Look at the red, white, and blue rectangle on any basketball jersey. You see that guy? The one leaning into a low, left-handed dribble? If you’ve spent five minutes in a sports bar, you’ve probably heard someone call him "The Logo."
And it’s true. That silhouette belongs to the late Jerry West, the Los Angeles Lakers icon who lived and breathed basketball for over eight decades. But here’s the kicker: the NBA, a multi-billion dollar machine, has never officially, legally, or formally admitted it.
It’s one of the weirdest "open secrets" in sports history. You have a man who was literally nicknamed after a piece of graphic design, yet the league he helped build spent half a century pretending he wasn't the guy.
The 1969 Design Choice That Changed Everything
Back in 1969, the NBA was in a bit of an identity crisis. They were locked in a nasty turf war with the American Basketball Association (ABA), and they needed a brand that looked professional, patriotic, and—honestly—better than the competition.
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Enter Alan Siegel.
Siegel, a brand consultant who had just finished working on the Major League Baseball logo, was tasked with creating something similar. He didn't want a drawing of a generic person. He wanted something that captured the kinetic energy of the game. He started digging through the archives of Sport magazine, flipping through thousands of photographs.
He eventually stopped at a shot of Jerry West.
The photo was taken by Wen Roberts. It shows West in a deep crouch, driving toward the basket. Siegel loved the verticality of it. He loved the way the limbs created a perfect balance within a rectangle.
"It had a nice flavor to it," Siegel once told the Los Angeles Times. "So I took that picture, and we traced it. It was perfect."
He didn't hold a focus group. He didn't ask Jerry for permission. He just did it. Within a few weeks, the silhouette was everywhere.
Why the NBA Refuses to Say the Name
You’d think the NBA would be proud of this. Why not celebrate the fact that one of the greatest guards to ever play is the face of the brand?
Money. Well, money and "institutionalization."
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If the NBA officially admits that the logo is Jerry West, they open a Pandora’s box of legal headaches. Suddenly, the image isn't just a trademark; it’s a person's likeness. In today's world of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rights, that could involve massive royalty payments. Even back in the 70s and 80s, the league preferred the idea that the logo represented "every player."
The late David Stern was notorious for dodging this question. He’d basically shrug and say there was no record of who the player was in the archives. It was a convenient bit of corporate amnesia.
Current Commissioner Adam Silver has been a bit more relaxed about it, once admitting in 2021 that while it’s never been "officially declared," it "sure looks a lot like him." That’s about as close to a confession as we’re ever going to get from the front office.
Jerry West Actually Hated the Nickname
Imagine being so good at your job that they make you the literal symbol of the industry, and then realizing you kind of hate it.
Jerry West wasn't a guy who craved the spotlight. He was a perfectionist. A tormented winner. He was "Mr. Clutch," but he also lost eight NBA Finals. He once said that being "The Logo" felt embarrassing.
"I don't like to do anything to call attention to myself," West told ESPN years ago. He even went so far as to say he wished they would change it.
He didn't feel it was fair to the other legends of his era. He often pointed out that there were five or six players the designers looked at—many of them Black athletes like Wilt Chamberlain or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar—and he felt awkward being the one "chosen" to represent the league forever.
He didn't get a penny for it, either. In a 2014 interview, he confirmed he never received residuals or royalties for the billions of shirts, hats, and balls sold with his silhouette on them.
The Modern Push for a Redesign
Since the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant in 2020, there’s been a massive push on social media to change the logo.
Millions of fans signed a petition to put Kobe’s silhouette in that red and blue box. Even Kyrie Irving weighed in, calling Kobe the "true" logo of the modern era.
But the NBA is an old-school institution. Changing a logo that has 100% brand recognition globally is a terrifying prospect for a marketing department. It’s the same reason Coca-Cola doesn't change its font. It’s too valuable to mess with.
What This Means for Basketball History
Jerry West passed away in June 2024 at the age of 86. He left behind a legacy that most players couldn't dream of—not just as a player, but as the architect of the Showtime Lakers and the Shaq-Kobe era.
He was so much more than a silhouette.
Yet, for the casual fan, he will always be that white shape between the red and blue. It’s a bit ironic that a man who spent his life trying to prove he was more than just a "shooter" or a "player" ended up being the most famous outline in the world.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Collectors:
- Identify the Photo: If you're a sports trivia buff, the original Wen Roberts photo is the "Holy Grail" of NBA imagery. Comparing the two side-by-side shows just how little Siegel actually changed the original form.
- The "Logo" Gear: Authentic NBA merchandise doesn't officially mention West’s name on the tags because of the legal reasons mentioned above. If you find "Jerry West Logo" branded gear, it's likely a third-party tribute rather than official NBA property.
- Watch the Evolution: Notice the subtle 2017 update. The NBA changed the font and the shades of red and blue, but they didn't touch the silhouette. That tells you all you need to know about its permanence.
The reality is that Jerry West is the NBA logo, regardless of what the legal papers say. He embodied the transition from a struggling league to a global powerhouse. While the NBA might keep its official "no comment" stance to protect its bottom line, the history books—and Alan Siegel’s own admission—have already closed the case.