In addition to his new name, the NBA Cup It has a new look. When the NBA’s second annual seasonal tournament, formerly known as the Season Tournament, begins Tuesday, games will once again be played on distinctive, fully painted courts, but the layouts are not the same as last year. The 30, designed by artist Victor Solomon, “features three concentric circles radiating from the center of the court in tonal hues of the team’s core color,” the league announced Thursday.
The 16-foot-wide track that ran from one lane to the next no longer exists. Fewer of these color schemes can be accurately described as “bright” or “loud.” However, the original vision of the court – making it obvious to viewers that they are not watching a standard regular season game – remains exactly the same.
(High definition views of all the courts are available in this Twitter thread.)
The concentric circles represent the three stages of the tournament: the group stage, the quarterfinals in the team markets and Las Vegas.
“We didn’t want it to be too loud or too overwhelming, learn some lessons from what worked and what didn’t work last year,” Solomon said, “so we came up with this, very simple, but very similar to the gestural concentric circle concept. , where we take the core colors of each team and then stack these three gradient steps along the way.”
Once those foundations were laid, the teams got involved. Christopher Arena, the NBA’s head of brand and on-court partnerships, led a summit with the creative directors of all 30 teams, who collaborated with Solomon on what he called the “storytelling layer.” Beneath the team logo and the NBA Cup trophy at center court and the silhouettes of the trophies on the streets, all of which were present in Year 1, there is something new: a logo, a wordmark or a graphic. The Indiana Pacers opted for “BOOM BABY!” in huge italics. The Charlotte Hornets opted for a honeycomb pattern. They are all framed with 30% opacity.
Courts “are supposed to be evocative,” Solomon said. “And they’re supposed to be eye-catching.”
In the inaugural tournament, the designs were tied to the teams’ City Edition uniforms, which the home teams wore at all times (and can be any color). This time, the local teams will use their Statement Edition Uniforms and the visiting teams will wear white Association Edition Uniforms. The NBA Cup courts contrast with the uniforms of the local teams; he Philadelphia 76ersFor example, they will wear red uniforms on a blue field.
Arena said the Statement Edition uniforms are meant to reinforce the teams’ core brands, “which is why you see more core colors on these courts. And to let the design show through, whether it’s the concentric circles or the signature that the team put on it.” “. Also, let that be the bold, dynamic element versus the crazy colors that are unique City Edition colors.”
The NBA Cup will begin on November 12. Group play will consist of seven “Cup Nights,” all Tuesdays and Fridays. That stage will end on December 3, and then eight teams (the group winners and one wild card from each conference) will advance to the quarterfinals, which will be played on December 10 and 11. T-Mobile Las Vegas Arena will host the semifinals on December 14 and the championship game on December 17.
More notes on the new courts:
- According to Solomon, there are other symbolic references in the design of the court. One is that concentric circles look like a spotlight. Another is “ascension,” he said. The three levels can be seen to represent a champion’s journey to the top and players literally step onto a platform to receive the Cup.
- Unlike last season, the NBA “had time on our side,” Arena said. He said this would make it “absolutely” less likely to have manufacturing issues like the one that prevented the Dallas Mavericks from using their tournament court last year.
- Every court is new. Robbins did the flooring, Bona supplied the paint and Praters Flooring did the finishing. “We will continue to use these floors for the next four or five years as we sand, repaint, sand, repaint and change designs,” Arena said.
- As soon as last season’s tournament ended, Arena started thinking about how to “double down,” he said. When the league approached Solomon, he didn’t need much, um, courtship. He had already been working with the NBA for years on its trophies, including the NBA Cup itself. “I was a big fan of how the seasonal tournament initially played out, and the kind of visceral reaction of, you know, if I’m in a bar and I look at a screen and I can tell it from a mile away. “I think this is a little different and unique from a regular season game,” Solomon said. “So being able to contribute to the sport’s platform for this new tradition was a true honor.”
- Since each Statement Edition uniform features Jordan Brand’s “Jumpman” logo on the right shoulder and left leg, Michael Jordan will be effectively omnipresent at the NBA Cup. “There’s no one more competitive than Michael Jordan,” Arena said. “This is a competitive tournament.”
