The LA Clippers Are ‘Making Waves’ With Their Brilliant Rebrand

With a state-of-the-art facility on the verge of opening, the LA Clippers were not done making splashes — or waves.

The organization announced Monday a fresh rebrand with the unveiling of a new logo, three unique jerseys, and a sneak peak of the first court that will grace Intuit Dome when the doors open in October.

This rebrand comes at a perfect time for the Clippers, who have dedicated the last several years to carving their own path and forming an identity. From the minute owner Steve Ballmer walked through the door at the Intuit Dome’s groundbreaking ceremony in 2021, it was evident — things were about to change.

Complacency as a franchise was never acceptable to Ballmer. That would’ve meant staying in the same arena they’ve had to share for over 25 years and dealing with the scheduling inconveniences that come with it. But complacency also would’ve meant sticking with the lackluster branding and color scheme that fans were clearly tired of.

Clippers superstar Paul George hinted at a jersey shakeup on his podcast a few weeks ago … but nobody anticipated a full renovation the franchise was quietly working on behind the scenes.

The new uniform lineup features a red colorway, something the organization wanted to deliver to the fanbase after learning how badly it was missed. This will be the team’s first red jersey since the 2015-17 collection, the year before Nike took over the production and marketing for the NBA’s uniforms.

Officially labeled as the team’s “Statement” uniform, it will also include a neat feature along the side: nautical flags that symbolize the letters “LAC.” It’s one of those subtle additions that dig into the history of the team name and really take this uniform over the top.

Perhaps the biggest development, though, is bringing back the script lettering. Not only does it pay homage to the early 2000s, but it’s just incredibly cool to see — and miles better than the font they’ve been using since 2015. It’s not even in the same galaxy, really.

The red jersey will feature “Los Angeles” in navy blue, while the blue jersey has “Clippers” in red font. Naturally, the white will allow them to showcase a nice mixture of both colors:

Yes, this does indicate the Clippers are moving away from having black uniform variants. At least for the initial launch. A large portion of the fanbase was growing sick of the black statement jerseys with the logo everyone couldn’t stand. I wouldn’t rule out a black version of the above jerseys in the future, perhaps for a “City” edition since Nike wants to create fresh designs basically every year.

But overall, ditching black was a wise choice out of the gate. Entering a brand new arena, it’s only right to bring some new colors to the table as well.

The new global logo will take some getting used to. That’s always the case when a major change occurs. However, the level of detail and meticulous approach to this design should warrant applause:

It reminds me of the Bucks’ 2015 logo redesign in a few ways. Milwaukee made sure to incorporate the outline of a basketball in deer’s antlers while making it look more vicious. Additionally, the shape of the deer’s torso spelled out the letter “M,” giving it a nice subtlety that might be missed on the first few looks.

For the Clippers’ new logo, the compass in the middle is connected to an oncoming ship. But if you notice, the compass is pointing to the “N” in Los Angeles, signifying the franchise is always moving forward.

According to the team, the new font is a custom look that’s meant to resemble naval typography — sticking with the nautical theme and drilling it home.

New fans that started supporting the team in the last decade are probably not aware the name refers to a ship or sailing vessel from the mid-1800s. But now, it will be front and center. As the team described in Monday’s official release, it was important for them to honor the Clippers’ origin in the San Diego Harbor.

If I was nitpicking, my only two complaints would be:

• Instead of having the boat resemble a larger cruise ship, they could’ve experimented with a sailing ship. That might have been tough to accomplish given the size of the logo and the “moving forward” theme they settled on, but it immediately stuck out as a discrepancy.
• Would it have been a better idea to rebrand with orange, navy, and pacific/sky blue as the primary colors? Considering the franchise’s early identity as the Buffalo Braves and San Diego Clippers was built on the orange and blue color scheme, this could’ve been an opportunity to revert back. They tested it out with throwback uniforms during the 2021-22 season and it seemed to be a huge success. The fan reaction was mostly positive and Paul George recently said they were his favorite jerseys since joining the team.

The court will also offer a refreshing look when the Clippers move into the Intuit Dome this October. The center-court logo really pops with the red accents on the floor. Navy encapsulates the court and painted area.

Another genius addition, for those who love the small details: Inglewood’s location is shown through its longitude and latitude along the sideline.

In contrast with the Clippers’ 2015 rebrand, the execution of this venture is extremely well-done. The sheer amount of detail involved doesn’t go unnoticed and it directly correlates to the franchise’s history. If the goal was to retain the “Clippers” name instead of brainstorming ideas for a complete teardown, it only made sense to embrace the theme.

Quite frankly, it’s something we don’t see nearly as often in the NBA — teams should lean into what their brand actually means.

For some teams, that’s hard to do. Take the Thunder, Lakers, Knicks, Jazz, or Nets for instance. All of those are either difficult to build a visual identity or campaign around, or they no longer relate to the city because the franchise relocated. You could argue a couple of those need name changes before anything else.

But for others, such as the Bucks, Heat, Suns, Grizzlies, or Hornets, the logo or colors associated with the team are a direct representation of the name. (Although, if Miami ever wants to rebrand, not a soul will be upset if they go down the “Vice” path. That’s a situation where the colorway should take precedence, then you figure out the rest later).

It simply wasn’t logical for the organization to be called the Clippers, only to slap a red “LA” around a gigantic “C” and call it a day.

Your brand is supposed to tell a story. Then, the goal should be to invite others into that story so they can proudly support the team and enjoy donning the merchandise, gameday or not.

Objectively, there’s simply no way to argue the Clippers didn’t take a gigantic step forward in that mission today. There was nothing compelling about the current logo. Even the critics of this new one will come around when they see it in the wild:

In the matter of eight months, the entire Clippers identity will be shifted. From a bland, uninspiring look to having fresh threads and a sleek design to show off. From being co-tenants in a building — and sometimes lacking a true homecourt advantage — to having the most innovative and technologically-advanced arena in the world.

This was the time for a rebrand. If the team was going to create a new place to call home, it was only right to go all-in.

Now, the Clippers hope to keep making waves this summer by bringing a Larry O’Brien Trophy to the Intuit Dome.