In the days following Kobe Bryant's tragic death, more than two million people have signed a petition requesting that the National Basketball Association change it's official logo to feature the Laker legend. Despite the enormous support, the league is reportedly uninterested in making any changes or updates to the current logo.
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The NBA has never admitted that their current logo is based on a photo of Jerry West, even though the man who created the logo, Alan Siegel, has confirmed otherwise. With that in mind, the league is against having any individual player being represented as their official logo.
According to Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel,
"The reasons are myriad, mostly legal and financial. West has never tried to cash in on his likeness, and for the past few years even publicly wished the league would change the logo and use someone else."
"Sources familiar with the league’s thinking said there is no interest in having an individual player as its logo because there are so many who have been instrumental in the growth of the game and the NBA. Generic is better."
There are a number of other ways for the NBA to honor Bryant's legacy, including naming the All Star trophy after him or retiring his No. 24. In fact, players around the league have already begun informally retiring Bryant's jersey numbers and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban recently announced that no Maverick will wear No. 24 ever again.
It remains to be seen how the league will go about honoring the Black Mamba but for now, it seems, the logo will remain the same.
