Photo Credit: Kobe Bryant/Instagram
It’s been a few days since NBA legend and icon Kobe Bryant perished in a helicopter crash and one of the things that’s been talked about is changing the NBA logo to his silhouette. A petition was even started with over 2 million signatures supported by the likes of Meek Mill, 2 Chainz, Snoop Dogg, Usher and Justin Bieber all putting it on their Instagram pages. Usher even posted a recreated logo in Bryant’s image, to be shared by Bieber later. The only problem is that it’s likely not going to happen.
The current logo is universally known as being created in the image of Jerry West, despite the league denying this. But knowing that, even West himself has asked to have it changed recently, but the league sees it as generic and that things are better off that way. Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wetzel said about the likelyhood of the logo not changing, “The reasons are myriad, mostly legal and financial. West has never tried to cash in on his likeness, and for the past few years even publicly wished the league would change the logo and use someone else.”
“Sources familiar with the league’s thinking said there is no interest in having an individual player as its logo because there are so many who have been instrumental in the growth of the game and the NBA. Generic is better.”
But fret not. This doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways for him to be honored. The All Star trophy can be named after him and his jersey number 24 can be retired. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has already said that no player will ever wear 24 again. Brooklyn Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie personally took it upon himself to retire his jersey number 8. He says he wore #8 because he grew up idolizing Bryant but will now go on wearing #26 instead. It’s still seen how Bryant will be memorialized by the league but it looks like a logo change won’t be it.
