Kyrie Irving said Wednesday that Kobe Bryant should be the new NBA logo, and rekindled a debate on the subject.
“[I don’t care] what no one says, “Irving wrote in an Instagram post along with a mock-up of a Kobe logo, adding all the capital letters:” THE BLACK KINGS BUILD THEEN THE LEAGUE. “
This isn’t Bryant’s first push to replace legend Jerry West as the new NBA logo.
Shortly after Bryant and his daughter Gianna died in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020, along with seven other people, more than two million people signed an online petition for the logo change. Since Irving’s publication, the petition already has more than 3.2 million signatures as of Wednesday night.
Vanessa Bryant, Kobe’s widow, also took to Instagram to support Irving’s push, writing, “Love this @kyrieirving.”
Alan Siegel, who created the logo, also said at the time of Bryant’s death that he was open to change.
“It simply came to our notice then [Bryant] he was a highly respected figure by players and around the world, and that’s something very serious the league should take into account, ”Siegel told Newsweek.
West, who has not taken on the resemblance of the logo, also said in 2015 that he was open to logo change, suggesting Michael Jordan.
The NBA did not change the logo, which has been in use since 1969, because it does not recognize West as the logo player, according to a Yahoo Sports report at the time.
According to the report, the NBA’s thought of not having a single player as a logo is that since there are so many players who have been instrumental in growing the game, getting better is generic.
Bryant’s life was not without controversy. In 2003, a 19-year-old hotel employee accused the then-25-year-old Los Angeles Lakers star of raping her in her hotel room at The Lodge and Spa in the Edwards Range. , Colo.
Prosecutors dropped the charges in 2004 after the prosecutor failed to testify. A civil case filed against him was settled out of court in 2005 for an undisclosed amount.
Bryant was Irving’s idol when he grew up in West Orange, New Jersey, studying YouTube clips of the Lakers icon. They became friends and Irving FaceTimed Bryant, of the Cavaliers locker room, just after winning the 2016 NBA title.