5 WORST NBA LOGOS

5. Oklahoma City Thunder.

This unfortunate logo has many things going against it.  Because it is a relocated franchise, it chose not to stick with the "Sonic" nickname in favour of starting from scratch.  The name "Thunder" is disappointingly bland.  If the best association one has of a city is inclement weather, it's a bad sign.  And with this bad sign to draw from, the logo is just boring.  It can't be called iconic, since it has neither the flare to be original or easily identifiable.  It looks like a generic franchise template that could easily have the OKC initials replaced with any other city name and THUNDER replaced with any other nickname, or the former replaced with NBA and the latter with PLAYOFFS for a similar effect.  Finally, any logo that has the New Jersey Nets' as its muse is in trouble.

4.   Washington Wizards.

We like originality.  The wiz who was tasked to create a logo for this team has done some things well:  the stylised moon/basketball, the W emanating from below Gandalf's beard and the overall sense of motion all work well.  However, the whole effect is ruined since one sees a not-so cryptic reference to Nazism in the form of a swastika in the Wizard's pose.  Are we the only ones who are disturbed by this grand wizard? 

3.  Boston Celtics.

We don't like characters in logos.  We don't like stereotypical ones especially (Native Americans have been the unfortunate victims of this logo crime many times over).  The leprechaun Celtic chappy here is outdated and has no need for inclusion in the team's logo.  The alternate logo, a simple shamrock fronting a green circle with CELTICS written above would qualify as a best NBA logo, but is ineligible as it does not fit are criteria since it is an alternate logo and not the primary one.  The solution is tantalisingly close, but the problem remains stubbornly apparent.

Note:  below is the alternate logo.

 

2.  Houston Rockets. 

The Rockets first started off in San Diego and were named because of the local aerospace contracting industry.  Moving to Houston, the name was appropriate and so it was kept. The reference has changed from rockets that kill Soviets, to ones that fly to outer space.  When the logo was updated, though, one might think the somewhat violent connotations with Rockets have been revived.  The Rocket blasting off as part of the R shows chutzpah, but the red streaming from the base of the letter looks more suited to a horror movie poster.  

 

1. Toronto Raptors. 

In the early 1990s, the marketing department for the newly formed Toronto expansion team chose to capitalise on the dinosaur boom created by the Jurassic Park films.  In the first few seasons it paid off as numerous ten-year-olds bought Raptors merchandise of all kinds.  Once the dust settled, and now a decade later, the clumsy looking cousin of barney with the cutesy high-tops is still around.  We can live with the name Raptors, after time it has grown on us.  The logo itself has failed in its execution and could do with some plastic surgery.  Stylising the raptor by only showing its facial profile or claws is a start in the right direction.  Removing the pointy teeth framing the Toronto at the top would also work wonders in toning things down.  Transforming the logo from unwearable and ugly to vague and indistinguishable is not too much to ask for of an NBA logo.

5 BEST NHL LOGOS

5.  Boston Bruins.

One of the fabled "Original Six" NHL teams (see other examples below), the Bruins' design is perhaps the second most recognised team symbol in Boston after the mighty Red Sox.  The colours were inspired by owner Charles Adam's grocery store chain livery.  Matching it to a bruin's or bear's color is a fortunate partnering.   The spoked-B references Boston's nickname as the Hub, but with the circular frame, could also resemble the wheel of a schooner, harking back to the city's maritime origins.  The font of the B is strong and sturdy, not needing superfluous flare for effect.  In any event, the logo passes the test of time with refined grace.

 

4.  Philadelphia Flyers.

Some may say it looks too much like Detroit's team logo.  And though we usually frown on imitation, this logo has charm that casts aside any doubts on its own merits as a piece of iconography.  First, the design is not "busy", it is one of the most simplified in the league.  Second, it has meaning-  The wing to represent flight, the P for Philly, the disc for a hockey puck and the slight hint of a hockey stick.  Late 1960's stylised, without being blatant or obvious in its intentions.  The colour scheme employs a touch of then-trendy burnt orange.  Sticking with a hue that lesser teams might discard with shows a strength in character and loyalty to tradition that we admire.

3.  Detroit Red Wings.

The colour scheme is dead simple.  Red for red wings.  Yet, with such simplicity, comes a striking boldness.  The decision to incorporate an icon of the "Motor City" is inspired.  It unites the city and in turn is a logo that shows civic loyalty almost as much as team loyalty when adorned.  It has been around for fifty or so years and has retained a proud maturity without feeling tired or passe.  It is true Americana.

 

2.  Toronto Maple Leafs.

What the Red Wings do with red, the Leafs do with blue.  One colour is really all a team needs to represent itself.  The leaf in the logo has been altered for the better.  It used to be more literal but has shed the need to be realistic over being aesthetic.   Obviously, one can draw parallels to the red maple leaf of Canada's national flag, but by being blue allows it to be a brand in its own right.   And yet again, a simple font shows confidence.

1.  Montreal Canadiens.

As an NHL logo, nothing surpasses this icon of hockey, history and lore.  The colours go together well.  Red matched with blue works on many levels and the mis-match of these aesthetically becomes one that has been shown to work symbolically in so many different contexts throughout history and politics.  Red for Canada, blue for Quebec.  The logo design itself follows these guidelines.  C for Canadiens and H for hockey (not Habs as many believe).  Nothing more, nothing less is required.  Again, no need to fiddle with font either.  Notice the lack of a wish-bone C that other teams in pro sports use.  The serif on the C suffices.  The H itself has no serif allowing the C both in font, as well as size, to show its prominence.

5 WORST NHL LOGOS

5.  Tampa Bay Lightning.

Not only do we dislike team names ending without an 's' (Lightning is an un-countable noun), the actual logo itself is uninspired.   Notice the circular frame in the background posing as a crest.  It is entirely unnecessary as it adds nothing but "negative space" to the logo.  The colour scheme is bland and in need of some brighter colour notes, perhaps a yellowy hue for the bolt itself (though we generally like simple logos in terms of colour, weak ones can be improved with appropriate touch-ups).  Lightning bolts may have resonance to deinzens of the area, but the symbol itself is so ubiquitous in corporate culture that has it is being handicapped as a brand.  Overall, this logo is not so much repugnant as it is easily forgettable.

4.  Buffalo Sabres.

Here is an example of a logo that wants to be modern and stylistic in the depiction of its "mascot"; to make it both fierce and swift.  The effect, however, makes it look comically ambiguous.  The buffalo has been described as resembling a horned slug and a blond hair-piece.  The colour scheme uses hues that are in vogue in sports, so watch for that to change soon after the next fashion wave hits.  Remember the logo it used just prior to this one?  Well, at least the team has improved and gone back to a colour scheme that more closes harks back to the one it used ten years earlier.  This "retro-fitting" brings about the question:  What was so wrong with the logo used for the past twenty years or so?  It wasn't the best, but at least it was settling on people, and had a colour scheme that was more easily recognisable amongst NHL teams.

 
Editor's note:  We have learned the team is using its old symbol for this year's NHL season, as well as the one seen above.  A step in the right direction!

3.  Atlanta Thrashers.

We guess this is a bird...  yes, a thrasher is a bird, we checked it.  And what a cute bird it is!  Nothing as menacing as the logo supposes.  Notwithstanding the Pittsburgh Penguins, logos can help show a team's fierceness and swiftness on the ice, but though the name Thrashers itself meets that criteria, the logo doesn't.  It looks more like peanut butter being smeared on a slice of bread.  The colour scheme uses brownish hues which is good for autumn camouflage, but bad for logo awareness.   Logos are supposed to stand-out.  Finally, the hockey stick is simply an insult.  Having to let the public know in so blatantly a way that this logo represents a hockey team and not spark plugs or some other product, is slightly desperate.

2. Nashville Predators.

So many NHL teams are using logos with fierce animals these days.  The Minnesota Wild, Florida Panthers, and Phoenix Coyotes are good examples.  The Nashville Predators seem to have outdone them all by accentuating the fierceness of the animal by use of its fangs and metallic, skeletal profile.  The orange outline tries to embolden the logo. But, adding it to the colour scheme is only useful for jersey designers to have something more to work with and doesn't add anything to the logo itself.  Going back to the fangs, one wonders what would happen to the poor beast's throat if it ever tried to close its mouth...  what an over-bite!

1.  San Jose Sharks.

This team is the first of the post-WHA expansion teams to have come into the NHL and its logo has been almost the same since the beginning.  Twenty years of commitment to a logo is rare for a league that has so much quantity in output come from its team's marketing departments.  But, the fact remains that this is a logo that represents so many logo crimes in pro sports.  One could say that the use of teal set a trend for other sports teams to borrow in the 1990s, so in that sense it is wholly responsible for the promotion of such a toxic looking hue.  It may also have started the usage of the "fierce creature" motif in team logos, which is basically cover for designers who are not confident enough in their abilities to create a more original design.  Finally, the shark biting the hockey stick is another example of a lack of confidence in design and lack of faith in the public's ability to recognize a corporate logo.  Please redo this mess!