Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash along with daughter Gianna and seven other people, made a huge impact on the NBA. And because of that, the fans want to league to make a big change. A petition on Change.org has been made proposing that the NBA change its official logo to honor Bryant. The goal is to get 500,000 signatures; as of this writing on Monday afternoon, over 370,000 fans have signed the petition.
“With the untimely and unexpected passing of the great Kobe Bryant please sign this petition in an attempt to immortalize him forever as the new NBA Logo,” Nick M, the creator of the petition, wrote.
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Once Nick M saw how many fans signed the petition in a day, he was blown away.
“The support on this petition has been out of this WORLD,” he added. “I want to deeply thank everybody who contributed through signing and donating to the petition. When I started this I didn’t expect much to come out of it my goal was 100 signatures at best. We are now at 16,000! I hope with our effort that our dream does come true and we are able to see Kobe Bryant engraved into the NBA Logo. Let’s continue to spread this petition out! And as Kobe would’ve said, ‘Mamba out.’”
The current logo is a silhouette of fellow Lakers legend Jerry West. And he has said he wouldn’t mind if the NBA did change the logo.
“First of all, I wish that had never gotten out, that logo. No I do, really,” he said in 2017 via CBS Sports. “I’ve said it more than once… If they would want to change it, I wish they would. In many ways, I wish they would.”
And if he had to choose, it’s likely West would choose Bryant to be immortalized.
“This was a man for all seasons,” West said about the death of Bryant in an interview with ABC News. “He was more than an iconic basketball player. He was someone who inspired millions of fans. Not here in this state, not here in the United States – all over the world…
“He was beloved… For me, this is a godawful day.”
West was the Lakers’ general manager when Bryant joined the team via trade. That move helped the team win five NBA Championships from 2000-2009.
