Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving wants the NBA to change its logo to honor Kobe Bryant.
Irving posted on Instagram earlier this week the NBA should change its logo from a silhouette of former Lakers player Jerry West to honor Kobe Bryant instead.
Last night, he reiterated that desire in a press conference.
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“We want to set a standard and a precedent that this is excellence. Kobe Bryant. Logo. Yes. Needs to happen. I don’t care what anyone says," Irving said. "Black kings built the league.”
Since 1969, the NBA logo has been a silhouette of Hall of Fame former Los Angeles Lakers player Jerry West.
Irving appears to have the support of Bryant's wife Vanessa, who shared his post to her Instagram Stories with the words "love this. @KyrieIrving"
Soon after Bryant and his daughter Gianna died in a California helicopter crash in January 2020, an online petition surfaced proposing the idea. It has garnered over 3 million signatures and counting.
Last year, the league renamed its All-Star MVP trophy to honor Bryant, but has not publicly said anything regarding the push to change the league's long-standing logo.
Irving, who is a vice president in the National Basketball Players Association, received public backing from other prominent voices on his social media post.
Players including LaMelo Ball, Stephen Jackson and Dez Bryant posted supportive comments on Irving's post.
