Kyrie Irving thinks it’s time for the NBA logo to receive a refresher. The Brooklyn Nets guard shared a picture on Instagram of an updated logo featuring Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant as the centerpiece.
“Gotta Happen, idc what anyone says,” Irving wrote on Instagram. “BLACK KINGS BUILT THE LEAGUE.”
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Since 1969, the NBA logo has featured a silhouette version of Hall of Famer Jerry West — however, the NBA hasn’t officially said West is who the current logo is based on. West had a 14-year playing career with the Lakers and coached Los Angeles for another three years.
Bryant is a five-time NBA champion and 18-time All-Star. He died in January 2020 in a helicopter accident, along with his daughter, Gianna, and seven other people. The league has honored Bryant since his death, including renaming the All-Star Game MVP trophy after Bryant.
Irving thinks more can be done to commemorate Bryant’s influence on the game, though, and more than three million people have signed a Change.org petition calling for Bryant to become the new NBA logo.
Bryant’s wife, Vanessa, soon jumped on board, too. “Love this,” she wrote on Instagram.
Vanessa Bryant supports Kyrie Irving’s idea of changing the NBA logo to Kobe. pic.twitter.com/o2TJSnFNJv
— Matthew Moreno (@MMoreno1015) February 25, 2021
In 2015, West told the Huffington Post that he wouldn’t mind seeing a logo change.
“I hate to say it’s not a Laker, but Michael Jordan. He’s been the greatest player I’ve ever seen,” West said. “And I’m probably a harsh judge of talent in the sense that I admire players that are really good defensive players and really good offensive players. And I felt that at his time in the game, he was the best defensive player in the game, but more importantly he was the best offensive player. And he made his teams win.”
• Andy Kostka can be reached at akostka@washingtontimes.com.
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