allowed me to create posters that are entirely loyal (I hope) to each community in the league.