Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving is reigniting calls to make Kobe Bryant the new NBA logo.
Irving declared in an Instagram post on Wednesday that the new logo should honor the late Los Angeles Lakers legend, who was killed along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna “Gigi” Bryant, and seven other people, in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, in January of last year.
“Gotta Happen, idc [I don’t care] what anyone says,” Irving wrote. “BLACK KINGS BUILT THE LEAGUE.”
Irving shared a photo of an NBA design spotlighting Bryant, which he credited to graphic designer Tyson Beck in the comments section of the post.
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A post shared by Kyrie (Kaire) (@kyrieirving)
The Nets star’s post, which has since garnered over 1 million “likes” on Instagram, follows other calls to make Bryant the new NBA logo that gained traction online.
Days after the NBA legend’s death last year, a petition to change the logo to honor Bryant racked up over 2 million signatures. The league honored Bryant the following month by renaming the All-Star Game MVP trophy the Kobe Bryant MVP Award.
The famous NBA logo has featured a silhouette of another Los Angeles Lakers legend and former NBA executive since 1969: Jerry West. But West has publicly said on multiple occasions that he wished the NBA would change the logo.
“I don’t like to do anything to call attention to myself,” he once said on ESPN’s “The Jump.”
Designer Alan Siegel has confirmed in interviews that he created the logo using a photo of West, even though the NBA has never officially recognized that the logo is a silhouette of the Hall of Famer.
Irving garnered wide support for his call for the new logo, including from Bryant’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, who co-signed the idea.
She shared Irving’s post in an Instagram Story on Wednesday, writing “Love this.”
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