The Washington Wizards are the National Basketball Association franchise based in Washington, D.C. The team’s current primary logo, introduced in 2015, centers on a stylized basketball incorporating the Washington Monument, a design element the franchise had used as an alternate mark since 2011.
Design and History
The franchise adopted the Wizards name in 1997, replacing the Bullets moniker. The original Wizards primary logo, used from 1997 through the 2006-07 season, featured a bearded magician in slate blue with a black “W” on its chest, spinning a bronze basketball with one hand. The shade of bronze in that logo was changed following the 2006-07 season.[1]
On April 15, 2015, the Wizards unveiled a new primary logo that dropped the wizard imagery entirely. The new mark featured the Washington Monument ball design set in a roundel, along with the team’s wordmarks. The team said it would immediately discontinue use of the wizard and partial moon logo that had been in place since 1997.[2] The new primary logo incorporated the “monument ball” design that had been in use since 2011, combined with the striping from the team’s uniforms and the three stars representing D.C.[3][4]
The logo without the roundel and team name had previously been used as the Wizards’ secondary logo. The franchise introduced the new primary version at the conclusion of the 2014-15 regular season and began using it at the start of the 2015 NBA Playoffs.[5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The 2015 logo incorporates the Washington Monument into the basketball, with two stars on either side of the word “Washington” and another star above the monument, an echo of the three-starred D.C. flag. The design also includes a white stripe similar to that found in the Washington Capitals logo.[6] The three stars in the logo represent Maryland, Washington D.C., and Virginia.[7]
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