National Basketball Association - Denver Nuggets

Denver Nuggets Unveil New Logos, Colors

New uniforms, logo aimed at dispelling past

By Aaron J. Lopez, Rocky Mountain News

Sky blue, powder blue, UCLA blue or Tar Heel blue.

Take your pick. They all accurately describe the new predominant color of the Denver Nuggets.

As for the accent color . . . call it 'Melo Yellow.

Minutes after selecting Carmelo Anthony on Thursday night, Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe stood in front of a blue backdrop featuring the team's new logo: a snow-capped mountain peak inside the letters DN.

'Melo Yellow completes the background behind the mountains.

"It was a long time coming," Vandeweghe said. "A lot of thought went into it. We really wanted to reflect Denver and Colorado and the Rocky Mountains and the spirit of Denver. I think it looks great."

Vandeweghe said he began considering a logo and uniform change when he was hired two years ago. He received hundreds of e-mails and design ideas from fans before finally settling on the sixth logo in franchise history.

"When we first got here, I went around and asked people, 'When you think of Nuggets, what do you think?' Everyone kind of went, 'I don't know.' " Vandeweghe said. "I don't think the team had an identity. I don't think it's had an identity for a while."

The Nuggets most recently changed logos in 1993, when the now-familiar mountain peak replaced the fashionably challenged rainbow-and-skyline uniforms once worn by Nuggets greats Vandeweghe, Alex English and Dan Issel.

Incidentally, the Nuggets have had little success since the rainbow days. They have enjoyed only one winning season in the past 10 years, prompting Vandeweghe to overhaul the team's look on, and off, the court.

"Kiki felt like the Nuggets needed a new beginning and kind of a relaunch. I agreed completely," said Don Elliman, president of Kroenke Sports Enterprises. "We've got a new feel. We've got a young team. I thought it was a very appropriate time to have a new beginning."

Anthony was the first Nuggets player to publicize the new look, wearing a DN cap to the stage at Madison Square Garden after Denver made him the third overall pick of the draft.

Elliman said the new uniforms will be unveiled soon, possibly as early as today.

"They have this real shiny look," Nuggets forward Chris Andersen said. "They look like something out of a movie."

As for the sky-powder-Carolina-UCLA blue, Andersen said the Nuggets players have no qualms about the color.

"That'll brighten up the court a little bit," he said. "We're just going to try to outshine the other team."

This article was taken from www.insidedenver.com.  All rights reserved.