Designing Success in the NBA
Before you read this, I want to first send my condolences to all the fans of the Philadelphia region and acknowledge that your city has it harder than any other now that LeBron has brought a ring to The Land. Now that is over with, Philly fans I might head to the next article if I were you. Since 2015, six NBA teams have updated their team logo after having a losing record the previous season. The following year five of those teams reached the playoffs. Those teams include, the Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers, Washington Wizards, Milwaukee Bucks, and the Toronto Raptors. And the one team that missed the playoffs? Sorry Sixers.
But what does changing a logo have to do with success you might ask. Well lets look at the facts. The Milwaukee Bucks in 2014 won 15 games, in 2015 after updating their logo, they won 41 and reached the playoffs. The Atlanta Hawks won 38 games in 2014, and in 2015 they won their division with 60 games. So it is interesting to compare the success that teams gained after they redesigned their look. Could it just be a coincidence? Sure. Is it? I don’t think so. You see, these teams were rather uninteresting and could be considered a lower tier in the rankings of NBA fanbases. After revamping their logo, these teams essentially showed their fans and the NBA that they were tired of being considered a low-level franchise. Putting the effort into changing the look of a brand can have significant effects on the way a team or company performs. It can mean the difference between a losing season and the playoffs. The logo is the face of a franchise and while the star player of the team could be argued to be more important, you have to think about all of the merchandize that a team sells that has their logo printed on it. The Oakland Raiders were one of the most popular teams in the 1980s and although the were wining Super Bowls, a lot of their success could be attribute to the popularity that their iconic logo created. Professional sports logos are more than just support for a team, they are brand that refers to a lifestyle.
Making a change in a logo can have a huge impact on a team. With more people buying merchandize and clothing with the new logo on it, they are buying into this theory that their team is making strides at becoming relevant in the world of sports. In the professional sports today, success is based on the amount of support a franchise gets from its fans. Home-field advantage is the real deal. The Golden State Warriors have always had loyal fans even in the dark years of being last in their division in the early 2000s. While the fans supported the team, it took some realization by the team itself that they need to believe themselves that they can be great. A logo change in 2012 and continued support by the fans allowed them to become the best team in regular season history. Now we just need to convince Allen Iverson to come back and help the Sixers support this theory.
