Vanessa Bryant backs Kyrie Irving's new push to change NBA logo to Kobe Bryant

Tom Gatto

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Vanessa Bryant backs Kyrie Irving's new push to change NBA logo to Kobe Bryant image

Kyrie Irving still wants the NBA to change its logo from a silhouette of Jerry West to a full-on action shot of Kobe Bryant.

Bryant's widow responded positively to Irving's latest push.

Vanessa Bryant wrote Wednesday night on Instagram, "Love this @kyrieirving," in reply to Irving posting a 3-D illustration of Kobe Bryant dribbling in front of the NBA logo's blue-and-red background.

"Gotta Happen, idc what anyone says. BLACK KINGS BUILT THE LEAGUE," Irving wrote in the post (emphasis his). Bryant's action in the image is similar to the West drive that was used to create the silhouette that is at the center of the current logo.

The post energized NBA social media; Irving's post alone had garnered more than 1 million likes and close to 21,000 replies as of 2:15 a.m. ET Thursday.

And while Kobe was a popular pick among responders, there was, of course, a large group calling for Michael Jordan to be the league's new logo. 

As for West, he has said in the past that he would be amenable to a change.

The NBA reportedly has never officially acknowledged that West is the person in the current logo so that it doesn't have to pay him royalties for its use of the image. Commentators speculated Wednesday that the league might not want to change the logo to Bryant if it has to pay royalties to his estate.

Calls for a logo change began shortly after Bryant died in a helicopter crash in January 2020.

The league has not commented on Irving's post.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.