Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving has an idea to change the NBA logo to honor Kobe Bryant – and Bryant’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, fully supports it.
In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Irving tweeted a custom NBA logo with Bryant’s front and center, with the caption “Gotta Happen, idc what anyone says. BLACK KINGS BUILD THE LEAGUE”.
Vanessa Bryant shared Irving’s post via Instagram story with her own caption, “love this. @KyrieIrving.” LaMelo Ball, Stephen Jackson and Dez Bryant also commented on Irving’s original message.
Since Bryant’s death in a helicopter crash in January last year, the idea of changing the logo to Bryant’s silhouette has taken hold. A petition from change.org in support of the idea has received 3.2 million signatures since early 2020. The creator of the NBA logo, Alan Siegel – current CEO and president of the brand identity and communications consulting firm Siegelvision – told Newsweek at the time. , “It is very clear that [Bryant] was a very respected figure by players and around the world, and it’s really a serious thing to consider by the league. ‘
Lakers Hall of Famer Jerry West is the current silhouette of the NBA logo that has been in effect since 1969. West has supported the idea of changing the logo in the past, including in an interview with HuffPost Live in 2015.
“I hate to say it’s not a Laker, but Michael Jordan,” West said. “He was the greatest player I’ve ever seen. And I’m probably a tough judge of talent in the sense that I admire players who are really good defensive players and very good attacking players. And I felt he was on his “time in the game, he was the best defensive player in the game, but more importantly, he was the best attacking player. And he made his teams win.”
West has also been exuberant throughout his career with his praise for Bryant. On a TNT special tribute to Bryant after his death, West reminds him of Bryant’s essay.
“I said, ‘Shaquille, we just put together a kid who’s the best player in the draft,'” West recalled saying to Shaquille O’Neal. “I said, ‘I know you have a lot of good players in Orlando. “But I said, ‘We have better players here, and we have one that will one day be the best player in the league.’ Quite brave statement to make, but for me it was obvious. ‘
The National Transportation Safety Board said on February 9 that the pilot in the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, the pilot himself and six others was flying in thick clouds against his training.