Monday, October 19, 2015

Ranking All 30 NBA Logos

The NBA season is almost here and we have an opportunity to look at the NBA logos. I've been wanting to do this for some time, so here it is. Ranking the logos.

Now, this is all me and what I like. So here we go.

30-LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS

This is awful.  Their longtime one was bad too, but at least I get it.  This is just bad.  Looks like the NBA Live logo from the 1990s and 2000s.  Change it back.  Hell, even go back to the San Diego Clippers logo.  By the way, I count one basketball logo.  Let's see how many we'll find.


29-OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER

A bad, uninspired look.  Nothing on this makes me think of Oklahoma City or Thunder.  It looks like the old Bobcats and Nets logos mated.  Sure, it probably was a rush job when the Sonics moved to OKC, but you've had time to change it.  Please do.  Two basketball logos.
28-CLEVELAND CAVALIERS

LeBron deserves better.  In fact, the Cavs went to this logo when they drafted LeBron in 2003.  Before that was the splash and the boring V-net logo.  While the uniforms were awful, I rather the splash era came back.  The Cavs just can't get this right.  Three basketball logos and one full name logo.



27-DETROIT PISTONS

Two things: I like them making an old logo more modern.  However, there is absolutely nothing about this logo that is interesting.  Nothing.  At least the horsey is gone.  Hey, four for four on basketball logos and a second full name.  On we go!







26-WASHINGTON WIZARDS

The Wiz have had an identity crisis.  Since changing their name from the Bullets, the team abandoned the colors and had the wizard guy and then abandoned that and went back to the past.  First they used the colors on the wizard and now the magic man is gone.  Now they are featuring the DC area which they've also missed on.  Fifth basketball ... though hidden ... and a third full name.


25-ORLANDO MAGIC

One of those logos that isn't as good as the original.  Yeah, the modern look is okay (mainly the font used) but the old one wasn't bad.  I guess I'm penalizing them for not improving the original.  Sixth basketball and a fourth full name.




24-UTAH JAZZ

A case when a great logo and a bad logo are forced together.  I loved the Jazz note logo of yesteryear.  I hated the one that replaced it, the mountainy baby blue and purple thing.  So instead of going back to the original (which they briefly did), they put the color scheme of the note with the mountain.  Ugh.  Seven basketballs and a fifth full name.


23-DENVER NUGGETS

Two straight logos with mountains.  This logo isn't awful, but it certainly isn't very good.  Could the "t" at least be a pick axe?  It is a wash from the same logo with the red and darker blue look of the 1990s, but it isn't the old jerseys and logo from the 80s.  Sure, that looked like a Denver-set game of Tetris, but the jersey's were nice.  Hey!  No basketball in this logo, but the sixth full name.


22-SACRAMENTO KINGS

Well, it isn't bad but it isn't great either.  I think what hurts these Kings is that the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL has done it better with the same colors.  This franchise has had some interesting logos in the past (KC, Cincinnati, Rochester), but this isn't one.  The basketball shows back up for the eighth time and the full name for the seventh.


21-NEW YORK KNICKS

Another modern take on an old logo.  It works for me.  The raised look has the feel of walking the streets of Manhattan and all those skyscrapers towering over you.  And that's it.  It is simple but may it be too simple?  Nine basketballs and eight full names.




20-NEW ORLEANS PELICANS

Okay, this is a complete push.  The entire pelican theme baffles me.  However, this logo is well done and has so much to look at.  The font is great, the fleur-de-lis is present, that pelican is mean looking and it looks ... New Orleans-y.  It also is one of the few logos where the city name is larger than the team's.  Basketballs-10, full name-9.


19-LOS ANGELES LAKERS

Here's an argument.  What's cool about a logo?  What it looks like on its own or when it makes you feel of iconic, historic glamour franchises?  The Lakers logo is as plain as they come ... like the Knicks.  Just a basketball with the name on it.  But the streaks on the name go great with the franchise's nature of Hall Of Fame play and all those title.  That counts a bit.  11 rocks, 10 full names.


18-HOUSTON ROCKETS

The Rockets have had some poor logos.  That thing from their championship years was too Pistons-y.  But it was miles and miles better than that rocket orbiting a basketball.  That was bad and a shame we had to see Hakeem wearing those pajamas.  These are more simpler and cooler.  Sure, it matches up with Yao Ming's arrival in Houston and it kind of looks like the Chinese team's look, but it still looks nice even on James Harden.  HEY NO BALL!  But an 11th full name.


17-BROOKLYN NETS

Again, two ways to look at it.  It has that simple BK style or it is just lazy.  I like the font and the colors, but what if we had a graffiti version instead?  I don't know.  This was the franchise that brought us tie-dye unis and this logo.  Anything is better than either the shield logo or that old New York Islanders style logo.  12 basketballs and full names.


16-TORONTO RAPTORS

One of the brand spanking new ones on the chart.  I like the simple look of the raptor claws ripping the basketball.  Still, I'll miss that dinosaur.  13 basketballs and 13 full names.





15-PHOENIX SUNS

The Suns have been tweaking with this logo, but it is virtually the same one since the Charles Barkley years.  They've added black to it and made the SUNS type where it looks the same upside down, but it is still a neat logo.  Basketballs and full names are tied at 14.




14-DALLAS MAVERICKS

I like the horse ... and that's about it.  It looks like the old Timberwolves logo too much and I'm not a fan of the shield (why are their so many shields on NBA logos?).  Still, it's better than the original logo ... though I wouldn't mind seeing that cowboy hat back.  15 full names and basketballs.



13-SAN ANTONIO SPURS

One of the better logos, albeit plain.  I like the spur as the U, though I like the southwestern flair of the old logo much more.  Sure, it may have been Taco Bell-ish, but it was different.  This one gets points deducted for not popping.  For the first time, full names pass basketballs, 16 to 15.



12-MIAMI HEAT

I have always liked the Heat's logo.  While a simple theme, it is both effective and stylish.  I mean, what can you do with the name "heat"?  A fiery basketball going through a halo hoop is what.  Only the coloring has changed over the years.  Full names still lead, 17 to 16.



11-MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES

I just like the look of this one.  The wolf is pretty mean and the shading is nice.  Oh, and there is timber as well.  Kudos for fitting the entire 21 letter name on there as well.  The wolf is much better than the aforementioned nice guy from the franchise's birth.  18 full names and ... no basketball ... so that stays at 16.




10-GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

Very retro and stylish for a team that is rather stylish in a stylish corner of the country.  It works better than the old logo of the 1980s and certainly better than that lightning bolt man from the 2000s that they abandoned.  Full names-19, basketballs-16




9-INDIANA PACERS

It may be simple, but it just works.  They haven't changed hardly at all in their history (save for dumping the white guy hand, darkening the blue and adding the stripes).  The streak of full names is over (19) but we've added a 17th basketball.




8-MILWAUKEE BUCKS

Now, you may notice I like old logos, but here is a new one I love.  The buck is meaner, there is cryptic clues all over this thing and that is one hell of a set of antlers.  Gone is that logo from the 90s and 2000s.  Okay, the older logo of the buck spinning the ball is still my favorite.  Sorry.  Full names-20 and basketballs-18.  I'm not counting the one you could make from the antlers.
7-ATLANTA HAWKS

Old meets new.  The old hawk is back, with a little change and that flying one is away.  Like Toronto, the Hawks went with the circular enclosure.  I guess this is the new way.  The 21st full name ... plus the addition of "Basketball Club" ... and still 18 basketballs.



6-BOSTON CELTICS

Here is a classic that still works even if the Celtics sucked.  The man has a lot going on with the gold vest and the clovers and the derby hat and the shillelagh.  You know and even if you hate the team, you respect the logo.  22 full names, 19 hoops.




5-PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

Another mixture of new and old ... but this is mostly old.  I love this style over the Allen Iverson era look.  While I've trashed the simple in the past, it just makes sense here.  Thanks, Philly, for going back for this one.  23 full names, 20 basketballs.



4-PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS

Maybe it isn't iconic, but it is unique.  The pinwheel logo holds up no matter the era.  Sure, the one from the 70s has been updated, the spirit remains the same, baby.  No basketballs, no name here.




3-MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES

As bad as the Vancouver Grizzlies logo was, this is darn near perfect.  The cobalt blue and the piercing gold eyes.  The angry, but not attacking bear.  Even the two fonts for the name.  Great.  24 full names, 20 basketballs




2-CHICAGO BULLS

The Bulls logo just doesn't change.  And it never should.  The blood stained horns to the pissed off bull to the perfectly placed name above the head.


1-CHARLOTTE HORNETS

A newer one wins.  I have always enjoyed the Charlotte Hornets logo.  The original logo was special enough and may even be better than this one, but this takes from that and adds a less cartoonish version that just looks great.  It even allows us to completely forget that Bobcats era.

Final tally:  26 full names on logos and 21 basketballs.  Thank you.



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