Currently averaging a career-high 27.4 points per game while shooting 51% from the field and 40.6% from three-point territory, Kyrie Irving remains must-see TV for any basketball fan.
With his team simultaneously enjoying a seven-game win streak, ascending with true momentum, and now just a half-game away from the Eastern Conference’s top spot, all seems right for Uncle Drew.
But as we all know, Irving’s responsibilities go beyond basketball. Having frequently spent time working to promote racial and social justice reform with a wide number of projects, Irving remains very committed to his efforts off the hardwood even amidst a title run. Sometimes these non-basketball-related obligations for Irving fail to match up with his duties as player, forcing him to momentarily prioritize one over the other.
But this week, the two components somewhat collided.
Calling for greater appreciation toward the black community and all that it’s accomplished, Irving called for the NBA to change its logo.
“Gotta Happen, idc what anyone says. BLACK KINGS BUILT THE LEAGUE,” Irving posted to Instagram with an edited photograph suggesting the late Kobe Bryant replace Jerry West as the NBA’s new logo-model.
Nets star Kyrie Irving wants Kobe Bryant to be featured as the new NBA logo.
He added this in the comments, too:
“To all the people who say it is not about color. ‘BLACK’ or ‘BLACK KINGS’ That’s what we call ourselves and that’s what oppressors refused to call MY ancestors. BLACK KINGS. Deal with it!”
Irving also thanked Tyson Beck, the artist who created the image.
Racial justice leader and former NBA star Stephen Jackson showed his support for Irving’s proposition, commenting “Facts” under the post. Sports icon Bruce Lee also seemed to agree with the concept, dropping three fire emojis into the comment section. Vanessa Bryant endorsed Irving’s post too, later putting it on her Instagram story.
Let’s not forget Bryant and Irving had a very close relationship, and you can bet Bryant’s off-the-court work influenced Irving to do the same. Life isn’t all about basketball.
Kyrie wants the NBA logo to change from Jerry West to Kobe Bryant. We’ve had Jerry on The Jump and asked him about the logo; he said he’s perfectly happy to cede it to someone else... pic.twitter.com/D2CTs3qQWv
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) February 24, 2021
While on ESPN’s “The Jump” a few years ago, West voiced his support in granting someone else the “logo man” honor. This puts the pressure on Adam Silver, making it an interesting development to follow as the season continues to progress. Over the summer, the NBA made visual efforts similar to a potential logo change in supporting the fight for racial justice, painting “Black Lives Matter” onto their courts and allowing players to customize their jerseys.
Considering the undeniable support for this move beside its just nature, this feels like a potential home-run move for the league to give the green light to.
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