Bobblehead Nation 2018

I just got one question to ask NBA fans getting ready for the 2018-2019 season. That question of course is...who's ready for some bobbleheads? I mean the season starts Tuesday. It's about time I got this annual post out of the way.

If you are in Salt Lake City or Houston or Chicago or Oakland or Phoenix or Delaware or Los Angeles or Cleveland or Detroit or Milwaukee or Fort Wayne or Charlotte or Santa Cruz or Brooklyn (maybe) or Atlanta (also maybe), you know you are going to be rewarded for answering that question in the affirmative if you then take the time to show up at your local NBA arena on the right gameday. Heck, if you are a Warriors fan in the Bay Area (or even if you are not a Warriors fan but just happened to go to the right preseason game) it's already well into bobblehead season because the Dubs routinely hand out bobbles to paying customers and die-hard fans before the regular season even tips off. Lucky bastards!

Now, if you are in Memphis or San Antonio...sorry, folks. Promotional schedule is out and there ain't no bobbleheads on it. Although maybe I'm breaking the news too soon. Last year the Milwaukee Bucks released their bobblehead-less giveaway schedule and then added a bunch of bobbles later on as part of their Legends of the Rafters celebration last year. Oh...and the Los Angeles thing is Clippers, not Lakers. Sorry, Lakers fans. 

Don't know if your team has or has not released their freebee schedule yet? Check the bottom of this post. There's a list of those teams I haven't found dates for yet. In the meantime, let's get to the list of those who are on board with the cause.

September
29 Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors)
Last year the Golden State Warriors celebrated the preseason by giving away two bobbleheads during their two home games. The two years before that? Three per season. How are the Dubs simultaneously the best team in the NBA on the floor and in the bobblehead giveaway department? I'm jealous as hell here. This year the team starts handing out bobbles in September (yes, most of you already missed this one) with Draymond Green and his three Larry O'Brien trophies.

October

8 Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)

Every year in Golden State is Steph Curry bobblehead year. I sometimes complain about the repeat player bobbleheads the Wizards hand out because there's only one precious bobblehead per year in most years. I wouldn't complain about having five or six Steph bobbles considering the Dubs hand out six or seven of these things per season. This preseason in Oakland it's throwback Steph. He's got his old school Warriors jersey on (the design that matches the awful old Wizards jerseys so closely that I'm convinced Golden State and Washington got a two-fer here) and his RUN TMC hat celebrating the fast paced Warriors featuring Tim Hardaway (the T), Mitch Richmond (the M) and Chris Mullin (the C) back in the 1990s. This bobble (along the September Dray bobble) look amazing. Is it just the pics or are these things really of superior quality?

12 Kevin Durant (Golden State Warriors)

The past few years have seen various Warriors players in San Jose Sharks sweaters for their annual preseason gig in San Jose just down the 101. This year, fans are treated to Kevin Durant in a goalie's uniform while also somehow holding a basketball in his glove. Impossible? Who cares? It's a free preseason bobblehead. I'm still jealous but at least the preseason portion of this post is over. And don't get upset if you are a Warriors fan and want a KD bobble in hoops gear. That will happen soon enough...

17 James Harden MVP (Houston Rockets)

Win an award, get a bobblehead, at least that's what some teams are doing. I guess that's justified. Last year the Rockets gave Eric Gordon his very own bobble for winning the 2016-17 NBA Sixth Man Award. This year, James Harden gets his very own bobble with an MVP trophy in his hands. This thing is seriously impressive; check out the detail on the statue the Beard is holding. But what exactly is Harden wearing? Is that matching pajamas and overcoat? Not sure I'm understanding things right here. Get there early for this one, Rockets fans. They are only handing out 3,000 of these babies. This is, by the way, at least the fourth Harden bobblehead handed out by the Rockets in the last five years.

20 Joel Embiid (Delaware Blue Coats)

OK, so I've never ever featured a G-League team giving away a bobblehead in this post before but this Embiid bobble is so spectacular that I had to break tradition (spoiler alert: he's not the only G-League freebie in this post). Embiid is ultimately going to be one of those opposing players that I love to hate because (a) he's really good and (b) he's got a big mouth. For now, the 76ers haven't been successful enough that it's getting to me. For now. The Delaware Blue Coats used to be the 87ers but they are recently renamed and moved to Wilmington (or will be later this year). November 20 they are playing a game at the Sixers' home Wells Fargo Center. Go there (not Delaware) to pick this one up.

28 Lou Williams Sixth Man of the Year (Los Angeles Clippers)
Last year the Wizards blew an incredible number of games they shouldn't have through lack of effort and sheer stupidity including an early December game in Los Angeles against the Clippers. Down two with 8.0 seconds remaining, the Clips put Lou Williams in the game who proceeded to drain a three with just 1.0 second left and kill the Wizards. It's stuff like this that got Williams the Sixth Man Award last year. He's available for pickup at Staples on October 28 complete with his award.

31 Kevin Durant (Golden State Warriors)
Told you there would be a KD bobblehead in hoops gear soon. Can't even get out of the first month of the regular season without another Dubs bobble to go with your three from the preseason. Of course, it's the Warriors so this bobblehead like all the rest comes with a pile of hardware. Jealous. Again.

November

12 Dominque Wilkins (Atlanta Hawks)
Atlanta's back in the bobblehead game after nothing but crickets for years. Makes sense that they would start with the human highlight reel because honestly if you asked most people to name anyone past or present who played for the Hawks, Dominique would be the ONLY person they could name. And yes, there is some disrespect intended to the current roster. A couple of notes about this night and the Hawks' schedule in general. First, this bobblehead is available to the first 300 (that's not a lot) orders of tickets for this night, so by the time you read this, they may all be gone. And second, there's an image of a Harry the Hawk bobblehead on their website alongside their promo calendar link but the Harry bobblehead isn't on the schedule. Mystery!

26 Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers) / Splash Brothers (Golden State Warriors)

No more Kyrie Irving. No more LeBron James. Might as well start cozying up to Kevin Love in the bobblehead department because he's the closest thing to a superstar the Cavs have left now. And with Love signing a contract extension in the offseason after apparently being told Cleveland wasn't tanking, he's either there for the next few years or a good trade chip at the deadline later this season. Either way, odds are pretty good that Love's on the roster when Cavs fans (or the ones that are left anyway) show up at the Q on November 26.

Speaking of teams that made the Finals last year (were we?), it's been about a month since the Warriors have handed out a bobblehead to their fans so it must be about time for one right? Or more accurately, two. This paired bobblehead features both Steph Curry and Klay Thompson for diehard Warriors fans to add their shelf of bobbleheads. Actually, check that. What am I thinking? I meant shelves of bobbleheads. The Dubs aren't the first team to roll out the double bobble (heck, even the Wizards have already done that) but you know I'd be standing in line for this one if I was a Warriors fan (or just a frontrunner I guess).

December

11 Carmelo Anthony (Houston Rockets)

Seriously? Was this in 'Melo's contract when he signed with Houston, do you think? Carmelo is on his third team in three years (assuming you don't count the day he was with the Hawks between the Thunder and Rockets). He's a bench player now and he's apparently OK with it which he wasn't in Oklahoma City. What changed? It had to be the Rockets promising him a bobblehead, right? 'Melo's not really deserving here but when it comes to bobbleheads and basketball players, deserve's got nothing to do with it.

12 DeMarcus Cousins (Golden State Warriors)
When the Warriors signed DeMarcus Cousins this offseason the rest of the NBA shook its collective head at the rich getting richer. The reality is that Boogie may not even play for the Dubs this season and if he does he might not be anything close to the player he was before tearing his achilles tendon last season in New Orleans. There are two things Cousins might get out of this season: (1) a championship ring, even while doing about as much as me to win one and (2) a bobblehead likeness of himself to add to his mantel next to the Kings version of him from three years ago.

14 Muggsy Bogues (Charlotte Hornets)

If there's a team I'd want to be a fan of this year just for their bobbleheads, it's the Charlotte Hornets. They are celebrating the team's 30th anniversary down in Buzz City this year and they are handing out a series of throwback giveaways featuring icons of the team's history, including three in bobblehead form. It all starts on December 14 with Muggsy Bogues who at 5'-3" in height is the shortest player ever to play in the NBA. Bogues was originally drafted in 1987 by the Washington Bullets but in true Bullets/Wizards fashion, left unprotected during the 1988 expansion draft and he was snatched up by the Hornets. He is still the Hornets franchise leader in minutes played, assists and steals.

I can't let the Hornets 30th anniversary celebration go without pointing out some math. This season is 30 years from the team's first season but it's not the 30th season the team (or maybe I should say a team) is playing in the Queen City. It's the 29th season of hoops in Charlotte because there was no basketball team in the city for two seasons in the early aughts between the time they moved to New Orleans (where they ultimately ended up as the Pelicans) and the NBA gave the city the Bobcats (who are now the Hornets again). Still, there are some killer Hornets bobbleheads this year.

28 Steve Martin (Charlotte Hornets)

No, not THAT Steve Martin. This Steve Martin was the Hornets original play by play TV guy who followed the team down to New Orleans when the team moved further down south before returning back to Charlotte when the Bobcats started playing. Martin retired following the end of the 2017-2018 season. Appropriately, Martin's bobblehead is a talking bobblehead. Happy retirement. I'm assuming the team will reserve one of these for Martin.

January

2 Deandre Ayton (Phoenix Suns)

Number one pick overall. Dismal franchise the last few years. You get a bobblehead no questions asked. Your first ever free Deandre Ayton bobblehead in Phoenix is a draft night bobblehead with Ayton showing off the Bahamian, Jamaican and Nigerian flags sewn into the lining of his jacket. The detail on this one will give any other bobblehead being handed out this year a run for the best bobblehead of the year trophy (there is no such trophy to my knowledge but there should be).  The flags? Ayton's from the Bahamas, his mom is of Bahamian and Jamaican descent and his dad is from Nigeria. There you go.

8 Andre Igoudala (Golden State Warriors)
Another month, another Golden State bobblehead. That's eight (counting the double Splash Brothers bobblehead as two) in case you are counting. Even if you are not, it's still eight. Iggy comes with a couple or maybe more championship trophies as most Warriors bobbleheads do. Showing off is not cool, although I guess they earned it.

19 Glen Rice (Charlotte Hornets)

Glen Rice was drafted by the Miami Heat with the fourth overall pick in the 1989 NBA Draft but he made all three of his All-Star Game appearances as a member of the Charlotte Hornets after being traded there in exchange for Alonzo Mourning, who apparently disliked fellow Hornet Larry Johnson so much that he demanded to be traded. In the second of his three All-Star appearances, Rice ended up as the MVP. He's in boxes waiting for Hornets fans on January 19 complete with his All-Star MVP award. No word if Sarah Palin's showing up to get her hands on Glen's trophy.

25 Lauri Markkanen (Chicago Bulls)

How many Finnish NBA players have had a bobblehead night? I'm guessing before January 25, 2019 there are none. Markkanen bucks that trend and will probably be the only dude to do so for a long time. Markkanen made a splash in Chicago last year. This year, he gets one of the highest honors bestowed on an NBA player: his own bobblehead.

29 Colin Sexton (Cleveland Cavaliers)
What's up with the almost total lack of rookies on this year's bobblehead slate? Sure we got Deandre Ayton earlier in January but other than that to this point in the season, that's it! Sexton was taken at the number eight overall spot by the Cavs in this year's draft out of Alabama. I guess the Cavs are a little strapped for choices this year, right? If you are a Wizards fan traveling for a roadie in Cleveland, might want to pick this game if you want to pick up an opponent's bobblehead.

February

4 Josh Jackson (Phoenix Suns)
The Phoenix Suns selected Jackson number four overall in the 2017 NBA Draft, their second consecutive number four overall pick. So far (admittedly after a small sample size of a singe season), he's looking better than the guy they picked up the previous year (Dragan Bender). Jackson made the All-Rookie Second Team last year. Phoenix is going all in on Jackson, Ayton and Devin Booker. I mean what else are they going to do?

6 Shaun Livingston (Golden State Warriors)
By this point in the season, I'm tired of writing about the Golden State Warriors and their trove of bobbleheads. Let's move on shall we? Besides, there are other bobbles by this team to get to that don't have hardware.  Livingston, by the way, is my favorite Warrior. I'd show up for this one over all others. Just don't feel like writing a lot about him right now.

12 Baron Davis (Golden State Warriors)
Before the current team started winning titles, Baron Davis had sort of cemented larger than life status for himself in Warrior-land, leading the Dubs to a first round upset as the eight seed over the number one and defending NBA Champions Dallas Mavericks in 2007. It was the first time an eight seed had upset a one seed in the NBA playoffs in a seven game series. The atmosphere at Oracle was crazy and Baron Davis was the leader of everything that season. It's fitting that he gets a throwback bobblehead. Throwback bobbles can be awesome. This one is.

24 Surfin' Klay Thompson (Santa Cruz Warriors)

I don't know what's up with me and G League bobbleheads this year but here we are again. If you are a SC Warriors fan, I suppose you already know that there are parent team bobbles available for pickup at the G League level. This year, the Dubs are giving away Draymond Green, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and Splash Brothers bobbleheads that are identical to those you can pick up at Oracle Arena at the major league level but this one is unique to a Santa Cruz game, even if the actual game is in Oakland. I love this. It gets team bobblehead collectors to circle a game on the G League calendar. I'd love the Wizards to do this with the Capital City Go-Go but let's face it, no way is that happening.

25 Larry Nance, Jr. (Cleveland Cavaliers) / Jerry West (Los Angeles Clippers)

If you know much about the non-LeBron Cleveland Cavaliers history, you'll know that one of the great teams in Cavs history was the late 1980s to early 1990s team with Brad Dougherty, Larry Nance, John "Hot Rod" Williams and Mark Price. Cavs fans actually thought they had a shot at it all those years while completely ignoring the ascendancy of Michael Jordan. Of course, they were totally wrong. Last year, the Cavs while chasing another title the couldn't and didn't win traded for Larry Nance's kid, Larry, Jr. who was drafted by the Lakers in the 2015 NBA Draft. The Cavs actually un-retired Nance's jersey so his son could wear it which is honestly pretty cool. This year, you can pick up a Larry Nance, Jr. bobblehead wearing a Larry Nance jersey. Although updated to the current awful Cavs jersey.

Speaking of legends in NBA cities, Jerry West is an icon in Los Angeles where he played professionally for 14 years and his likeness in bronze is prominently displayed right outside the front entrance of Staples Center. So it seems only natural that a trip to Staples on February 25 would get you a bobblehead of the logo himself, right? But at a Clippers game? Yep, West is now on the board of the Clips. Seems like this is taking advantage of the situation and/or sticking it to the Lakers.

March

8 Larry Johnson (Charlotte Hornets)

The last Hornets bobblehead of the season is Larry Johnson, complete with gold tooth (that he later ditched in his resurgence as a playoff star with the New York Knicks) and center part. Johnson was one of the first truly national Hornets stars when he made several commercials for Converse under his alter ego grandmama, a superstar dunking...well...grandma. I loved Larry Johnson when I was a Knicks fan before I moved to Washington in 1999. If there's one road team bobble I'd love to have this year, it's this one. Coincidentally, the Hornets are playing the Wizards this night. Unfortunately, I'm out of the country. Otherwise, I'd be mighty tempted to sneak down to Charlotte mid-week and pick this one up.

17 Reggie Jackson (Detroit Pistons)
Stan Van Gundy is gone from Detroit but the Pistons somehow are still all in on Reggie Jackson. Jackson is the first of three Motor City bobbles this year for the revamped (via questionable trade) Pistons. While Detroit clearly has more star power this year, they may not have much more success, even with reigning coach of the year and recently fired from Toronto Dwayne Casey at the helm. Get a new point guard, Detroit. But pick up this bobblehead. A boblehead's a bobblehead.

20 Hall of Fame Benny the Bull (Chicago Bulls)

I have no idea (1) what the heck a Hall of Fame Benny bobblehead looks like and (2) why the Bulls feel like they need to give out Benny the Bull bobbles in two consecutive years (the pic above is last year's not this year's HOF model). I guess this is celebrating Benny's 2017 induction into the Mascot Hall of Fame. The Mascot Hall located in downtown Whiting, Indiana promises it's going to be opening the doors sometime this year; we'll see I guess. For what it's worth, I have Benny ranked as the fourth best mascot in the NBA. Neither Hugo the Hornet, Stuff the Magic Dragon nor our beloved  G Wiz, all of whom I have ranked ahead of Benny, are in, although it's worth noting Stuff was in Benny's voting class but didn't get the votes I guess.

22 Larry Nance, Sr. (Cleveland Cavaliers)
One Larry Nance bobblehead not enough for you this year, Cavs fans? On March 22, you can pick up a Nance Sr. bobblehead to go with your Nance Jr. bobble you picked up about four weeks prior. Please issue this thing without the orange and powder blue unis. If there's any Cavs jersey worse than the current one, it's those things.

23 TBD (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
Yep, more G League. Other than that, I got nothing else here. I only know that there a to be determined bobblehead on the Fort Wayne Mad Ants schedule. Maybe it's a Pacer; maybe it's not. Only time will tell.

30 Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns)
I should point out here that March 30 is superhero night at Talking Stick Resort Arena so I'm assuming the Booker bobblehead is sporting a cape or an "S" on his chest or a mask or something along with his Suns jersey and shorts. Booker's about as close as the Suns have to a superhero down there right now so I guess he deserves it.

April

7 Andre Drummond (Detroit Pistons)
Please please please tell me this is an Andre Drummond shooting free throw bobblehead. I might have to check my schedule for 4/7 just to see if I had plans if the Pistons decided to issue the 'Dre bobble in that variety.

9 Blake Griffin (Detroit Pistons)
Why do people like Blake Griffin so much? He robbed John Wall of Rookie of the Year by being injured during his actual rookie year. He also robbed JaVale McGee of the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest by jumping over a tiny corner of a Kia and making it seem like a big deal. And then there's the whole Kendall Jenner thing with her dumping Blake as soon as he was no longer convenient to Los Angeles after the Clips shipped him to the Pistons. OK, so the last one was a low blow that was completely uncalled for. I'm sticking by the other two.

10 Ralph Lawler (Los Angeles Clippers) / Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)
If the Clippers giving away a Jerry West bobblehead seems out of place, them handing out one featuring Ralph Lawler does not in any way. Among NBA broadcasters, they don't come much better than Lawler, whose career with the Clips spans 40 years from the time they moved to San Diego from Buffalo in 1978 (they were the Braves in Buffalo and became the Clippers in SD). April 10 is Ralph Lawler's last day broadcasting with the Clippers. Congrats, Ralph. Enjoy retirement.

On the same day the Clips give away Ralph Lawler in every sense of the word, the Bucks hand out their one lonely bobblehead for the season. Surprise! Surprise! It's a Giannis Antetokounmpo bobble. Again. I swear I'm never going to be able to spell Giannis' last name without looking at it written somewhere else. I learned how to spell Oleksiy Pecherov just fine but I can't get this one down quite yet.

Missing from this list? Any bobbles that may be in the works or ready in boxes to be handed out to fans in Boston, Toronto, Philly, New York, Brooklyn (except as noted below), Indianapolis, D.C., Orlando, Miami, Dallas (also with the below exception), OKC, Denver, Portland, Minny, Sacto and New Orleans. They may just have not released their promo schedules yet or some may just be not giving their fans the love they deserve by handing out some free bobbleheads.

Also missing? There are definitely other bobbleheads available this year around the NBA that will require a little more effort or money than just showing up to a single game.

The Brooklyn Nets are selling an 11 games for the price of 10 package in celebration of Jason Kidd's enshrinement into the Naismith Memorial Basketball hall of fame. The package features a HOF Kidd bobble available for pickup starting December 23. Just in time for Christmas, I guess. No word on whether the bobblehead will bail on you when there's a whiff of getting a better offer elsewhere. Want to pick this one up? Try this link.

Out west in Utah, the Jazz have rolled out five (FIVE!!) bobbleheads available to fans for picking up a three pack of tickets. Are you kidding me? Five bobbles for buying tickets to just three games? And these bobbles are no slouches. Rookie of the Year Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Darrell Griffith/Dr. Dunkenstein, Joe Ingles and Jae Crowder. This is five years of Wizards bobbleheads just for showing up for three games. I'm tempted to call up the Jazz and get my three pack just so I can have these bobbles. And, yes, I know Ben Simmons was ROY last year. I'm still bitter about the whole Blake Griffin / John Wall thing so I'm naturally in Mitchell's camp here. Simmons is scary good, though.

Finally, there's Dallas. The Mavs ran a contest online called the Dirk Nowitzki "Golden Dirk" Bobblehunt for fans to be able to win one of ten unique gold colored Nowitzki bobbles, in case the ten (yes, ten) Nowitzki bobbleheads they gave out last year to fans wasn't enough. Want to participate in this contest? Too bad. It's over. Congrats to whoever got these.

If there's any other news posted by end of December-ish, maybe I'll do another post with an update. For now, that's all I got. Happy bobble hunting, NBA fans.

Detroit Rock City

Last weekend I visited Detroit. It was the latest (and last this season) stop in my quest to see the Washington Wizards play in every building in the entire NBA. 16 down, 14 to go.

Because this past Friday's Wizards - Pistons game was the same weekend as the North American International Auto Show, hotel rooms were a little scarce and a little expensive in downtown Detroit so we stayed in Windsor, Ontario, which is across the river in Canada, a decision that had us explaining to customs and immigration staff on both sides of the Detroit-Windsor what we were doing visiting Canada three times in two days. On our way to the game Friday, we explained to the guy letting us back into the USA that we were going to see the Wizards game.

His response? "I thought that team would be better this year. They were supposed to be in the Finals, right?" Yeah. Welcome to my life as a Wizards fan, dude.

After Wednesday's horrible 133-109 loss in Charlotte, I really didn't want to go all the way to Detroit to see the Wizards lay the same kind of egg they laid down in North Carolina. But head coach Scott Brooks promised Wizards fans some changes. About time! That promise, and the prospect of the Wizards being re-energized and looking like the Eastern Conference contenders that they seem to think they should be, had me actually excited about the possibility of watching my new re-invented Wizards team in person for the first time in Michigan. Stop laughing. Seriously.
 

Warming up for a blowout of the Pistons. One day...

So what happened? How about no changes to the starting lineup and a dreadful start leading to a 10 point deficit after the first quarter. Yes, coach pulled Marcin Gortat a little more than 4 minutes into the game and didn't send him back into the contest until the second half. And sure, Ian Mahinmi got the rest of the first quarter under his belt after being subbed in for Gortat and then also sat the entire second (and third and fourth). And somehow the Wizards pulled even at the half behind superior efforts from Tomas Satoransky and Kelly Oubre, Jr. I was (and I can't believe I'm writing this) dreading the starters coming back in when the bench got tired.

 

The third quarter was totally different. The starters played almost the whole way (still waiting for those changes, Scotty...) and ended up with a 17 point lead (down from 20 earlier in the third) after putting up 45 on the Pistons that quarter. 45!!!! Finally things are corrected, right? The confusion I got from the customs guy letting us back into the country right before the game should be gone now, right? THIS is the Wizards team I wanted to see. Everything corrected. Let's get up by 30 or 35 and cruise to an easy victory with Tim Frazier and Chris McCollough bringing it home.

Almost as good as it got. A win's a win, I guess. I LOVE this scoreboard.

Of course not. The 20 point margin that had become a 17 margin was down to 4 with less than four minutes to play. Luke Kennard was warming up to become the next in a long line of Wizard killers. What the heck is going on with this team? I can almost understand blowing a 20 point halftime lead to Brooklyn (although not really) but a 17 point lead in one quarter? To a Pistons team missing a couple of guys? It's almost as if the Wizards collectively were like "We scored 45 in one quarter. That should be enough to win the game. Let's just coast for the other three quarters." Fortunately, that attitude didn't kill the team this time. Some clutch free throw shooting and a career game from Kelly Oubre put the Pistons away.

 

There were a ton of Wizards fans at this game. Maybe more than I've ever seen in an opponent's arena. Despite the lazy and completely lacking any sense of urgency or opportunity style of play the Wizards have enjoyed (maybe the wrong word there) this season, it appears John Wall and company are catching on beyond the DMV. And I guess that's a good thing for the Wizards. I just hope those new bandwagoners can handle the stress of being a Wiz fan.

 

I've been itching to go to Detroit for a game for years. Unfortunately for me, the Detroit Pistons didn't actually play in Detroit for, like, forever. So before this year, going to see the Wizards on the road in Michigan would have meant just that: going to Michigan (not Detroit) to Auburn Hills, a full 45 minutes or so away from the city whose name graces the team's jersey. But not this year now that the brand new Little Caesars Arena is open downtown. So of course no Wizards road trip report would be complete without a little something for me to say about the arena. This one is really pretty cool.

 

 

Like most arenas (or likely all arenas), the new one in Detroit is bigger than our own building down on 601 F Street. Like most places I've seen the Wizards play on the road, that translates into larger concourse areas, but Little Caesars is probably taking this to the extreme. On the south and east sides of the building, they've managed to create an interior street of sorts with stores, restaurants and bars on either side of the really really wide walkway. I suppose from a climate standpoint (and a moneymaking standpoint) this is a smart move. Get people inside out of the cold as soon as possible and have them eat and drink inside the stadium. The food choices are pretty diverse. Sure there are two Little Caesars stands in the building but there's also a ton of other stuff, including two food courts with multiple food stands arrayed around a communal seating area. Unfortunately, they also let Kid Rock into the building. You don't have to go there. Just saying...

 

The other cool feature of the indoor streets is that it allows the upper concourse to be expressed in the building as an object, making the arena appear like a stand alone stadium within a larger urban box. It's a pretty creative idea, but one that will only work with the kind of space that you can get in a city other than Washington. I definitely get stadium envy when I travel.

 

The center of the arena where the action takes place is equally well done. And it's not just the new-ness of the place, although sitting on months old brand new Redwing-red (this place was built for hockey and the Detroit Redwings, not basketball and the Detroit Pistons) seats rather than purple-ish 20 year old MCI Center/Verizon Center/Capital One Arena seats was surely nice.

 

 

There are a few features that make the main performance space really special. First, the lighting system is incredible. I never really think of the lighting system in a building adding much value to the experience (although I thought the same thing in Brooklyn a few years ago also) but my couple of hours in this building reminded me of how I can forget things. Almost every timeout had some kind of lighting effect that was pretty spectacular. It was almost as if the building staff were showing off their new toy.

Second, the scoreboard is fantastic. I raved about the scoreboard at the Grizzlies game two weeks ago but this thing blows away the one at FedEx Forum in Memphis. It's bigger, crisper and the square corners are actually way better than the radiused corners in Memphis. This scoreboard there is pretty much perfect. The colors, just like the colors in the light shows, are amazing.

Finally, and oddly enough, it's the small things. The lighted ceiling, rather than the painted black exposed utilities ceilings you see in most arenas, makes a huge difference to the atmosphere of the space. I've written that the ceiling at Madison Square Garden makes all the difference to that building; the blue luminous ceiling at Little Caesars is a great update to MSG's ceiling for the 21st century.

During the fourth quarter we started talking to four dudes in front of us a little about the game. They were complaining about the Pistons losing to everyone they should beat and beating a team or two they had no business beating every now and then. Sounds familiar, right? Ultimately, I think the Wizards are better than the Pistons. After Friday's closer than it should have been win, we are 3-0 vs. the Pistons this year. That's how it should be. Thank God I didn't go to Charlotte or Dallas either side of that game. Ultimately we need someone to step up in this organization and get people to perform at the level that is required. It's clearly not going to be the players and it doesn't appear that Scott Brooks is going to be that guy. OKC is up Thursday. I can't honestly see that game going very well. Trade deadline is less than a month away.

 

Two final notes about Little Caesars before I close this one. First, the interior streets in the arena come complete with manhole covers. I'm assuming based on their somewhat random placement that these are actual manholes to access actual underground utilities, although whether they are or not doesn't really matter. In some spots, the generic manholes are replaced with custom made covers with the names and playing dates of Pistons and Redwings legends. Ben Wallace's is shown above. I think it's a great way to celebrate past team legends.

Second, and because it's Detroit and a hockey arena, there's a statue of Gordie Howe in the building. Gordie is an NHL and Redwings legend of course. But he's also the first guy I can remember knowing about in hockey as a kid in Connecticut when he was playing for the New England and later Hartford Whalers. Mr. Hockey ends this post.

NBA Logo Rank 2017 Update

OK, so the regular season is over, the playoffs are done, we made it through the draft and free agency and Summer League. Now what do we do? Well if you are me, you spend your summer weeks writing about useless drivel like NBA team logos and mascots and names. Hey I gotta do something with my time between the end of Summer League and the announcement of the next season's schedule in early or mid-August. So let's go.

No mascot or team name rankings this summer because there have been no mascot or name changes in the NBA that I can see (although there have been in the D-League or I guess what is now the G-League). But there are plenty of logos to rank this summer. Let's start with the big boys and then let's tackle the G-League, shall we?

30. Los Angeles Clippers

Just like I said last year, unless the Clippers abandon their rebrand of two years ago or some other team rebrands with a worse package of logos (which quite honestly I can't imagine that anyone can do), they are going to be stuck in dead last for a while. Even Chris Paul got tired of wearing these logos and got himself traded to Houston. Still the worst look in basketball.

29. Oklahoma City Thunder

Still super boring and uncreative. Still saved from last by the Clippers.

28. Denver Nuggets

About a mile better (or maybe more accurately 4,000 feet higher) than OKC's drabness but still mired in the 28 spot. Sorry, Denver. Heed the call other teams have been hearing and go the throwback route. It's worked wonders for the Sixers, Warriors, Hawks (until they screwed it up by lack of self-restraint) and Wizards. It can work for you too. If done right.

27. Dallas Mavericks

Last year I wrote of the Mavs' 26 spot in this countdown that the only reason that they were that high was that the Piston screwed up so badly. This year, the Pistons (mostly) corrected their error. That drops the bland and unexciting Mavericks logos down to 27.

26. Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers have added a new secondary logo to their family of logos. It's a shield. I thought knights used shields, not cavaliers. Cleveland drops a spot in this year's ranking not because of their shield necessarily but because in my opinion 25 other franchises have a better look.

25. Orlando Magic

For me, it's all about the font. The M and the A having one square corner drives me nuts. These two letters are symmetrical; they shouldn't have rounded corners on one side and a square on one the other. Plus the middle leg of the M not dropping all the way down like the outside ones do just sucks all my focus up when I look at this logo. Other than that, I don't think the Magic's logo is that bad.

24. Phoenix Suns

Every time I see the Phoenix Suns' streaking sun logo combined with the capital S I cringe. It looks like someone took an already not attractive font and just and threw it against a wall which caused a some how uniform and singularly unattractive shattered effect. Can't stand this one. It's pulling the Suns way down.

23. Houston Rockets

An R made out of rockets. Not exciting. Not exciting at all. Now that the Rockets are up for sale, maybe they'll get a new logo look, once the new owner realizes he or she has paid north of $2 billion for a basketball team, that is.

22. Brooklyn Nets

Once upon at time in Brooklyn, Jay-Z was a part owner. An owner of a super super super super small part of the team but an owner nonetheless. He allegedly had something to do with the design of the team's image when the Nets up and moved to Brooklyn. Now he's no longer an owner. There's no need to keep most of this branding around either. Not sure what the solution here necessarily is because I don't love any of the Nets' historical logos (except maybe the Jetsons-like ball on shield in hoop logo from the last Jersey days) but something needs to change.

21. Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks are the first of many teams in my ranking who have recently looked to the past for inspiration for stuff to put on their swag. Bringing back the Pac-Man logo was great. Then they added a whole series of weird secondary logos in mostly neon yellow. Head scratcher. Hawks at 21 this year.

20. Los Angeles Lakers

By all rights, the Lakers should be one of the lowest ranked teams on this list. I mean their logo is not really that creative and it looks a little dated (I know, some would say classic; I say dated). But to the Lakers' credit, they have not gone and gummed up the works by inventing a bunch of really awful secondary logos. Their awful primary logo gets them just inside the top 2/3 of the league.

19. Sacramento Kings

As much as I love the idea of ditching the old Kings' crossed lances logo, the dusting off of the old Kansas City Kings' look is not aging well. And it's only been a year. I think it's the clumsy font and the very very simplistic crown. I have a feeling this isn't going to survive the test of time.

18. Minnesota Timberwolves

The Timberwolves are the only team to undergo a complete branding transformation this offseason. No more giant wolf head staring out over a line of coniferous trees. This new package of logos is a bit of an upgrade for me.

Like many teams over the last five years or so, the Wolves have gone with a circular logo as their primary look. Their main logo isn't that much different from the one used over the past 10 years or so: it's basically a mirror image with the white and the trees gone and the North Star added in the basketball patterned sky. It's cleaner and darker. The wolf in this version is howling beneath a starry sky and not the unseen moon of the pre-2017 look.

The strength for me in this new look is the North Star and the simplicity. The alternate logos follow this theme, with a simple basketball-and-star as their best secondary logo (at the top of this post). Minnesota kept it simple here. And it works for me.

17. Toronto Raptors

Here's my annual plea for the Toronto franchise to change its name permanently to the Huskies, who played just one year in the BAA, which was the forerunner of the current league. The Raps have celebrated that old name with a throwback night or two recently and there's a website advocating the exact same thing I pull for every summer. Until the team decides to do that, they continue to get credit for eliminating the Barney logo a couple of years ago. They sit at 17 this year, dropping two spots due to the Pacers and Pistons trying something different.

16. Indiana Pacers

Earlier this year, Larry Bird delivered the Pacers' bid for the 2021 (!!) NBA All-Star Game to the NBA's offices in New York City. Bird delivered the envelope to HQ that day in an Indy Car, complete with NYPD motorcade, featuring what appeared to be a new secondary Pacers logo (shown above).  I love this thing. It's geography based (I LOVE maps!) and features a star right where Indianapolis is, making it place specific to the city that hosts the team with the state's name. High praise for the Pacers from me for this simple but super effective secondary logo.

But here's the problem: I'm just not sure if it IS a secondary logo or if it's just an All-Star logo in the event the city wins the '21 game. I can't find it on the Pacers' website as a logo at all that will be used in circulation. For the purposes of this post, knowing the answer here is huge and there's no definitive direction, here's what I'm going to do: I'm going to guess and give the Pacers partial credit. I'm moving them ahead of the Raptors this year. If it's not official this time next summer, they are at risk of moving backwards. 

15. Milwaukee Bucks

Still can't get the image of a deer mounted on a wall as a hunting trophy out of my mind. As much as I like the Bucks' rebranding as an upgrade over their prior look, that still bugs me. Also the font is just terrible. If it turns out the Pacers' new secondary logo is legit, I'm moving them ahead of the Bucks next year.

14. New Orleans Pelicans

Logos! Logos! Logos! The Pels still lead the league in number and variety of logos. And most of them are pretty good. Except the one that they use the most. While that one is totally New Orleans, it's still too dated for my taste.

13. Philadelphia 76ers

With the exception of the Charlotte Hornets at 9, the Memphis Grizzlies at 4 and to some extent the Washington Wizards at 3, the top 13 spots in my ranking are occupied by teams that have either (a) found something a long time ago that worked and are sticking with it or (b) have figured out what they had a while ago worked really well and have brought the old logos back. The Sixers resurrected their old look (mostly) but are the sitting a the 13 spot because they couldn't leave well enough alone and invented a Ben Franklin dribbling a basketball logo which just doesn't work for me.

12. Detroit Pistons

Last year the Pistons were 27th in my ranking. This year they are 12th. Something big happened here. And what happened was the Pistons looked to their competition for inspiration.

In 1979, the Detroit Pistons unveiled what I consider to be their classic logo, a stylized red basketball inside a blue circle with the words "Detroit Pistons" in simple block letters in the center of the ball. It was a variant of a logo that went all the way back to their move to the motor city. It was simple, it was clean, it was effective. 

Then in 1996 they decided that awesome look wasn't good enough so they switched their logo to some kind of flaming horse with tailpipes and accented the whole thing in some sort of dark aqua. They also switched their font to some sort of thing that has some letters with pointed ends now and then. Terrible stuff. Unbelievably, it lasted nine seasons before they switched it back to a red, white and blue basketball logo, albeit with the terrible font intact. That basketball though was rotated from the old logo and the words were curved.

So now things have come full circle and the Pistons are back close to the 1979-1996 look. Mostly. The font is still a bit different and there's silver border around the whole thing. I'll take it. I actually like the silver lining and the font's not that objectionable when the letters are small.

In case you are wondering why the Pistons (and all these other teams that are adopting something close to their past branding) don't just go back to what they had, they can't. All the retired logos belong to the NBA's Hardwood Classics brand and they don't let teams reappropriate them once they give them up the first time. That's why the Pistons, Hawks and Sixers all have logos that are 95-99% (but not 100%) identical to past logos.

11. Utah Jazz

Speaking of awesome reinventions of the past, I love the Jazz logos. I just don't love them at all in Utah. Please find another name for this team.

10. Portland Trail Blazers

The Blazers have one of the most unusual logos in professional sports. It's an abstract representation of a five on five basketball game that could only have been cooked up in the late 1960s or early 1970s. And I love it. The Blazers have tweaked the original version a couple of times and they have done it again this offseason. Gone are the tapered ends to the swirl lines (I just made that term up) which is an upgrade for me. Also gone is the lines dying into the other side of the swirl. Not sure that change works better or worse for me. Still one of my favorite logos out there. Just got good enough to move them inside number 10 this year.

9. Charlotte Hornets

8. Miami Heat

7. Golden State Warriors

6. San Antonio Spurs

5. New York Knicks

4. Memphis Grizzlies

3. Washington Wizards

2. Boston Celtics

1. Chicago Bulls

So the top nine in my ranking last year did something smart: they didn't change a thing, although the Knicks did roll out a 70th anniversary logo that is super sharp. And that means that this year's top nine is the same as last year's. I still think the Hornets and Dubs have too many choices in their logos but honestly the secondary logos are in many ways better than their primaries. I still hate the fact that the Heat are in the top nine and my growing distaste for the Celtics had me for a minute considering sliding my beloved Wiz ahead of them before realizing I have absolutely no good reason for doing so.

The Bulls are still number one. If there's message about the value in never changing, it's the Bulls consistently being in the top spot. 52 years, one logo. 'Nuff said.

G-League logos up next. What a mess that collection is!