The NBA welcomed the great state of Oklahoma into the league’s fold with the debut of the official brand logo identity, look and feel of the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder were previously located in Seattle since 1967 and were known as the Supersonics up until this past July. It’s always fascinating to see what a new team will come up with as their visual integrity and based on the last few new entries into the NBA (Vancouver Grizzlies, Toronto Raptors, Charlotte Bobcats) once again they have missed the tray from three-point land. Some teams take forever to get it right (Cleveland Cavaliers, New Jersey Nets, Atlanta Hawks) and like a free-throw, other teams never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity (Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Timberwolves).

The OKC Thunder main theme logo has some good points such as the font and the dark blue. I like the shield with the
basketball, but the skewed OKC with the red and cyan slashes look like it was lifted from a car dealership. Plus the stacking of the word “Thunder” on top of the graphic portion is over-powering. Using orange always gets my vote.

I’ve always been partial to the University of Oklahoma Sooners color-scheme: Red and White. The contrast is a perfect balance, especially on the gridiron. I didn’t expect a very literal interpretation of the OKC team nickname “THUNDER” but when you launch a new new brand, the last thing you want to be is understated or look unprepared. Basically the logo seems rushed and under-developed. Two months isn’t a wealth of time in all fairness, to sink a winning shot before the buzzer when it comes to these situations.

Seattle has retained the rights to use the old name and there is talk that the NBA will put a new team back in the Emerald City just like they did when the Hornets left Charlotte for New Orleans and the Bobcats were born, as a result. The Hornets’s big idea was to don “Urine Colored” uniforms a few years ago. Doesn’t New Orleans have enough problems? Who’s the marketing wizard that came up with that brain synapse?

The old logo the Sonics introduced back in the 1990s was outstanding! A great look and feel with a fun, retro feel. It was one of the most popular NBA licensed identities during its run.

For some odd reason, the fans in Seattle felt that reverting back to a revamped iteration of the old logo in 2001 would work wonders. Maybe if they looked like the old Sonics, they would play like the old Sonics? Obviously it didn’t help keep the team in Seattle. I feel their pain having been betrayed by my favorite team moving out of town. It sucks and it’s a total betrayal when you are a die hard fan! The fans in Seattle deserve better and I hope they get a new team with a logo that is a slam dunk winner.

New franchises often have to take a while before they get their footing and experience growing pains both on and off the court. In 1994 the Toronto Raptors thought that using a dinosaur in their logo which was inspired by the 1993 movie Jurassic Park was the way to go. One thing they didn’t anticipate was whenever a Raptor lined for a free throw, arenas all over the NBA would play the theme from “Barney”. The Toronto players were not amused. They dialed back the Dino factor and started going with the tried and true Canadian red and white. Good move, eh?

Check out what the Vancouver Grizzlies started out with and where they have now netted out. A very huge improvement. This original logo was as brutal as the Grizzlies were on the hardwood. They were ugly in every respect and tried to ride that 1990s wave with teal and loots of it. So they stink up the joint in Vancouver and they get bought out and moved to Memphis. They completely started over from scratch in every way and brought in basketball god Jerry West to shake things up from top to bottom. It worked and the team started to win and they also had a winning brand identity too. It took a while, but they are now a “have” instead of a “have not”. The test of a successful licensed identity is if kids are wearing the team’s licensed products beyond the team’s geographic base. A great logo and who doesn’t love a fierce looking bear?

The Oklahoma City Thunder will find their way soon enough and I wish them luck in their inaugural season in the Sooner state.

JOEL KIRSTEIN is a Creative Director and has been in the Ad Agency trenches for 25 years and knows there are no Lake(r)s in Los Angeles, Jazz in Utah and definitely no Wizards in Washington.

Article Tags: A great look and feel with a fun retro feel It was one of the most popular NBA licensed identities for years. | he stacking of the word "Thunder" on top of the graphic portion is over-powering | I didn't expect the a very literal interpretation of the OKC team nickname "THUNDER" | look and feel of the Oklahoma City Thunder | once again they have missed the tray from three-point land | other teams never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity | Raptors thought that using a dinosaur in their logo which was inspired by the 1993 movie Jurassic Park was the way to go | Some teams take forever to get it right | The NBA welcomed the great state of Oklahoma into the league's fold with the debut of the official brand logo identity | The old logo the Sonics introduced back in the 1990s was outstanding! | the skewed OKC with the red and cyan slashes look like it was lifted from a car dealership | visual integrity | when you launch a new new brand the last thing you want to be is understated or look unprepared
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