Kobe Bryant is one of the most beloved figures in NBA history. His Hall of Fame career in the league with the Los Angeles Lakers inspired an entire generation of hoopers, and his legacy lives on even though he tragically passed away in a helicopter accident back in 2020.
There has been some talk of potentially changing the NBA logo, which was designed after another Lakers legend, Jerry West , to The Black Mamba. However, as Sebastian Telfair explained, that isn't likely to happen for one big reason.
Telfair explains why Bryant will never be the NBA's new logo
If there's a black mark on Kobe's life, it would be the sexual assault case that took place in Colorado back in 2003. Bryant was arrested after a 19-year-old hotel employee accused him of rape, but the criminal charges were dropped after she refused to testify against him.
The woman filed civil charges against Kobe, which were settled out of court and resulted in a public apology from the Lakers legend. While Bryant was never officially found guilty, Telfair claims that this incident will prevent the NBA from ever making KB the league's new logo.
"No, they not doing that," Telfair said on VladTV. "Kobe got the situation in Colorado…The only reason that s*** happened in Colorado was because Kobe was with Adidas. If that n**** was with Nike already, that wouldn't have happened. I don't know, there's just something about Adidas."
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Are Sebastian's claims accurate?
It's tough to know whether Telfair is correct, but it wouldn't be surprising if the NBA wanted to avoid any potential controversy with its logo. West's personal life is mainly squeaky clean, so there's virtually no fuss with it.
Bryant's image certainly took a hit when these accusations came out, but he worked hard to get back in the world's good graces throughout the remainder of his life. Kobe was, for the most part, successful in doing that.
Still, Telfair notes that it's not something that can be swept under the rug. While Bassy blames the incident on Adidas for whatever reason, there's a risk in awarding such a big honor to Bean.
The chances of that happening are negligible since the incident occurred years ago, but you never know nowadays. Sebastian's explanation isn't rock solid, but it's sensible at the very least, and it may help fans understand why Kobe likely won't become the NBA's new logo anytime soon.
Related: "I just got off a helicopter, you got off a bus. This a bucket" - Sebastian Telfair recalls legendary trash talk from Kobe Bryant
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