The New York Knicks have used only three primary logos since the franchise was founded in 1946, with the current triangle-based mark serving as the team’s identity since it was unveiled on June 17, 1992. The logo features the word “Knicks” in bold, three-dimensional lettering above a basketball, all framed within a triangle. The words “New York” were added to the top of the logo for the 1995-96 season, a change that remains in place today.[1]
Design and History
The Knicks’ first logo, used from the 1946-47 season through 1963-64, depicted a smiling “Father Knickerbocker” character dribbling a basketball. That mark was designed by Willard Mullin, a well-known New York sports cartoonist.[2]
In the 1964-65 season, the team introduced a new “classic roundball” logo, designed by Bud Freeman, an artist at the J.C. Bull advertising agency. The Knicks won both of their NBA championships while using this mark, which was slightly adjusted in color and style for the 1976-77 season and remained in use through the 1991-92 season.[2]
The current logo was created by Michael Doret, a New York-raised designer and lettering artist. The NBA approached Doret in the spring of 1991 to redesign the Knicks’ identity, which had not been updated in nearly 30 years.[3] The project was overseen by Tom O’Grady, the NBA’s first creative director, who was hired in June 1990 to lead the league’s new creative services department.[4]
Doret was given broad creative freedom, with only a few directives. The NBA asked him to incorporate something symbolic of New York City into the logo, and early concepts featured the Empire State Building. That element was ultimately removed due to licensing concerns raised by the building’s owners.[5] Doret was also asked to keep the blue and orange from the previous logo.[6]
Doret described the final design as a deliberate evolution rather than a radical departure, taking the elements of the previous roundball logo and rearranging them into a cleaner, more modern composition.[5] The design process took about six months and involved more than 15 sketches presented to the league.[5]
For the 1995-96 season, the words “New York” were added to the top of the logo.[1] The team has also adjusted its color palette in recent years. For the 2022-23 season, the Knicks introduced a slightly darker blue and darker silver, followed by a lighter shade of orange for the 2023-24 season.[7]
Meaning and Symbolism
The triangular shape in the background was designed to give the logo a “super-hero feeling,” drawing inspiration from Superman, Batman and Gotham City, according to Tom O’Grady.[4] Doret noted that although the Empire State Building was removed from the final design, the logo “feels like it has height, like you’re looking up at buildings or something and maybe suggesting a big city.”[5]
The team’s blue, white and orange color scheme has been in place throughout the franchise’s history and pays tribute to the official colors of New York City.[8]
Typography and Design
Doret’s work on the Knicks logo was lettering-oriented, a signature of his career. He described drawing cues from lettering of the 1930s and 1940s, “only this time around with a slight twist.”[6] The design was created by hand using ink on vellum with color overlays, before the widespread use of computer design programs.[5]
Doret also designed a secondary “subway token” logo featuring the “NYK” monogram, inspired by the iconic New York City subway token. The design was used on Knicks jerseys and apparel, though its authorship became a point of dispute between Doret and the NBA.[5][4]
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