Michael Weinstein Design

Washington Wizards

When I posted my last NBA team logo, the team almost switched cities on me. This time I pick a team that comes out with a new logo and new uniforms while I’m working on it. My timing is impeccable.

The Team

I don’t have much to say about the Wiz. I think they went from the best team name in the NBA to possibly the worst, which makes it easy to forget about their long history as the Bullets.

They always seem to have some interesting young players, but haven’t been able to do much in the playoffs. They could be dangerous in a few years if John Wall turns into an All-Star and stays with the team. This year they finished 23–59, but on a brighter note, center Javale McGee recently dunked 2 basketballs at once in the dunk contest. Good times.

I had to post this picture on the right because I was absolutely baffled by it. What this gray-haired old man is doing stepping foot on an NBA court with Bird is beyond me.

Past/Current Logos

I keeps one in the chamber, in case you ponderin'

In 1963 the Chicago Zephyrs (formerly the Packers) moved to Baltimore, Maryland, and became the Baltimore Bullets. There are certainly some things I would change about this logo, but it’s pretty awesome. After watching 5 seasons of The Wire, this logo seems fitting for Baltimore.

In the 1969/70 season, the Bullets adopted a new logo, and eventually moved to Washington D.C. in 73′. I can see why the team might not want actual bullets in their logo. I used to like this logo more but looking at it now, the s is pretty messed up. In 1978, the Bullets finished 44–38, and somehow went on a crazy playoff run to win their only championship, led by Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld.

In 1995, the team announced that it would be changing it’s name. Owner Abe Pollin claimed that the high homicide and crime rate in D.C. in the 90’s made him uncomfortable with the name. The team held a contest to find a new name, eventually settling on Wizards. This name ended up being equally controversial because apparently Wizard is a rank in the Ku Klux Klan. Bad times all around. The team colors changed to match the Washington Capitals, and NHL team owned by Pollin. I’ve never really liked this name, or logo, or colors. Something about that W made by the wizard’s beard just pisses me off.

Here is the new logo the team released last week. It looks like they are trying to get closer to the old Bullets branding with the colors and typography. The wizard looks a little better, but I think they would have been better off starting with something new.

Redesign

It isn’t easy to make a wizard look cool. My idea from the get-go was to use the negative space from the overlapping Ws to create the shape of the wizard. I soon realized that a big white wizard with a pointy hat was not gonna be acceptable, so I had to work around that. The blue and red, and the simplified typography are athrowback to the old Bullets logo that I liked so much.

See the rest of my NBA logos here »