Primary Logos
The NBA primary logos have a rich and fascinating history that reflects the evolution of the league and its teams. Let's delve into the captivating story behind some of the most iconic NBA logos.
One of the earliest NBA logos dates back to the 1940s when the league was known as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The Boston Celtics, one of the league's founding teams, introduced a simple yet instantly recognizable logo featuring a leprechaun dribbling a basketball. This logo has become an enduring symbol of the Celtics' storied history and success.
In the 1970s, the league underwent significant changes, merging with the American Basketball Association (ABA) to become the NBA we know today. This merger brought new teams and fresh logos into the fold. The San Antonio Spurs, for example, introduced a logo featuring a fierce-looking spur, embodying the team's strong and determined identity.
The 1990s witnessed a surge of creativity in NBA logos. The Chicago Bulls introduced their iconic logo, showcasing a charging bull with fiery red eyes. This logo perfectly captured the intensity and dominance of Michael Jordan and the Bulls during their championship-winning era.
The turn of the millennium saw a shift towards sleek and modern designs. The Miami Heat, for instance, unveiled a logo featuring a basketball engulfed in flames, representing the team's fiery passion and energy. Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors introduced a ferocious dinosaur logo, symbolizing the team's relentless pursuit of victory.
In recent years, some teams have opted for minimalist and clean designs. The Golden State Warriors, for example, updated their logo to a simplified depiction of the iconic Bay Bridge, paying homage to their Bay Area roots.
The NBA primary logos continue to evolve as teams embrace new branding strategies and design trends. These logos serve as powerful visual representations that encapsulate a team's identity, history, and aspirations, captivating fans and leaving an indelible mark on the league's storied legacy.
NBA Products
Atlanta Hawks
A minor update to the Atlanta Hawks primary logo for the 2020 - 2021 NBA season, the Hawks updated the font used in the wordmark in the roundel and also removed the word "CLUB" from…
Boston Celtics
The world-famous figure has his left eye winking at you, his left hand resting on his shillelagh, his right index finger is pointing straight upward with a brown basketball sitting atop, his left foot crossed…
Brooklyn Nets
The new Nets logo features a blacked out shield and the wordmark "NETS" accompanied by the letter "B" inside a basketball in a crest and "BROOKLYN" underneath.
Charlotte Hornets
The new Hornets logo utilizes the purple and teal color palette and features an aggressive looking hornet that is ready to attack. Its piercing eyes, raised antennae, expanded wings and pointed stinger depict its relentless…
Chicago Bulls
The iconic Bulls' logo is comprises of the face of an angry and fierce red bull whose horns are tipped with blood. A wordmark "CHICAGO BULLS" in black above the bull. The logo was designed…
Cleveland Cavaliers
Continue with the black with gold and maroon shield and wordmark "CLEVELAND CAVALIERS" in gold with a custom letter "C" in maroon with gold highlights. A new shade of gold, replacing mustard as their primary…
Dallas Mavericks
Incorporating a shield with a the head of a stallion, the stallion’s mane sweeps inside a circle giving the appearance of the seam lines found on a basketball. In addition, a wordmark of “Mavericks” at…
Denver Nuggets
Gold pickaxes with a white and gold mountain peak between them, a white and gold basketball below inside a navy blue and red with gold trim roundel. Wordmark "DENVER NUGGETS" in white encircling the logo…
Detroit Pistons
In 2017 the Pistons return to the 80's and 90's logo. Pistons changed the basketball to a solid red with white outline. The wordmark “DETROIT PISTONS” in white and in the center of the basketball.…
Golden State Warriors
Bay Bridge in blue on a yellow circle with wordmark "GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS" surrounding it, font and bridge updated for 2019-20 season.
Houston Rockets
A red letter "R" shaped like a rocket ship blasting off on a black and graphite basketball planet with a wordmark ""HOUSTON ROCKETS" in white ringed around it.
Indiana Pacers
Former primary logo in the middle of a yellow ring with wordmark on top “INDIANA and on the bottom “PACERS” in blue.
Los Angeles Clippers
Wordmark "CLIPPERS" in black with a silver lining in between two arched horizontal red and blue lines on either side. A basketball with the initials "LAC" in the center of the basketball and above the…
Los Angeles Lakers
A gold with purple outline basketball with a wordmark "LAKERS" across the front in purple with speed lines on a white formed background. A darkened shade of purple.
Memphis Grizzlies
Slight adjustments made to previous Grizzlies' primary logo, which include removal of lightest of their three blues at the snout, addition of grey outline, and new wordmark font "MEMPHIS" and "GRIZZLIES" in blue.
Miami Heat
In 1999, Miami Heat logo went through a minor changes, the structure and shape remain unchanged, but the color of the fiery basketball has changed to red below the rim and orange above the rim…
Milwaukee Bucks
The new Buck is only looking ahead, an imposing figure determined and focused on the path in front of him. An expanded rack (from 8 to 12 points) showing the maturation of the Buck, and…
Minnesota Timberwolves
The logo has many nods to Minnesota, the team and, of course, the Timberwolf. There’s the North Star which represents one of the pillars Minnesota hangs its hat on. The star represents Minnesota pride. The…
New Orleans Pelicans
The new Pelicans primary logo has a red background with the wordmark "PELICANS" and "NEW ORLEANS" written in white, a pelican's head in white, gold wings and a bill in red, a gold basketball and…
New York Knickerbockers
A wordmark "KNICKS" in orange arched over an orange with blue trim basketball placed on a silver with blue trim triangle and "NEW YORK" arched above in blue. Slightly tweaked the color of the orange…
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder unveiled their first logo on September 3, 2008. The logo is a large blue and yellow banner with the logo in the middle with the wordmark "OKC," and splashes of yellow…
Orlando Magic
In 2011, the new logo incorporates the Magic's wordmark "MAGIC" in blue with a white and black border giving a more integrated look. The updated look includes the team's current logo with the iconic star…
Philadelphia 76ers
The team’s new primary logo is a modern interpretation of the classic Sixers insignia, stylistically redeveloped to include a patriotic blue border with six white stars and “PHILADELPHIA” adorned across the heading. The familiar white…
Phoenix Suns
A basketball sunburst over the stacked wordmark “PHOENIX SUNS" with a new font. The new logo features a black backdrop and a simplified basketball similar to the one used by the team from 1993 -…
Portland Trailblazers
The main change is the swap of the colors in the pinwheel, with red moving up top, and white - instead of silver - going to the bottom. There's also a slight design change in…
Sacramento Kings
The new primary logo closely resembles the team's original logo created back when the franchise moved from Kansas City to Sacramento in 1985. A wordmark "KINGS" in purple in between a purple crown and a…
San Antonio Spurs
Double arched wordmark "SAN ANTONIO" on top and "SPURS" on the bottom in black. The letter "U" is the alternate logo of a spur.
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors made some color changes to their primary logo. Silver was eliminated completely from the color scheme and the basketball was re-colored red. New to this logo is an outside thick white border.…
Utah Jazz
A "J" note with a basketball connected to a musical note and a wordmark "UTAH JAZZ" in blue. No more multi-colors.
Washington Wizards
The new primary logo incorporates the “monument ball” design that has been in place since 2011 in combination with the iconic striping from the team’s uniforms, the three stars that represent D.C., Maryland and Virginia…
