The San Antonio Spurs filed multiple trademark applications on June 7, 2017 for a new logo that they planned to debut during the 2017 NBA Draft. But thanks to the power of the internet, the new logo was leaked, and the Spurs organization went ahead and made their new logo officially public.
San Antonio will continue to wear their well-known black, silver, and white logo, which spells out the city and team name, with the letter "U" being replaced with a spur. But, the new logo they've revealed will be alternate, which they'll wear for certain games during the 2017-2018 season and beyond.
The new logo will no longer bear the city name, nor a depiction of a spur. Rather, the logo is shaped like a basketball, featuring a black ball lined with white ribs, and the letters "S" and "A" -- for San Antonio -- written vertically down the middle of the ball. It has a very similar feel to the logo of the Brooklyn Nets, with the initial(s) of the city inside of a basketball silhouette.
The Spurs have maintained the same logo since they first moved the city in 1973, and still played in the American Basketball Association (ABA). After briefly being named the Dallas Chaparrals, the team changed its name to the Spurs, in homage to the metal tool designed to be worn on the heels of cowboy boots to control a horse's movement and direction. The name made sense given that the city of San Antonio is in the state of Texas, which is well known for its cowboy-related folklore.
According to United States Patent and Trademark Office records, San Antonio Spurs, LLC filed multiple trademark applications for the new black and white logo. Those applications show that the black and white basketball logo is being registered for use on various merchandise, from shower curtains to garden gnomes.
In the four decades that the Spurs organization has been part of the National Basketball Association, they have won 22 division titles and five NBA championships. Over the past 28 seasons, the Spurs have qualified for the playoffs 27 times and have never missed the postseason since drafting future Hall of Fame player Tim Duncan in 1997. Over the past 20 consecutive seasons, the Spurs have maintained a winning percentage of at least .610, a record in the NBA.
San Antonio's head coach, Gregg Popovich, is the longest-tenured head coach in the NBA and is considered by many to be the best coach in the league. He's rightfully credited for so much more than simply presiding over a successful basketball team; under his stewardship, the Spurs have developed an unmatched organizational culture in today's NBA. Outside of Duncan and David Robinson, the Spurs haven't had the luxury of building an organization through highly talented picks in the NBA lottery. Instead, they've deftly drafted and found players who fit their overall mission statement, and developed them to play basketball "the Spurs way."
And now, Popovich's players will play his style of basketball, with a brand new logo on their jerseys.