Cleveland Cavaliers Logo PNG
Maximum focus on competition and victory – that’s what the Cleveland Cavaliers logo made in a knightly style reflects. But nobility is crossed out with one stroke of a sharp rapier because these are not medieval tournaments for a lady’s heart but sports battles of professional basketball players.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Brand overview
| Founded: | 1970 |
| Founder: | Dan Gilbert, Gary Gilbert, Usher Raymond |
| Headquarters: |
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Website: | nba.com |
This team appeared in the NBA in 1970. Fans through a special contest chose its name. Among the variants that got into the final round were: Foresters, Towers, and Presidents. Because Ohio holds a second place (after Virginia) by the number of US Presidents born here (7 representatives plus one president named Cleveland (1885-1889), a native of New Jersey, the last one was quite interesting. The current name Cavaliers also has a lot of historical references.
In this case, Cavaliers is the same as Chevalier, in a more literal sense – cavalrymen.
The last time the Cleveland Cavaliers logo was changed in 2010. The emblem image remained the same, but the colors were made deeper, and the gold became brighter. In total, “Cleveland” had five logos, and from 1984 to 2003, the name Cavs was depicted differently, but one thing has always remained unchanged. The letter V (which also means Victoria) has always been the basket where the ball hit in.
The name Cavaliers (“Musketeers”) appeared in 1971 after a grand vote, in which 11 thousand basketball lovers took part. The winner of the competition was a fan of Ohio, Jerry Tomko. “Musketeers are courageous, fearless men who never give up regardless of anything,” Tomko explained his choice. Well, for the club, it was important that the first letter in the city’s name coincides with the team’s name – Cleveland and Cavaliers.
Meaning and History
This team had six emblems, and they’re all different except for one. And each variant reflects a certain section of the franchise history. The primary visual identity was the version with a musketeer, so athletes Cleveland Cavaliers called musketeers. They owe their nickname and debut logo to the agency Pitt Studios from Pittsburgh, representing Cleveland. The original logo was approved in May 1970.
What is Cleveland Cavaliers?
This is an American basketball team that plays at a professional level. She is an NBA member, an Eastern Conference member, and plays for the Central Division. The club began in 1970 and was launched as an expansion franchise with two more basketball groups (Buffalo Braves and Portland Trail Blazers). Since 1994, he has hosted his home competition at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
1971 – 1983
The earliest version of the team logo is made in “wine and gold” colors. It features a fencing musketeer, which makes the attacks a sword. It stands with its back to the audience. It wears a full outfit: a wide-brimmed hat with a large fluffy feather, a camisole with cuffs, a short cape coat, gloves, high boots with lapels.
The red man is located against the background of a sunny ball with characteristic white lines. At the end of the visual row, there is an inscription with the name of the club. It is located around the central elements: at the top – “Cavaliers” with figured “C” and “S” at the bottom – “Cleveland.” The inscriptions are large, red, with a yellow border.
1984 – 1994
In 1984, the team’s symbolism underwent a radical change. As a result, the previous version remained only the color – light and pure wine. Everything else is new. The text part was taken as a basis, to be more precise – a shortened version of the nickname “Cavs.” The letters are capital letters, serifed, and “V” looks like a basketball basket. It has a white net structure and a red ball.
1995 – 2003
In the 90s, fans called the new logo “The destruction of the toilet bowl.” During this period, designers developed a line of basket, ball, and nicknames, but depicted everything in a radically different style. Now the emblem has a black background rectangle, a white schematic grid, and a flying in the ring orange ball. The shortened version of the name of the club is located below. It is represented as blue letters with a thin black line in the middle.
2004 – 2010
In 2003, with the coming of LeBron James, the club’s management suddenly changed its mind and went back to the origins. The logo, approved in 2004, shows a golden musketeer sword, which, having hooked the letter “C,” pierces a white word combination “CLEVELAND CAVALIERS.” The background is a wine-colored basketball. The inscription is located on a dark blue substrate – the same shade of stripes on the ball.
2011 – 2017
The changes obtained during this period of the logo’s history are quite insignificant. The team switched to a modified version of the classic palette of “wine and gold,” relating to the years 2003 – 2004. A yellow tint has also been added to the existing version. It is presented in shadows on the sword and in the edging line, which follows all elements’ edges. The inscription is still diagonal and directed upwards. The letter “C” has characteristic sharp points at the ends and in the middle.
2017 – 2022
For the 2017-18 season, Cleveland Cavaliers introduced a new team logo that simplifies and modernizes the look of the brand. The Cavaliers collaborated with Nike to develop the perfect emblem and introduce the most popular features of the franchise into a new design that would reflect the progress and success of the organization.
After the redesign of 2017, the logo received a new design with a deepening of the musketeer theme and the “C-Sword” style. Now the background is a black shield. It contains a sword (located vertically, pointed upwards) and the name of the club (placed in two horizontal rows). The cutting weapon goes through the letter “C,” separated from the inscription.
Cleveland Cavaliers logo’s elements:
- The sharp edges of the Cleveland Cavaliers typeface are inspired by notions of a defender, and the motion of the sword, and the aggressive look that it creates.
- The sword evokes the spirit of a modern defender, the resilience of Cleveland.
- The shield represents the Cavaliers’ commitment to Defend The Land. It is a direct nod to the most faithful and passionate Cavaliers fans, including Wine & Gold United.
- The C stands for something bigger than the Cavaliers. It stands for Cleveland – a city united and represented the Cavalier’s commitment to champion our hometown both on and off the court.
- Wine and gold hues pay homage to the team’s first colors in their inaugural 1970 season. Navy remains a complementary color, while black is officially introduced as a new and permanent addition to the color palette.
2022 – today
Today, the team’s logo still includes the quadrangular crest, “CLEVELAND CAVALIERS,” and a stylized “C.” The designers removed the sword, symbolizing the fighting spirit, and decided to limit the number of elements to a minimum. The revamped corporate identity is the work of artist Daniel Arsham, who took over as Creative Director of Cavs in 2020.
The modern emblem was introduced shortly before the start of the 2022-2023 NBA season. The color scheme in it is simplified when compared with the previous version. Now the team name, the outline around the free-standing letter, and the line along the shield’s edge are painted in gold with a metallic tint. This is the same true Cavaliers Gold used in the early 1980s. The “C” is wine red, almost purple, and the shield’s base is black.
Font and Colors
No matter how radically the logos change, there are several common factors: color scheme, name, ball, or sword. But the structure is always different, except for two periods.
Each stage in the history of the logo has its writing style. In early versions, the letters are made with a serifed typeface. Then came the italic version. The modern logo used a strict chopped font from the category Sans Serif, but with figure design. And at all times, “C” and “S” were interestingly played: designers made them larger than others and added individual elements.
The team’s corporate colors are Wine&Gold. Now black is equivalent to them. Although there is also dark blue on the logo, it is not included in the official palette, as it is additional.
Cleveland Cavaliers color codes
| Wine | Hex color: | #6f263d |
|---|---|---|
| RGB: | 111 38 61 | |
| CMYK: | 20 97 40 58 | |
| Pantone: | PMS 209 C |
| Gold | Hex color: | #ffb81c |
|---|---|---|
| RGB: | 255 184 28 | |
| CMYK: | 0 31 98 0 | |
| Pantone: | PMS 1235 C |
| Navy Blue | Hex color: | #041e42 |
|---|---|---|
| RGB: | 4 30 66 | |
| CMYK: | 100 90 13 68 | |
| Pantone: | PMS 282 C |
| Black | Hex color: | #000000 |
|---|---|---|
| RGB: | 6 25 34 | |
| CMYK: | 30 0 0 100 | |
| Pantone: | PMS Black C |
What is the Cleveland Cavaliers logo?
The Cleveland Cavaliers logo features a black and gold Musketeer sword. It pierces the crimson C that begins both words in the basketball team’s name. The blade’s edge is divided into two parts by a text insert. All elements are located against the background of an elongated quadrangular shield with a double edging.
Did the Cavaliers change their colors?
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ color change took place in 2011. Then they went from red to wine and from dark gold to light gold. Since then, this range has been prevalent in basketball players’ identity and uniform. It has not changed yet.
