Fansided

30 most iconic logos in sports

By Jeremy Lambert

TAMPA, FL - FEBRUARY 23: A general view of George M. Steinbrenner Field as players and coaches from the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees line-up during the National Anthem prior to the Spring Training game at George M. Steinbrenner Field on February 23, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. The Yankees defeated the Tigers 3-1. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - FEBRUARY 23: A general view of George M. Steinbrenner Field as players and coaches from the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees line-up during the National Anthem prior to the Spring Training game at George M. Steinbrenner Field on February 23, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. The Yankees defeated the Tigers 3-1. (Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /
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jeff hornacek
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New York Knicks

Do you know why the New York Knicks hired Phil Jackson in the first place?

It wasn’t due to his historical greatness as a head coach or because he promised James Dolan the greatest peyote ever. It’s because behind the basketball and giant KNICKS lettering in their logo, sits a triangle.

Forget the Eagle staring into Mark Wahlberg’s soul and telling him to convert to Philadelphiasm. The Knicks logo is so powerful that it led to them hiring a man with no executive experience as their top executive.

The logo has remained more or less the same since the ’60s, just growing as the world often does with each passing year. It started out with just the KNICKS lettering hovering over top of a basketball. Because, you see, the Knicks are more important than basketball. Basketball will fade into obscurity with the next 10-20 years when robots rule the world. But the Knicks will live forever.

The triangle was added in 1992. That’s how long the Knicks courted Jackson. Imagine how much different NBA history would be if Jackson left the Bulls in 1992 to coach the Knicks. Patrick Ewing would have a ring. Probably.

The addition of New York was forced on Dolan by the league offices. He just wanted the team to be known as Knicks. Like Prince or Oprah. But the league told him the city name must be present in the logo. So Dolan made it the smallest part of the logo. If he has to share a state with the Nets, the state isn’t all that important.

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