Jerry West has been the faceless face of the NBA since 1969. For five and a half decades, the NBA logo has been a white silhouette of a player surrounded by blue and red panels. The player is dribbling a ball on the court, seemingly ready to drive or dribble in style. By now, almost everyone knows that the iconic silhouette belongs to West, a shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, who passed away on Wednesday at the age of 86. Both friends and fans often referred to West as «The Logo,» even if the basketball icon felt uncomfortable with the nickname and the honor. It was an ideal choice for the centerpiece of a logo created by brand consultant Alan Siegel and his partner, Bob Gale, who took about an hour to design it using a photo of West taken by Wen Roberts for Sport magazine. Neither the designers nor the NBA had acknowledged West’s image in their branding, wanting not to focus their image on a single player. Siegel eventually admitted that West was the inspiration for the logo silhouette design. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver also admitted this in 2021. In an interview with ESPN in 2017, West said he would be happy if the NBA removed him from the logo. «It’s flattering, I played at a time when they started trying to market the league. There were five people they were going to consider. I didn’t find out until [former commissioner] Walter Kennedy told me. I don’t like to do anything to call attention to myself. I wish they would change the logo. In many ways, I wish they would,» said West. Others have also pushed for a change. A year after Kobe Bryant’s death in a helicopter accident, Kyrie Irving made an Instagram post of an NBA logo with Bryant’s image superimposed over West’s silhouette, captioned: «It has to happen. THE BLACK KINGS BUILT THE LEAGUE.» Irving’s post was met with supportive comments from Bryant’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, along with players Stephen Jackson and LaMelo Ball. Silver recently rejected the idea of changing the logo, emphasizing that the logo with West at the center now has international recognition.
