Here are the 76ers’ new logos, featuring Dribbling Ben Franklin
The Philadelphia 76ers are in the midst of an organizational overhaul and roster rebuild aimed at turning a long-middling franchise into a title contender. (A lot of people don’t like the way they’re going about it; you’ve probably heard about this once or twice over the past couple of years.) They’re not as far along in that process as the playoff-participating Milwaukee Bucks, but like their starting-from-the-bottom Eastern Conference brethren, they’ve decided to accent their structural renovation with a cosmetic one in the form of new logos:
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The changes to the Sixers’ primary logo — a move from a rectangular casing to a blue circle surrounding the basketball, with a slight redesign of the basketball itself — represent more of a “nip and a tuck update” than a full-fledged facelift, as CEO Scott O’Neil put it Tuesday. It also represents yet another team moving toward a circular logo, joining old-timers like the Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz, as well as more recent revampers like the Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards.
And, as Chris Creamer of SportsLogos.net notes, it also represents the Sixers once again putting a kinda-sorta new coat of paint on a design that’s been one of the NBA’s best since the early 1960s:
What I call “a kinda-sorta new coat of paint,” the Sixers call “a modern interpretation of the classic Sixers insignia, stylistically redeveloped to include a patriotic blue border with six white stars and “PHILADELPHIA” adorned across the heading.” To-may-toe, to-mah-toe, I suppose!
While I’m onboard with the idea of keeping things clean and simple, and not overhauling your look just for the sake of change, I do kind of wish that the bonkers Dribbling Ben Franklin figure — a revamp of the “Big Ben” mascot concept floated back in 2011 that was first spotted last summer and later disavowed by the Sixers — would’ve been bumped from secondary logo to No. 1 with a bullet. The more pieces of team apparel and on-court paraphernalia that feature a cartoon version of the inventor of bifocals, lightning rods and flexible urinary catheters, the better, as far as I’m concerned. (And if there’s not a shirt available in the Sixers’ team shop by Opening Night featuring Dribbling Ben with a Nerlens Noel flat-top, well, shame on all involved.)
The 76ers will continue the rollout of its “updated visual identity” — which they say begins with these logos, but let’s be honest, it really began with the introduction of new blue dog mascot Franklin back in February — with the June 18 public unveiling of new uniforms inspired by the team’s ’60s, ’70s and ’80s designs. Dribbling Ben “will not be included on the new uniforms,” though, according to Paul Lukas of UniWatch, so what’s the point, really?
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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