What Is the NBA Logo?
The NBA logo is the white silhouette of a basketball player dribbling, set between a blue panel and a red panel, with the letters NBA at its foot. Brand consultant Alan Siegel created it in 1969. The logo belongs to the National Basketball Association, the North American professional basketball league, which traces its start to the Basketball Association of America, founded in New York City on 6 June 1946.
The league's teams each have badges of their own, but the dribbling player is the mark that stands for the league as a whole. The silhouette with the NBA letters is available as the NBA logo SVG.
NBA Logo Facts
| Designer | Alan Siegel |
| Introduced | Designed in 1969; in use from 1971 |
| Symbol | A player dribbling a basketball, in white silhouette |
| Logo type | Combination mark: silhouette and the NBA letters |
| Owner | National Basketball Association |
What the NBA Logo Means
The logo shows the game in a single movement. Siegel chose a photograph of a player leaning forward as he dribbled, and later said he liked it because it was vertical and had a sense of motion. Turning the player into a blank white figure removes his face and his team, so the mark can stand for every player in the league rather than one star.
The style comes from the Major League Baseball logo of 1968, which also shows a blank white player against blue and red. Commissioner Walter Kennedy asked for a red, white and blue design like baseball's, and Siegel, who had overseen the MLB mark, gave basketball its own version.
NBA Logo History
The league took its present name on 3 August 1949, when the Basketball Association of America merged with the National Basketball League.
In 1969 Kennedy asked Siegel to refresh the league's look, at a time when the NBA was competing with the rival ABA. Siegel looked through the photo files of Sport magazine with the help of his friend, sportswriter Dick Schaap, and picked a photograph by Wen Roberts of the All-Star guard Jerry West. Siegel and his partner Bob Gale turned it into the silhouette. The finished logo appeared from 1971.
The drawing has hardly changed since. In 2017 the league slightly altered the typeface of the NBA letters under the player.
Is the NBA Logo Jerry West?
The league has never said so officially. Siegel has said the NBA wanted to "institutionalize it rather than individualize it", which is why the figure was left unnamed. In 2010 he told the Los Angeles Times plainly that the player is Jerry West. In 2021 Commissioner Adam Silver said that it sure looks a lot like him.
West himself was uneasy about it. He said he wished it had never become known that he was the logo, and that he would like the league to change it.
For more leagues and clubs, browse our sports logos.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who designed the NBA logo?
Alan Siegel, working with his partner Bob Gale, created the dribbling silhouette in 1969.
Who is the player on the NBA logo?
It is based on a Wen Roberts photograph of Jerry West. Siegel confirmed this in 2010, though the league has never stated it officially.
When did the NBA logo first appear?
It was designed in 1969 and came into use in 1971.
Is the NBA logo related to the MLB logo?
Yes. Siegel had overseen the Major League Baseball logo in 1968, and the NBA logo was inspired by it.
Has the NBA logo ever changed?
Only slightly. The silhouette has stayed the same since 1971, and in 2017 the typeface of the NBA letters was adjusted.