THE Emirates NBA Cup 2024 is here and that means the return of one of last season’s most controversial additions: courts.
They are stylized. They are noisy. They all feature concentric circles this year for some reason. (The NBA says the circles “represent the three stages of competition”: group play, quarterfinals, semifinals and championship.)
Last year’s pitches received harsh backlash, but the league is bringing them back for another round. Even though this year’s group is a little less undisciplined, there are still some strong points, good and bad. We will present them all to you with a quick verdict that we cannot promise will be serious.
(All images courtesy of the NBA.)
Atlanta Falcons
Yahoo Sports verdict: ATL stands for Atlanta, you see.
Boston Celtics
Yahoo Sports verdict: This is a good example of highlighting your strengths, although green and black can still clash for some people.
Brooklyn fillets
Yahoo Sports verdict: Metro policing on the ends of the field works better than anything in the boundaries.
Charlotte Frelons
Yahoo Sports verdict: Hive patterns really work here.
Chicago Bulls
Yahoo Sports verdict: A larger version of your logo in the background won’t offend anyone, part 1.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Yahoo Sports verdict: Maybe we should just swap the backgrounds of the Cavaliers and Nets.
Dallas Mavericks
Yahoo Sports verdict: A city skyline never fails.
Denver Nuggets
Yahoo Sports verdict: Here we see the benefits of the Cup Trophy actually matching your color scheme.
Detroit Pistons
Yahoo Sports verdict: We need more logos.
Warriors of the Golden State
Yahoo Sports verdict: Introducing an alternate logo is actually not the worst use of the NBA Cup.
Houston Rockets
Yahoo Sports verdict: This is what happens when you watch Star Wars on deadline night.
Indiana Pacers
Yahoo Sports verdict: There is truly no greater honor for a broadcaster than to see words painted in 25-foot type.
Los Angeles Clippers
Yahoo Sports verdict: The return of the Clippers script is a welcome development.
Los Angeles Lakers
Yahoo Sports verdict: Los Angeles, the city where palm trees are as tall as skyscrapers. Also, is it too late for the Celtics to put their championship stars in the deep end?
Memphis Grizzlies
Yahoo Sports verdict: The Grizzlies have been using this stylized “MEM” for a while and it works decently as both a logo and a geometric pattern.
Miami Heat
Yahoo Sports verdict: We would have loved to attend the meeting where they landed by simply zooming in on the upper right portion of their logo.
Milwaukee Bucks
Yahoo Sports verdict: There is another field with a giant doe waiting to see how this duel goes.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Yahoo Sports verdict: It probably would have been better to focus more on the trees, without the “TIMBERWOLVES” in the middle.
New Orleans Pelicans
Yahoo Sports verdict: A larger version of your logo in the background won’t offend anyone, part 2.
New York Knicks
Yahoo Sports verdict: We said a city skyline never fails, but it’s a little weird that the Knicks have done almost nothing else.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Yahoo Sports verdict: A larger version of your logo in the background won’t offend anyone, part 3.
Magic of Orlando
Yahoo Sports verdict: We’d give this design three stars, but someone already gave it eight.
Philadelphia Sixers
Yahoo Sports verdict: Kudos to the Sixers for being the only team to actually incorporate the eye pattern on all of these pitches.
Phoenix Suns
Yahoo Sports verdict: The PHX stands for Phoenix, you see.
Portland Trail Blazers
Yahoo Sports verdict: This is perhaps the biggest winner of all. The roses are beautiful and everything seems coherent.
Kings of Sacramento
Yahoo Sports verdict: Anyone who struggled with geometric proofs in school is sweating this one.
San Antonio Spurs
Yahoo Sports verdict: Yeah, we’re in Texas.
Toronto Raptors
Yahoo Sports verdict: A nice use of the jerseys’ subtly jagged pinstripes.
Utah Jazz
Yahoo Sports verdict: What, did you expect anything other than the mountains of Utah?
Wizards of Washington
Yahoo Sports verdict: As always, we’re not even sure we can say the Wizards tried.
