The NBA would like us to think as much, but it looks more like Oklahoma City was struck by the ugly stick. It is impossible to make sense of any part of this monstrosity. What does this shield shape represent, and why are the surrounding strokes not consistent? The tiny slice of yellow looks like a mistake, as if it was the result of bad registration in a printed piece. Also puzzling are the swoosh lines that are no doubt supposed to indicate the 'fast-paced' and 'dynamic' nature of Thunder basketball. However with nothing at the end of the trail, they appear to look more like a pair of chop sticks sitting behind the shield. There is no relationship typographically between the light, condensed, radially arched THUNDER nickname and the bold, oblique, outlined OKC. The logo as a whole is vaguely reminiscent of the Cleveland Cavs 'paint splash' logo of the '90s in both form and color. Also prominently missing is any connection whatsoever to either Thunder or the geographic area which the team will now make its home.
To me, this logo is a failure in every way. It is especially disappointing given the amount of time taken to unveil it. The team played with generic uniforms all summer due to a lack of name or identiy. The Thunder would have been much better off with a number of the free submissions to Uniwatch's design contest, which produced a suprising number of more interesting and intelligent solutions.
With the excessive controversy surrounding the relocation of the former-Sonics franchise, you'd think that Clay Bennett & Co. would want to do everything right. However, after seeing this, the people of Oklahoma probably wish the team had stayed in Seattle.
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