When the Sacramento Kings unveiled their new logo in late April, it marked the resurrection of one of the most improbably durable designs in sports history.
The Kings' logo, showing a stylized crown perched atop a basketball, was originally created for the 1971-72 Cincinnati Royals. After one season the team changed its name and moved west, becoming the Kansas City-Omaha Kings, but the logo was retained. Additional franchise relocations followed, including the move to Sacramento in 1985, and the team was sold to new owners several times, but the crowned-ball logo somehow endured. It was finally mothballed in 1994 but later became popular as a throwback logo, leading to its recent revival as the team's primary mark.