Sports Design Blog

NBA Playoff Matchups: Design Style

Now that we've entered the second round of the NBA playoffs, I thought it might be fun to take a look at the matchups not from a competitive angle, but from a design angle. Which team wins the battle of best look and logo?

Western Conference:

San Antonio Spurs vs. Phoenix Suns

You know I have bias on this one so I'll get it out of the way right off the bat. I am a big fan of the Spurs and am also a big fan of their logo and uniforms. I think the Spurs current logo is outstanding and is one of the best in the league. The team's silver and black color scheme and simple, classic uniform design makes them one of the best looking teams in the NBA.

The Suns have a good look as well. The Suns have shifted graphically over the years and have pushed the envelope each time they switch. From a color standpoint, I'll take silver and black over purple and orange. I'm also not a big fan of the Suns' uniform design, especially the PHX version.

Winner: Spurs

 

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Utah Jazz

This Western Conference matchup brings us two teams whose names make no geographic sense. I know that Lakers makes sense in Minnesota and Jazz makes complete sense for a team in New Orleans, but both of these nicknames don't stand up in their current locations.

The Lakers logo is one of those logos that has been around so long that you just take it for granted. It has stood the test of time and is one of the most recognizable around. That does not mean that it a good design or that pleasing to the eye. If you really look at it, there's not much to make it outstanding, just familiar.

The Jazz have a much more modern, over-the-top look. If the team name makes no sense, at lease they added a mountain scape to the logo to give it some geographic relevance. The Jazz brought back the old musical note to their logo sheet which is a great throwback to their New Orleans roots, but still makes no sense in Utah.

I'll give this one to the Jazz, just because the Laker's logo has been around so long, it just disappears.

Winner: Jazz

Eastern Conference

 

Orlando Magic vs. Atlanta Hawks

In the Eastern Conference we'll start with the Magic and the Hawks. The Magic's current logo and uniform set does a great job of keeping with the same design style and look that the team has used throughout its still short history. Two colors that work well together are black and royal. Throw in the silver and the Magic have a great color scheme. I've always been a fan of the star for the A.

As for the Hawks, my old school preferences just don't let me accept the team's current look. I know that this navy and red harkens back to the team's early years, but when  I think Atlanta Hawks, I think red and yellow. I grew up on the Dominique Wilkins led Hawks teams and just really don't like the team replacing the yellow with navy.

Winner: Magic

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics

The Cavs/Celtics matchup is a good one from a design perspective. One one hand, with the Cavs, you have a very modern logo and uniform design, and on the other, you have the classic of all classics, the Celtics.

The Cavaliers had one of the greatest logo and uniform turnarounds in history when they introduced their current look several years ago, replacing the disastrous exploding net-era look. The logo and its colors look great and the team's uniforms look great. With Lebron James leading the way, this look will be the standard that today's young fans will look back to as their time marker.

The Celtics are the poster children for tradition and time-tested style. Outside of their occasional dabbling with gold on their jerseys, the Celtics of today look much like the Celtics of yesterday. Simple, understated and unmistakable. The logo has to be one of the most recognizable in sports.

From a visual standpoint, this is a fun matchup to watch.

Winner: Draw

Remember the CBA?

As I was doing some research on old school basketball stuff the other day, I came across something unusual. I found a program from a CBA game from 1986. The CBA, former home to now NBA coach Phil Jackson was celebrating its 40th anniversary in 1986. The CBA was a poor man's alternative to an NBA team, and filled those markets where a city could not sustain an NBA franchise. Here in Cincinnati, we had the pleasure of watching the Slammers and their brand of basketball at the Cincinnati Gardens. I'm sure everyone remembers the formidable Slammers Twin Towers combo of Ozell Jones and Dan Federmann!

In this old game program was an ad that allowed you to order a t-shirt with your favorite CBA team logo on it. The ad is presented in full black and white and features the graphics from all of the teams in the CBA  for the 1986-87 season. Judging by the looks of the logos on the page, there weren't many powerhouse graphics firms used to create many of the looks of the teams. Everyone in the league used a basketball in their logo except the Jacksonville Jets. These shirts were a deal at $8.95 and came with a money back guarantee!

I think the CBA still exists in some form after reorganizing after the bankruptcy that followed Isiah Thomas' reign over the league. This old school ad provides a great look back to a time when basketball at all levels was going crazy and the CBA was riding high!

What were the Thunder thinking?

I know this is a really old and tired discussion, but I just had to get it out of my head today. As I watched the Spurs take on the Oklahoma City Thunder last night in Oklahoma, I just couldn't stop being annoyed at their terrible logo and the lost graphic opportunity that the teams represents.

I guess I just haven't seen many Thunder games on their home court. I only see them play a few times a year, so last night must have been the first time I really let their look bother me. What were the owners of the Thunder thinking when they picked the team's logo and colors?

The logo and team colors just make no sense at all. When you think of "thunder", you think of descriptive words like power, noise, loud, dark, storm, ominous, fear, intimidation, and lightning. Is there anything about the colors of the Thunder that relates in any way to a term or image you would associate with "thunder"? The team's colors are more representative of an Easter basket than they are related to even a gentle spring shower, let alone a thunderstorm. The poor choice of colors is even more magnified by the team's home court design.

There are so many great ways that you could have created an image relating to a powerful force of nature like thunder. The team's logo looks like it would have worked for any name the team picked. The graphic possibilities should have been endless for a team with a name like that. Dark blues, blacks, silvers, golds, dark greys all would have been colors that would have created a really memorable look for the team, instead they use light blue, red and yellow.

Sorry for this old argument today, but it really got to me as I watched the game last night. What a wasted opportunity for something that could have been graphically great. Its a shame we lost a classic look like the Sonics for this.

Tim Duncan's Shoes

OK, time to get back to business. The holidays have come and gone and its time to get our focus back on sports design. As you know by my previous posts, I'm a fan of the San Antonio Spurs. Even though I live nowhere near Texas, I watch every Spurs game via NBA League Pass on DirecTV.

As I've watched the games, I've noticed that Tim Duncan has been wearing an uncharacteristically stylish shoe this season. Duncan is definitely not known for his outlandish style or for setting fashion trends. Timmy is usually the poster child for consistency and calm. However, this season Duncan has been at the leading edge of shoe design.

Duncan wears the Adidas TS Commander LT shoe and has been sporting one of the craziest shoe designs I've ever seen. According to this article at Sole Collector, the shoes Duncan has been wearing this year were originally meant to be a Halloween promotion for Adidas.

The shoes feature a shiny black base with a pattern that looks like the bones in Tim's feet. From the top, you can definitely see the graphic and how it flows down the shoe. The bone pattern creates one of the most unusual shoe designs I've ever seen. The shoe also features a large version of the mandatory Adidas three stripe pattern, but the shoe is dominated by the bones graphic.

The design can even be seen from the bottom of the shoe. The translucent tread reveals the bottom of Tim's bone pattern. Whether you are a fan of this design or not, there is no denying that it is an unusual look, especially when being worn by one of the league's most conservative players.

The Len Bias Effect on the sports business

Last night I watched ESPN's 30 for 30 episode about the death of Len Bias. The show brought back many of the emotions I felt at that time when we heard the news of what had happened. At that time as a teenager, basketball was the center of mine and my friends' universe, and the news of his tragic passing hit all of us very hard.

We all know that Bias' death had a tragic impact on his family and friends. His death left his fans nationwide in disbelief. His passing turned the Maryland basketball program upside down. His death also had a huge impact on society as a whole. The impact of the loss to the Boston Celtics was illustrated by their 21 year drought between championships. In the Golden Era of NBA basketball, Bias was poised to become its next big star.

Watching the show got me thinking about it from a different angle. How did Len Bias' death change the history of the sports products industry? At the time, Nike had struck gold with Michael Jordan and the success of the Air Jordan. Jordan burst on to the NBA scene and his shoe became the catalyst for the biggest boom in the history of the sports industry. Converse had endorsements from the NBA's biggest pre-Jordan stars in Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. It looked very likely that Bias had the talent and the potential to become the next great superstar in the NBA, joining the other three as one of the most powerful endorsers in the game.

Bias was the first round pick in the 1986 NBA draft of the Boston Celtics. Immediately after being drafted by the Celtics, he signed an endorsement contract with Reebok. Had Bias taken the court for the 1986 season wearing a Reebok shoe, he may have been able to add a completely new dynamic to the basketball shoe business at the time. The talent and style that Bias' would have displayed in the NBA may have given Reebok a product that could have been a rival to the Air Jordan. We will never know what heights Bias could have achieved and what impact he may have had on how the shoe business played out in the 1980's and 1990's. The entire business could have gone a completely different direction.

Bias had a playing style that would have immediately placed him among the most popular players in the game. It is quite likely that he may have been able to give Michael Jordan a run for his money in merchandise sales. Sales of Michael Jordan related products propelled the sports licensed products industry into its greatest period ever. Jordan was the undisputed king of product sales. How might that have changed if we would have been lucky enough to see Len Bias develop on the NBA court? Bias' talent and popularity would very likely have given the industry a completely new dynamic. Bias' success with the Boston Celtics might have made apparel from the team give Chicago Bulls apparel a run for its money as the top seller in sports.

The loss of Len Bias still stands out as one of the most shocking and tragic losses the sports industry has ever experienced. Bias' incredible talent would have given basketball fans another great superstar to admire and root for. There is no way to measure the impact he would have had on the NBA, the sport of basketball and the business of sports as well. We will always be left to wonder what Len Bias may have achieved on the court and the special memories he would have left behind for all of us to remember and how he could have changed the course of the business of sports.

Old School Design: Converse Weapons 1987

I continue to come across some great old school NBA advertising as I'm looking around for SDB subject matter. The start of the NBA season has really gotten me back in a basketball frame of mind and some of the things I am finding bring back some great memories from my good old days of the NBA.

The Weapon was Converse's attempt to take a bite out of the popularity of the Air Jordan. The Weapon used the NBA's other two big stars, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson as its endorsers. Back then, there were three types of fan, Jordan fans, Larry fans and Magic fans. Converse attempted to take on the Jordan giant with the other 2/3 of that equation. Most of us remember the classic image of Bird and Magic and the slogan "Choose Your Weapon".

This ad from 1987 features a few other NBA stars who joined the Weapon team. In addition to original endorsers Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, you see Isiah Thomas, Kevin McHale, Bernard King and Mark Aguirre. Converse hoped to capture even more market share by adding a few more high profile NBA stars to their endorsement list. The ad features a great look at the NBA uniform styles of the time period. Most notable is that shorts were still shorts at that time. It really does look strange to see the short style from 1987, since we have become so used to shorts not being shorts anymore. The image also features a great look at the sock styles of the day as well. High up on the calf with colored stripes, these socks were all the rage in the 1980's. The bottom of the ad features some of the color combinations that were available. Bernard King's version is interesting because it is the opposite of the other Weapons and looks much closer to a traditional design than the other color-blocked Weapons.

The Converse Weapon did have its moment in the spotlight, but it was not able to keep up with the Air Jordan and its ever changing cutting edge design. As the Weapon stayed the same, just shuffling colors around, the Air Jordan evolved into a different shoe each year and remained as the top shoe in the industry. This old school ad is another great look back at a great time in the athletic shoe business and at a great time in the NBA.

Editor's Note:

Thanks to SDB contributor Trev, I found this classic Weapon ad that features a unique rap performance by Kevin McHale (Thanks Trev):

Old School Design: Starter

In the glory days of the sports licensed products boom of the late 1980's and early 1990's, nobody ruled the roost like Starter. Everywhere you looked, you would see something with that famous Starter star on it. The Starter satin jacket dominated the sports business like no other product before it. On the field and in popular culture, Starter was king.

This advertisement from 1989 features the Atlanta Hawks' Dominique Wilkins, somewhat clothed in his Atlanta Hawks Starter gear. Dominique was one of the coolest cats in the NBA at the time and this classic ad captures Nique's smooth style. Back in that time, we actually thought those shorts were long!

Unfortunately for Starter, the saying "the bigger they are, the harder they fall" played out. After absolutely dominating the business in a big way for many years, Starter's popularity started to disappear a bit and the company came crashing down. What was once the dominator of the marketplace quickly crumbled and disappeared from the marketplace.

Today you can find Starter gear at lower level retailers, but it is nothing more than the logo that was purchased from the ashes of what was left of the original company. Even though it is no longer the industry giant it used to be, the Starter logo still evokes vivid memories of a great time in the history of the sports products business.

NBA Legends in the wrong uniforms

The opening of the 2009-10 season marks the debut of Shaquille O'neal in a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform. As the Cavs take to the court against the Celtics tonight, an NBA legend will be appearing in a uniform that looks very strange. Like Shaq's time in Phoenix, he just does not look right in the Cavs colors. I'm sure as the season goes on, we will all get more comfortable with the site of Shaq as a Cav, but for now, it just feels a bit strange.

Let's take a look at some of the most familiar names in the history of the NBA wearing uniforms that just didn't look quite right. Nobody personifies this idea more than Michael Jordan. When you think of Michael Jordan, the only image that comes to mind in him wearing his famous #23 for the Chicago Bulls. No image is more burned into the memories of sports fans than Michael and his #23 Chicago Bulls look.

As we all know, Jordan's career took several detours as it played out and that created several images of Michael in some looks that just don't quite feel right. When Michael retired from the NBA the first time, he tried his hand at baseball. The image of Michael Jordan in his Barons baseball uniform just seemed really odd. Luckily, Jordan's baseball career was short lived and he eventually returned to the NBA and the Chicago Bulls.

Upon Micheal's return to the Bulls however, he didn't come back completely the same. During his comeback, Michael decided not to use his familiar #23, but the #45 instead. Seeing Michael Jordan on the court in a Bulls uniform with anything other than the #23 was a really strange sight. Jordan's game showed a little bit of rust after the layoff and the uniform number just made the sight of Jordan's return to the NBA that much stranger. Thankfully he returned to the number 23 and his former playing greatness a short time later.

The most obvious unusual look for Michael Jordan came after he left the Chicago Bulls to join the Washington Wizards for the final two years of his career. Seeing Michael Jordan in a Wizard's uniform just did not make sense. Not only was Michael's #23 Bulls look one of the most recognizable in the league, it was one of the cleanest, classiest designs around. Seeing Jordan on the court in those awful Wizards colors and crazy logo was just not right. Even stranger was the sight of a Washington Bullets themed jersey with Michael inside.

Michael wasn't the only NBA legend from his era that spent some time in some unfamiliar uniform territory. Dominique Wilkins was instantly recognized in his classic #21 for the Atlanta Hawks. How can you forget Nique's classic look and his battles with Michael Jordan and others in all of those NBA Slam Dunk Competitions? Though best remembered for his Atlanta Hawks look, many may not remember that the Human Highlight Film finished out his NBA career with stops in San Antonio and Boston.

Another great from the era was Patrick Ewing. Ewing's image will always be etched in our minds as a member of the New York Knicks. Late in his career however, Patrick could be seen in a much more unfamiliar look, with stops at Seattle with the Supersonics and with the Magic in Orlando. The sight of Ewing in these uniforms is another look that just confuses the uniform identifying mind.

A few more former NBA stars who had a few strange looks include Charles Barkley with the Houston Rockets, Hakeem Olajuwan with the Toronto Raptors, Scottie Pippen with the Portland Trailblazers (seen here being guarded by the Wizards' Michael Jordan..........strange on many levels), and a player who tried to steal that elusive NBA Championship with one last dash with the Lakers, Karl Malone.

Old School Design: Akeem Olajuwan LA Gear

As this week brings us the beginning of the 2009-10 NBA season, I thought it would be appropriate to explore a few NBA themes to get the week going. I'm a huge fan of the NBA, have been for a long time, so this is a great week for me.

In the 1980's, the NBA ruled the world and the shoes that were worn on the courts around the league were some of the most sought after items of the decade. We all know the story of the Air Jordan and its impact on the sports products business. We also remember the Converse Weapon, the Pony City Wing and the I've even written about the old Ralph Sampson Pumas. All of those shoes had their time in the spotlight in the 1980's and 1990's.

Today we take a look at one of the more obscure player endorsed shoes from that time period. LA Gear was a shoe company that was best known for its street style and its fitness image more than it was for its presence on the NBA basketball court. This ad from 1990 features Akeem Olajuwan (yes, pre-Hakeem Akeem) and his signature LA Gear basketball shoes.

The ad lacks the sophistication and story line that was so common in the other shoe ads at the time. The image features "The Dream" in an LA Gear themed practice uniform and a fire burning in the background with the theme of "Unstoppable" The shoes feature some familiar design cues that can also be found on the other shoes we mentioned earlier from the time period.

This Olajuwan LA Gear shoe will not go down in history alongside some of those other classics, but this old school ad provides a great look back at a time when the basketball shoe ruled the world.

Old School vs. New School: Atlanta Hawks

Today I wanted to take a look at an NBA team and compare one of their classic old school looks to their current uniform set. That team is the Atlanta Hawks. If you were a fan of the Atlanta Hawks in the 1980's, the image of their classic red, yellow and white uniform immediately comes to mind. The images of the Human Highlight Film Dominique Wilkins, Spud Webb, Kevin Willis and Doc Rivers come to mind. (and don't forget NBA legend Jon Koncak) Dominique Wilkins made this Hawks style popular with his multiple appearances in the Slam Dunk Competition, in his classic battles with Larry Bird and Michael Jordan, and each night on Sportscenter. The slanted stripe and stylized Hawk logo created one of the coolest uniforms of that era in the NBA.

Fast forward to today. The current Hawks uniform bears no resemblance whatsoever to the old school 1980's look. The team has chosen to change its colors to a navy blue and red base. No longer will you find the classic yellow mixed into the team's color scheme. Add in a new logo and the team looks completely different than it did during its popular run in the 1980's. The new jerseys feature interesting color blocking, much like the old school version had during their run in the 1980's. As a fan of the old school Hawks look, I am still trying to get used to the team using this look and color scheme. I'm not opposed to these designs and colors, they just don't say "Hawks" to this old school NBA fan.