NBABy Ryan Wong on

On Monday, the Milwaukee Bucks unveiled three new logos to usher in a new era of basketball for the team.

As a bonus, the Bucks also treated everyone to some hilarious brand-speak as well (why can’t teams simply say “We went with this because it tested well and it’s really cool?”).

First, there’s the primary logo which looks decidedly old school and clean (I really like how the horns form the shape of a basketball, rather than just tossing in the ball as a background image).

The centerpiece of the new brand is the new Buck emblem. The new Buck is only looking ahead, an imposing figure determined and focused on the path in front of him. Several features chronicle the transformation of the team into an undeniable force:

1. An expanded rack (from 8 to 12 points) showing the maturation of the Buck, and underlining the point that he has become an even greater force.

2. The basketball feature in the negative space between the antlers.

3. The M Shape within the chest chevron as an homage to Milwaukee

4. With hard edges that appear almost cut from metal, and industrial but classic proprietary font juxtaposed against the curvature of the logo represents a symbolic union of urban and rural Wisconsin.

Then there’s the more basketball-focused secondary logo that is slightly reminiscent of the Brooklyn Nets’ design.

More brand-speak!

Serving as a badge of honor, the secondary mark portrays a strong reminder of the rich heritage of Bucks basketball in Milwaukee:

1. Established in 1968, the Bucks are proud to be one of the five longest tenured NBA franchises remaining in their founding city.

2. The basketball that is alluded to in the primary logo begins to take concrete shape behind the antlers in this logo.

3. A stylized version of the subtle “M” from the New Buck’s chest in the primary logo is now called out. This brings additional focus to our home city within our new identity.

Lastly, the team also unveiled the tertiary logo which highlights that the Bucks are from the state of Wisconsin, in case you forgot.

The outline of Wisconsin solidifies the importance of the entire state to the underlying fabric of the new Bucks brand. The basketball/antler element once again appears, representing a geographical anchor over the city of Milwaukee. This is the symbolic expression of the team as a statewide unifying force. This is the only element in which each of the three colors in the new Bucks palette appears together, introducing blue while retaining a strong green identity and use of cream as the foundational color.

Overall, I dig the whole makeover. The new primary logo takes the popular circular badge look that the Nets and Raptors used in their makeovers and subverts it by having the Buck’s antlers break through the top of it. The green and cream look looks very good on a shirt and, likely not coincidentally, recalls Wisconsin’s popular football team.

[Bucks]

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