Ranking Every NBA Team’s Logo

I figured this would be a fun, light-hearted list to make, albeit subjective. This ranking will be based primarily on the aesthetic of the logo, but also on its significance as well as its representation of the franchise, city, and team name.

30. Detroit Pistons

Congratulations, Pistons — you have the worst logo in the NBA. From 1996 to 2005, Detroit boasted one of the coolest logos in the league. The horse and flames was a fantastic look, but in 2005 the Pistons opted to return to a boring, overused basketball with font over it. If that wasn’t bad enough, it evolved into what we see right here. Yes, it mirrors Detroit’s logo from the ’80s and ’90s, a time of tremendous success for the franchise, but that doesn’t make it a good logo. What even is it? It’s boring and by far the most underwhelming logo for such a storied franchise like the Detroit Pistons.

29. Phoenix Suns

It’s probably time the Phoenix Suns revamp their logo. The basketball sun aspect of the logo is a staple of the franchise, and it’s a good look, but the rectangle that it’s encompassed by is a mess. The “Suns” font has never seemed to fit, with the logo or the jerseys, for that matter. With some retooling, this could be a solid logo, but as of right now, it’s a hodgepodge of conflicting styles and ideas that simply don’t work together, making for a lackluster logo that, frankly, is a bit of an eyesore — and where is the purple? Bring back the purple, Phoenix, then we’ll talk.

28. Brooklyn Nets

Brooklyn didn’t swing for the fences on this one, that’s pretty clear. Rather, they went for a single — sticking with baseball analogies — and they successfully did just that. Of course, there’s nothing flashy about the Nets logo. It is what it is. Bland. Unlike the Suns’ logo, there’s nothing terribly wrong with it, but there’s also nothing bold or exciting about it either. When your team’s colors are black and white, and your name is the Nets, it’s going to be hard to find an inspiring design. The Brooklyn wordmark being below the crest is a little strange, but all in all, the Nets have a solid logo. The downside is no one is jumping out of their seat for this one.

27. Cleveland Cavaliers

It’s difficult to understand why Cleveland altered their logo heading into the 2017 season. Yes, it was another one of your overused logos with the team’s name superimposed onto a basketball, but the sword cutting through the font made for a good look and an intriguing logo. While the current logo isn’t bad, per se, it looks more like it should be the team’s secondary logo rather than its primary. The new Cavs logo is such an obvious downgrade from their previous one. Again, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. This feels like Cleveland changed the logo just for the sake of change, and that’s never a good idea.

26. Orlando Magic

The Magic are another franchise that should probably look into rebranding. There’s nothing particularly wrong with this logo, but they’ve had it now for over a decade, and it’s never done much to get anyone excited. With a name like Magic, there should be plenty of ideas to work with when constructing a logo, but in this case, they landed on this. It’s about time Orlando headed back to the drawing board to construct a better logo.

25. Los Angeles Clippers

People tend to overreact to the Clippers logo. Is it because the Clippers have historically been one of the worst NBA franchises? Yeah, probably. There’s nothing terrible about this logo, but it doesn’t have anything going for it either. It’s a clean look, but with a name like the Clippers, it’d be nice to see LA work a boat into their logo. I’m sure most people nowadays when they hear the Clippers, think of hair or nail clippers, not the elegant sailing vessel. They could shake that issue very quickly by adding a boat.

24. Houston Rockets

This is a relatively new logo for the Rockets, and it’s definitely a unique one. Houston kept the classic red R, and superimposed it onto a black basketball, and surrounded it with a ring that says Houston Rockets. With a name like Rockets, having a logo that resembles a planet makes total sense. The logo is clever, but there’s a bit too much grey and black. Yes, it does make the red stand out, but it results in a logo that doesn’t look or feel like a Houston Rockets logo.

23. Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder have one of those logos that you can’t quite tell what it is, but it doesn’t really matter because it looks good. The colors are a surprisingly great combination and the crest design, along with the font and lines of color, fit the Thunder moniker. While a storm cloud or a lightning bolt would’ve been a far more compelling design, we can settle with this.

22. Sacramento Kings

The Kings have a very creative logo. It’s a basketball that says Sacramento Kings at first glance; at second glance, the top of the logo is a crown, as in ‘Kings.” However, after another look, the crown itself starts to resemble…a skyline? Nevertheless, it’s a fun and unique design. The only big gripe about it has to be the gray at the bottom of the logo. The Kings’ colors are purple, and sometimes the team uses gray on their jerseys, but in this case, the gray doesn’t look quite right. Sacramento should either replace that gray with purple or find a better color to replace it with.

21. Indiana Pacers

The Pacers really screwed the pooch on this one. Why the Pacers moved on from their old logo, the world may never know. This is the first of the revolution of new ‘circle with our old logo inside of it’ logos — and the Pacers have, by far, the worst one. Indiana took a perfectly fine — excellent, actually — logo and butchered it. The original P with “Pacers” below it was fine just the way it was. The Pacers design team took a logo that was probably top ten and reduced it to the 20s. The bottom line is this just doesn’t look right. They’re going to change it back at some point. Right?

20. Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks logo is solid — it’s just a bit too busy. They’re trying to do too much at once. There’s a crest, a circle, and different fonts all going on at the same time. You know what, this logo might benefit from adopting the new circle format that many other teams have in the past few years. Keep the Pegasus, obviously, and surround it with text that says Dallas Mavericks. Voila! It’s fixed! There’s no need for the crest or the awkward font. If simplified, this one could rise significantly.

19. Denver Nuggets

This is another logo that recently debuted. It’s a sleek, simple design, but so far from what we are accustomed to from the Nuggets with the mountain logo. The pickaxes, mountain top, and basketball make for an excellent core of the logo. The surrounding colors also complement each other quite nicely. Overall, it’s a refreshing new look for Denver, but nothing to write home about.

18. San Antonio Spurs

Despite minor tweaks in 2017, you know exactly what you’re getting with the Spurs logo. Following the 2016 season, the team logo transitioned to more of an open look, no longer enclosed in that gray and black background. Using the ‘U” as a spur has always been a clever design that makes for a simple, yet memorable logo. After getting a taste of fiesta once again with San Antonio’s city jerseys last year, maybe it’s time to bring back the fiesta theme full-time. All it would take is a small color change. Going from bland black, gray, and white, to a vibrant teal, pink, and orange could be an exciting change for the start of the Spurs’ new youth movement heading into a rebuild.

17. Portland Trail Blazers

The Trail Blazers recently adjusted their logo, removing a black rectangle similar to that of the current Suns’ logo. That was certainly a step in the right direction. Now, we’re left with a fairly simple logo. The red and white logo has become a staple of the franchise, yet many don’t know the meaning behind it. Apparently the five red and white represent the ten players on the basketball court. It’s an interesting fact, but the logo also is rather neat looking. As far as the wordmark is concerned, it could be stronger, but overall, the Trail Blazers have a solid logo, putting it near the middle of the pack.

16. New York Knicks

Before all the Knicks fans freak out, let’s all admit the team doesn’t have the greatest logo. It’s fine, but nothing revolutionary. The blue and orange is an excellent color combination, but the block style font is severely outdated. This logo for sure places higher due to its historical significance. It’s possible the logo would look better if the gray was substituted with white; however, it’ll take a complete redesign for the Knicks to rank much higher than this — and it just might be time for a redesign.

15. Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies have a history of great logos. It’s your typical sports team logo — a menacing-looking animal and the team’s wordmark. The wordmark leaves a bit to be desired, but as far as the grizzly bear is concerned, the logo is exactly what you would want. The shadow on the right side of the bear’s face is a fantastic effect that helps this logo stand out compared to your run-of-the-mill animal logo. Overall, the Grizzlies logo could use some tweaking, but fans will mostly just remember the cool-looking bear staring them down. It’s a solid logo, and that’s why it lands squarely in the middle of the ranking.

14. Utah Jazz

Sure, there’s nothing too flashy about the Jazz’s logo, but it’s a great play on the team name and has a classy, memorable look to it. The ‘J’ in the shape of a musical note is obviously the key aspect of the logo. Most fans will instantly recognize that famous music note that takes the form of a ‘J.’ Outside of the ‘J,’ the logo doesn’t have a ton going for it, but there are certainly no missteps taken. Perhaps reverting to Utah’s famed purple and powder blue color scheme would liven this logo up a tad. With this recent rendition, Utah moved away from including mountains in their logo — add the mountains back. After all, it is Utah.

13. Atlanta Hawks

Here’s where we start to see some of the truly great NBA team logos start to appear. We’re about to witness several of the new “circle” team logos. Over the last five or so years, many teams transitioned from their traditional logo to a circular logo that usually, but not always, includes the previous logo, along with the team’s name and city. It’s efficient and practical, considering that it is the shape of a basketball. However, once you start to see about ten of them, the novelty wears off. The Hawks went from your classic, intimidating bird logo, to this — a cleaner, classier style. The logo gives off a Pac-Man vibe, which is a fun look. Maybe throw in another color like yellow to spice it up, but other than that, there’s nothing negative to say about the Hawks logo.

12. Toronto Raptors

Just last season the Raptors updated their logo. There were very minimal changes, however, the most notable was the previous gray basketball being updated to the red we currently see. The change makes sense — gray isn’t even part of their color scheme. The red helps the ball and raptor claw marks pop more than they previously did. It’s a good logo, but Toronto will always have points deducted for retiring the iconic Raptor logo. Bring back the Raptor logo and Toronto is easily top five on this list.

11. Philadelphia 76ers

Another circle logo, but there are no complaints with this one. This 76ers logo has everything you’d want from it — a red, white, and blue color scheme and stars, many, many stars. The 76ers logo lends itself nicely to a circular logo. You can never go wrong with a blue and white color combination, and the subtle use of the red “7” results in a visually pleasing logo that is also successful in representing its franchise as well as its city of Philadelphia.

10. Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers receive bonus points for the historical significance of the team’s logo, as well as just how marketable it is. If we’re being honest with ourselves, the logo itself isn’t anything particularly special — certainly not bad, but not game-changing either. The logo is iconic though, what can we say? The purple and gold combination has always been elite, and the streaks of purple on the “Lakers” wordmark gives the logo a distinct and memorable touch. You know exactly what team you’re looking at when you see this logo; it’s a solid one, but there’s no doubt this logo gets a significant boost due to how tremendously iconic it is.

9. Washington Wizards

Stars and stripes — you’d expect nothing less from a team located in our nation’s capital. There are so many great things about this logo. For starters, you have your iconic red, white, and blue stripes along with a few stars added for good measure. The greatest aspect of this logo, however, has to be the basketball in the center. At first glance, you may only see a red, white, and blue basketball, but after further inspection, you’ll see it forms a star, and right below appears the Washington Monument. The Wizards logo is a good-looking, clever, and intricate logo that symbolizes everything it is to be a team located in the heart of the USA’s capital.

8. Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks redesigned their logo back in 2015, and right after selecting Giannis 15th overall in the 2013 NBA draft, it’s one of the best decisions the team ever made. First, the colors of the logo are perfect. The green gives off a woodsy feel which makes sense for the state of Wisconsin, and forests are the natural habitat of deers. The cream color may seem odd at first, but it complements the dark green nicely and Cream City is one of Milwaukee’s nicknames — even appearing on the team’s 2019–20 season City Edition uniform. The deer itself is extremely nuanced and innovative. The antlers of the deer in the logo form a basketball-like shape, and the neck of the deer forms an ‘M’ for Milwaukee. The Bucks have one of the cooler-looking NBA logos — not only is it great aesthetically, it’s also quite detailed, which is why it lands just inside the top ten.

7. Miami Heat

The Heat have an excellent logo. There’s something so distinct and intriguing about it; how could a fireball, literally, plunging into a hoop not be totally awesome? Because of this, the Heat have one of the most recognizable logos in the entire sporting industry. Even the “Miami Heat” wordmark is fantastic. The ‘T’ in Heat has a small flame on it, and, although it may be subtle, it’s a great finishing touch. While the fireball and wordmark are top-notch, Miami’s logo leaves a bit to be desired. Everything in the logo is good, but it does feel like something minor is missing.

6. Charlotte Hornets

There isn’t anything specific about the Hornets logo that stands out, however, as a whole, it’s one of the best. It’s your classic ‘angry animal’ logo but executed perfectly. It delivers on every level; the word mark and logo are connected, so it doesn’t make for an awkward layout like some other logos, which is always a plus. The colors aren’t eye-popping, but they blend together incredibly well. It’s difficult to pinpoint a single reason Charlotte has such a great logo — it may not be revolutionary, but it also has little to no mistakes.

5. Golden State Warriors

The Warriors refined their logo back in 2019, and while it has taken some time to get used to, it’s just as good, if not better than their previous one. With a name like the “Golden State” Warriors — instead of the more obvious, “San Francisco” — it makes complete sense to feature the Golden Gate Bridge in the logo. The new design has a more realistic image of the bridge that is also more true to the official design of the bridge. The Warriors logo is one of the very few that doesn’t feature a basketball, making for one of the most unique logos in the league. The colors, the bridge, the style, everything, make for a flawless logo design.

4. Minnesota Timberwolves

The circular logo redesign revolution that hit the NBA about six years ago didn’t suit every team’s logo; however, without a doubt, the best was the Timberwolves’. There are so many things to like about this logo: The howling wolf, the subtle hint of neon green, the North Star. It’s sleek, it’s modern, it’s badass — everything you’d want from a sports team logo. The Timberwolves deserve this with how disappointing their team has been for the last decade or so.

3. New Orleans Pelicans

The Pelicans logo feels, looks, and says, “New Orleans.” The team nailed the design of this logo when considering the franchise’s location. It may seem easy to discount the Pelicans logo at first because of its dull colors, but once you give it an honest shot, you’ll see just how wonderful it is. It gives off that French Quarter style that New Orleans is famous for. If the Pelicans adopted the Mardi Gras theme full-time, switching the colors of the logo to purple, green, and yellow, this logo would likely be number one.

2. Chicago Bulls

What’s left to say about the Bulls logo? It’s iconic, simple as that. But it doesn’t gain a top-three spot by default. It earns it. The Bulls logo is almost certainly what spawned the creation of hundreds of “angry animal” sports team logos. And Chicago does it the best. The Bull is one of the most recognizable logos — and not just in sports — of all time. Did Jordan help facilitate that, yeah, probably, but the logo would still be right up there, even without him. For that reason, the Bulls fall just short of the top selection.

1. Boston Celtics

The Celtics, of course. Where do we begin? The Celtics logo has been around forever. While it has gone through its share of renditions, it has always stayed true to the design we know and love today. Lucky the Leprechaun is as recognizable as it gets. His bowler hat, pipe, cane, and shamrock vest and bow tie have become a staple of the Celtics franchise. I suppose this is the original NBA “circle logo,” and it makes sense that so many teams attempted to replicate it. However, none did it quite as well as Boston.