In February 2024, the LA Clippers unveiled their latest rebrand. While the new uniforms and logo were met with mixed reactions, some critics praised the Clippers for celebrating their roots.
Many fans have adjusted to the new rebranding, just in time for the 2024-25 NBA season.
The new Clippers logo
It’s quite common in the NBA for teams to undergo major rebranding. Some teams rebrand more often than others, and the new looks are usually met with mixed reviews.
ESPN’s Zach Lowe, reporting on the Clippers' rebrand, wrote that owner Steve Ballmer and his team knew it was necessary. The club decided against changing the Clippers’ name. Ballmer’s focus groups – which he views as “advisory, not definitive” had advised him that there was “partially to [his] surprise” no interest in a name change.”
But they could change the logo. Lowe said the previous logo was “mostly panned as generic and bland.” It was a generic basketball image, with a blue “C” and red “LA” in the centre.
The logo is circular, like many modern teams across sports, outlined in red, and features a blue ship in the middle. The ship is a nod to the team’s origins in San Diego Harbor. Lowe wrote that the fans felt affection for the Clippers' name, which is “derived from clipper ships and naval vessels that dot the coast off of San Diego, the team's original California home.”
Direction
The new badge features a compass along with the ship. Many focus group fans said, “This team has direction now” (according to Gillian Zucker, president of business operations), so the designs focused on the concept of direction. The north direction parallels the ‘N’ in ‘Los Angeles’. League rules state that logos must contain the team’s full name.
The inclusion of the ship reportedly helped the Clippers “pre-empt any potential copyright claims” from MLB’s Seattle Mariners (per ESPN). The Mariners have also used compass imagery.
Forbes’s Shane Young praised the Clippers rebrand and said more “teams should lean into what their brand means.”
New script, new uniforms, and a new home
The Clippers are also using a fresh script for “Clippers” across their blue and white jerseys this season (the red jersey says “Los Angeles”). Zucker said the previous font was “a little cartoony,” and they wanted the new text to feel “more serious.”
Future jerseys are expected to include powder blue. Fans reportedly often mentioned their fondness for that shade. ESPN said to “Expect some powder blue in the future.”
The primary logo is on the team’s shorts, rather than the jerseys.
The 2024-25 season is notable for being the club's first in its new home, Intuit Dome, after the club’s lease with Crypto.com Arena ended.
The Clippers enjoyed quite a successful season in the Western Conference, although the Oklahoma City Thunder looked hard to beat.
Rivals, the LA Lakers, also enjoyed a strong regular season, with Luka Dončić joining after a famous February trade. Later that month, Dončić recorded his first triple-double for his new team as they beat the Mavericks 107-99.
Last season, the Clippers finished 4th in the Western Conference, before losing in the first round of the playoffs, 4-2 to the Dallas Mavericks.
