Kyrie Irving makes the case: Put Kobe Bryant on the NBA logo

Jerry West’s silhouette has served as the NBA’s logo since 1969.

In 2021, Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving believes it is time for a change, preferably to the image of late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.

It is no secret that Irving had a close relationship with Bryant, with the two sharing both a healthy respect for each other’s games while also being extremely competitive towards one another.

So it should come as no surprise that Irving is pushing for Bryant to take the mantle as the NBA’s next silhouette.

Vanessa Bryant, the widow of Kobe, valued the sentiments from Irving.

Before his tragic passing in Jan. 2020, Bryant had amassed one of the most impressive resumes in NBA history. He was an 18-time All-Star, four-time All-Star Game MVP, 15-time All-NBA selection, 2008 NBA MVP, a five-time NBA champion, and a two-time Finals MVP.

FOX Sports’ NBA insider Chris Broussard agrees that Bryant’s dominance makes him the perfect choice to be the next logo of the NBA — even if he wasn’t the greatest player of all time.

“I think this is a great idea,” Broussard said on “Undisputed.” “People have talked about updating the logo for awhile now … It doesn’t have to be the best player to ever have played the game. That discussion, that debate woulnd’t exist if you made it Kobe Bryant.”

Though Bryant has a strong case for being the logo, FOX Sports contibuter Rob Parker believes that the person who truly deserves the honor is Chicago Bulls icon Michael Jordan.

“The logo should be changed to Michael Jordan’s jumpman. To me, he’s the one who took the game to the next level and is decorated as, most people think, the greatest player.”

Jordan is one of the few players who accomplished more than Bryant in the NBA, having been named a 14-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA selection, a 6-time NBA champion and Finals MVP, a five-time NBA MVP, and the 1988 Defensive Player of the Year.

Whether the logo eventually becomes Jordan or Bryant remains to be seen, but one thing has been established by West — he is fine with the prospect of giving it up, as he explained on ESPN’s “The Jump.”

“I don’t like to do anything to call attention to myself. If they would want to change it, I wish they would, in many ways, I wish they would.”

Irving has called his shot on who he thinks should be the NBA’s next logo.

Let’s see if he makes it.

Get more from National Basketball Association Add to your favorites to get information about games, news and more.