Who is on the NBA logo?

The NBA logo is perhaps the single image best associated with the league. The logo isn’t patterned after a generic, nonexistent basketball player. The man who inspired the logo is none other than Los Angeles Lakers legend and basketball Hall of Famer Jerry West, now an executive with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Who is Jerry West? 

There’s good reason why West was chosen for the logo. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. 

In 14 seasons, West made 14 NBA All-Star teams and 12 All-NBA Teams. He also led the Lakers to the 1972 NBA championship. 

The current NBA logo was designed in 1969 by Alan Siegel, founder of Siegel + Gale, a brand strategy, design and experience firm. After he saw an image of “Mr. Clutch” in Sport magazine, Siegel chose West — who was still an active player  — as his model.

Who is on the MLB logo?

The only other major professional U.S. league that has a player as a model for its official logo is Major League Baseball. Its model is Minnesota Twins legend Harmon Killebrew. Like West, Killebrew is thought of as one of his game's greats. He finished his career with 573 home runs and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984.