Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving has the idea to change the NBA logo to honor Kobe Bryant, and Bryant’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, fully admits it.
On Wednesday, in an Instagram post, Irving tweeted a modified NBA logo with the front and center of Bryant, with the caption “Gotta Happen, idc all that anyone says. BLACK KINGS BUILT THE LIGUE.”
Vanessa Bryant shared Irving’s post across the Instagram story with her own headline: “I love this. @KyrieIrving.” LaMelo Ball, Stephen Jackson and Dez Bryant also posted comments that supported the idea in Irving’s original post.
Since Bryant’s death in a helicopter crash in January last year, the idea of changing the logo to Bryant’s silhouette has gained momentum. A petition from change.org in support of the idea has garnered 3.2 million signatures since early 2020. NBA logo creator Alan Siegel, current CEO and president of the brand identity consulting firm and Siegelvision communications told Newsweek at the time “It is clear that [Bryant] he was a highly respected figure by players and around the world, and that is something very serious that the League should consider. “
The famous Lakers Hall West, Jerry West, is the current silhouette of the NBA logo that has existed since 1969. West has supported the idea that the logo was changed in the past, even in a 2015 interview with HuffPost Live.
“I don’t like to say he’s not a Laker, but Michael Jordan,” West said then. “He’s been the best player I’ve ever seen. And I’m probably a tough judge of talent in the sense that I admire players who are very good defensive players and very good offensive players. And I felt at the time he was the best. Defensive player of the match, but more importantly, he was the best offensive player. And he made his teams win. “
West has also been effusive with his praise of Bryant throughout his career. In a special TNT in honor of Bryant after his death, West recalled Bryant’s writing.
“I said, ‘Shaquille, we just drafted a kid who’s the best player in the draft,'” West told 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 who will be the best player in the league one day.” Quite a bold statement to make, but it was obvious to me. “
The National Transportation Safety Board said Feb. 9 that the pilot of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, the pilot himself and six other people went against his training flying in dense clouds.