The rapper and part owner of the Nets plays a big role in the team’s new look as it moves to Brooklyn.
The surprise was mitigated a bit by advance shots of the probable (and now confirmed) logo tweeted by someone allegedly doing IT work in the Nets’ new home at the Barclays Center, and by pictures of Brooklyn Nets swag on sale in a Manhattan clothing store tweeted Friday by Uni Watch and posted by The Basketball Jones. But now it’s all official. These are the logos.
The primary logo — that far-left, blacked-out shield with “NETS” and a B-emblazoned basketball in the crest, zealously called “the new badge of Brooklyn” by a very optimistic Nets CEO Brett Yormark — was designed by part-owner and hip-hop legend Jay-Z, one of the most famous and successful musicians ever to come out of Brooklyn. Based on the gear available for purchase at the Nets’ team store, the team seems to be leaning pretty hard on hip-hop references in an attempt to tether the team to Brooklyn’s rap history.
The coolest thing available is the team’s heather grey “The Corner” T-shirt.
The description, from the Nets’ online store:
The Brooklyn Nets’ new ‘The Corner’ T-shirt. (Image via NBA.com)
It’s time to show NBA basketball what Brooklyn’s all about! Wear this Unk® The Corner t-shirt to boast your pride in your borough and your b-ball team. The chest displays “Brooklyn” with silhouette sneakers dangling from the letters; the Nets’ team logo is displayed at the bottom left.
It’s a really cool image, but also could present the first test of how consumers and the NBA itself will respond to the team’s decision to go all-in on hip-hop-referencing marketing, which could potentially put the team’s brand on something associated with the dicier side of such references.
No word just yet on what the Nets’ new jerseys (not New Jersey, natch) will look like — the team’s slating the official public release for September, but I respectfully submit that there’s no way in hell that pictures of them don’t make their way into the Internet’s hands before that.
