Vanessa Bryant would love to see this from the NBA. Over a year after Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash, Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving is asking for the NBA logo to be changed, to an image of Kobe Bryant. Irving went to Instagram to post a graphic of the Bryant NBA logo, which led to Vanessa sharing the post in her Instagram story and writing “Love this.”
The current NBA logo features a silhouette of Jerry West who played in the NBA from 1960-74 (all with the Los Angeles Lakers). On Thursday, Irving explained why he would like to see Bryant on the NBA logo. “We want to set a standard and precedent, like this is excellence,” Irving said after the Nets defeated the Orlando Magic 129-92, as reported by ESPN. “Kobe Bryant. Logo. Yes. Needs to happen. I don’t care what anyone says.”
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Irving went on to say, “I want that to be something in history that is changed forever, that our generation was part of that change. And if that means that I have to lead that forward and get the conversation going, then great.” Irving is not the only one who wants to see the logo changed. Shortly after Bryant’s death, fans petitioned to have Bryant on the NBA logo, leading to 3.2 million signatures.
“It’s quite clear that [Bryant] was a very respected figure by players and around the world and this is a really serious thing that should be considered by the league,” Alan Siegel, the creator of the logo, told Newsweek at the time. The NBA logo was created in 1969 and Siegel found inspiration in a photo of West playing, according to SB Nation. However, the NBA doesn’t acknowledge that West is on the logo. Also West isn’t a big fan of being the “face” of the NBA.
“I think if I were the NBA, I would be embarrassed about it,” West said on ESPN’s The Jump in 2017. I don’t like to do anything to call attention to myself. If they would want to change it, I wish they would. In many ways, I wish they would.” Bryant was a member of the Lakers from 1996-2016 and led the team to five NBA championships. He was named NBA MVP in 2008 and was selected to play in the NBA All-Star game 18 times.
