The change is now !
This Friday afternoon, after the quarter-final duel of the Leaders Cup between Nanterre and Asvel, the spectators at the Arena Saint-Étienne Métropole, in Saint-Chamond, will be in the front row to discover the new face, the new visual entity of the Basketball League (LNB).
The new logo will be unveiled on the floor just before the match between Monaco and Le Mans, scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Forget the old visual - dating from 1987 when the Professional League was born - with the silhouette of a player going for the dunk and the colors blue, white and red.
From now on, it is through the refined design of a basketball hoop that the League will be identified.
In the center of this circle, the three letters of the LNB.
Three chromatic variations will be used: white on a blue background, blue on a white background or gold on a black background.
⚔️ See you Friday at the Aréna Saint-Étienne Métropole 🔥#LeadersCup pic.twitter.com/4XFMWw4TjD
— LNB (@LNBofficiel) February 13, 2024
“Rugby will highlight the art of combat, of confrontation, for basketball it will be an artistic and virtuosic side,” explains Philippe Ausseur, president of the LNB since last June.
It is also a sport different from the others because it is the only one to have a basket.
The others use nets, goals, we are the only ones to have a basket, so the idea is to highlight this attribute.
» The basket is made up of a net made up of 36 meshes, like the number of clubs present in Betclic Elite and Pro B to “show that the clubs are components of the same network”, continues the manager.
“Pro basketball is in many territories in France, and not necessarily small.
Contrary to what we may hear, having a very strong territorial anchor is a strength that we want to highlight.
We want to be a league that promotes French professional basketball, a more proactive body.
»
Also read: Wembanyama, Cissoko, Coulibaly: in the Ile-de-France footsteps of the NBA “drafted”
This new signing, which stands out from other basketball leagues, is the result of long work with the Dragon Rouge agency.
A specialist in the genre, she had - in particular - worked with PSG for the evolution of its logo.
If the slogan of the Parisian club has since been “Let’s dream bigger”, the League has opted for “Let’s reveal French basketball”.
Some may understand "let's wake up French basketball", but the use of the first person plural above all demonstrates the desire of the LNB to "embark", according to Ausseur, all the actors towards the same goal.
At the heart of the game with the @Betclic Cam 👁️#BetclicELITE pic.twitter.com/B7XPANurWz
— LNB (@LNBofficiel) February 11, 2024
“It’s an evolution, not a revolution,” continues the manager.
We saw with the Legends program, launched a few weeks ago (Editor's note: with the highlighting of former players or past coaches who have left their mark on the LNB), that we had a rich history, on which we must 'press but while continuing to move forward.
»
Beyond a simple visual evolution, the manager especially wants this new signature to mark a “paradigm change” for the LNB.
“We must offer better readability of our championships, to our supporters, but even to other audiences,” specifies Philippe Ausseur, who has already announced that, unlike in the past, only clubs qualified for the Betclic Élite playoffs could compete in cups. of Europe the following season.
Exception made for the Euroleague, now “considered as a championship and not a cup”.
Consideration of player transfers is also underway.
Also read “Wembanyama… from Nanterre”: why the 92 club found itself at the heart of the NBA draft
“We must be innovating, in implementing actions,” continues Ausseur.
It started with the presence of cameras on two players and the referees of the Paris Basketball match against Saint-Quentin (Sunday February 11, for the inauguration of the Adidas Arena).
It was a world first and I am proud to say that it is within the LNB.
Basketball is above all emotions, fervor, intensity - for the players but also spectators -, skill, and the excellence of training in France.
The first contingent of foreign players (outside North America) in the NBA comes from France.
»
“Let’s reveal French basketball” and its talents!
Training is in fact the other axis of development of the LNB.
If Victor Wembanyama and Bilal Coulibaly allowed the League to attract all the spotlight last season, other players have already taken over.
Whether it's Zaccharie Risacher in Bourg (announced in first place in the next NBA draft), Tidjane Salaün (Cholet), Melvin Ajinça (Saint-Quentin), Nadir Hifi (Paris) or even Ilias Kamardine (Vichy, Pro B).
“A real wealth” and “nuggets which are not necessarily seen by the general public”, regrets the boss of the LNB, who intends to remedy this.
“We are working with the NBA to highlight the excellence of French training”
Philippe Ausseur, president of the National Basketball League
“We are working with the NBA to highlight the excellence of French training,” assures Ausseur.
We want these players to be in France before being drafted.
We want to put in an incentive program so that they stay (some prefer to go to the American university system or to the Australian championship like Alexandre Sarr, announced in the top 3 of the next draft), whether positive, not repressive.
We will never prevent a young person from going to the NBA but we want him to stay in France until the last moment.
The European League which works with the NBA is the LNB.
»