Jay-Z Inspired Brooklyn Nets Logo Revealed
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Some argue it’s not a slam dunk, but the newly-revealed Brooklyn Nets logo–partially designed by rapper Jay-Z–racks up points in my book. The black-and-white logo sports two versions, both testaments to minimalism. The first sets an all-white basketball stamped with a black letter “B” in the center of a circle, with “Brooklyn” etched arced over the top of the basketball and “New York” patterned on the bottom. The second, similar to a tee Jay-Z donned at a concert days before the official reveal, shows a white shield encasing the same “B”-printed basketball as the first design with large-print “NETS” overhead.
These understated logos migrate from the team’s decades-long red, white, and blue color scheme and act as an integral part in the Nets’ re-branding effort as the team moves back to its native Brooklyn borough after spending more than 30 years in New Jersey. Their creation invoked a few key considerations, including the decision to use a single “B” rather than a “BK,” a choice influenced by rapper Jay-Z. The Brooklyn native, who is a minority owner of the team, also inspired a large part of the design.
“He came to me with a story he thought we should tell,” Nets CEO Brett Yormark told the New York Post. “If you think about the old New York subway system, [it] was very black-and-white … white tiles, black colors in the subway, and that was his inspiration.”
The logo was revealed Monday, the same time the Nets confirmed their transfer to Brooklyn to start next season in the 
near-complete $1 billion Barclays Center. Thus far, its simplicity has elicited mixed feelings from media and fans.
“It makes you wonder if the ‘B’ on the front stands for ‘basic’ instead of ‘Brooklyn,’” Time quipped.
Brooklyn denizen and ESPN blogger Paul Lukas exercised less unequivocal sentiment but still was not overly impressed.
“It isn’t over-designed; it doesn’t try to look macho or fierce or intimidating; it doesn’t make use of gratuitous digital tricks like beveling; it doesn’t feel ‘extreme,’” he wrote, before adding, “The whole thing feels more like an Old Navy knock-off than an NBA logo.”
To me, the lack of luster (but not lackluster) exudes an authenticity, an homage to vintage and to the team’s roots and heritage. It’s unassumingness makes it cool.
“We thought it kind of represented Brooklyn. It’s simple. It’s crisp. It’s kind of classic. It’s urban. We thought it’s New York,” Irina Pavlova, the president of Mikhail Prokhorov’s sports and entertainment company, told New York Daily News.
Yormark sanctions the shield “the badge of Brooklyn.”
The logo’s final test will be its appearance on the uniforms, up for reveal next.
See you on the court.
Photos from the New York Post and Time
