Okay, so this isn’t the ideal re-branding effort by the Washington Wizards. Could the capitol’s team really ever revert to the “Bullets” nickname of decades past, though? And on second thought, do we even want it to considering the nation’s problems with gun violence?
That’s a broader discussion for another time; the Wizards’ primary logo is at issue here, and we think they absolutely nailed it. Below is Washington’s new symbol followed by a brief explanation of its design courtesy of the team’s website.
The new primary logo incorporates the “monument ball” design that has been in place since 2011 in combination with the iconic striping from the team’s uniforms, the three stars that represent D.C., Maryland and Virginia (which are also featured on the apron of center court at Verizon Center) and the team’s wordmarks.
Just as thrilling as the logo itself is news that the Wizards will discontinue use of the Gandalf-esque sorcerer it debuted back in 1997 – and tweaked four years ago – when it originally re-branded from the Bullets. Whereas the Toronto Raptors’ dinosaur or Detroit Pistons’ horse makes us nostalgic for cartoonish symbols of youth, Washington’s actual wizard was a misstep from the very beginning
Talk about an upgrade:
Now only if the Wizards could make a similar switch on the sidelines, maybe they’d have a team befitting one of basketball’s cleanest emblems.
