Golden State Warriors drop to 10th in a certain Zach Lowe Power Ranking

Greetings, GSoM!

I've literally been sidelined for several weeks with a torn finger ligament (typing has been a big pain in the hand, lately), but I saw something in the news today that almost made me sick to my ring finger!

Respected Grantland writer and podcast host Zach Lowe, who remains exceedingly popular amongst we hoops-nerds who orbit the blogosphere, has published a surprisingly questionable NBA power ranking. He ranks the Golden State Warriors, Champions of the league and Masters of the Universe, Lord of the Andals and the First Men, just 10th overall! Tenth!!

Granted, it's just a team logo power ranking, and not an actual power ranking...but I shudder at the thought of what this portends for the new season. Where will ESPN's Marc Stein have us? 31^st behind the Santa Cruz Warriors? Will SB Nation NBA writer Tom Ziller even remember we exist, or will he retroactively acknowledge the Cleveland Cavaliers as league champions? I'm not one to use hyperbole, but right now, this blogger can only think: maybe.

Below is Zach Lowe's ranking, with my comments.

30. Oklahoma City Thunder
29. Los Angeles Clippers

I know that the Thunder basically picked their logo from the "create-a-team" menu in a leading basketball video game (a game whose logo this Clippers jive basically ripped off), but any ranking that doesn't have the Los Angeles Clippers dead last is doing it wrong. In fact, when your logo looks like it was stolen from a video game - come on.

28. Detroit Pistons
27. Minnesota Timberwolves
26. New York Knicks
25. Denver Nuggets
23. Dallas Mavericks

The twenty-third spot implies near-mediocrity, and I can't justify the horse-in-the-fisheye-lens as mediocre. It's bad. It's still a step above the Clippers and Thunder, but that's about it. Just a basketball with a horse plastered on it at a weird angle, and nothing "Dallas" about it.

22. Utah Jazz
21. Washington Wizards

Not everyone agrees with me on this, but I like the Wizards look. The Washington Monument offers instant location recognition, and it conveniently splits the circular logo into a Wizards "W," as seen in the old logo design. The horizontal red, white and blue stripes, as well as the white stars may be a little too typical in American sports logos over the years, but don't blame the team in Washington...they're the only ones qualified to rock that look (looking at you, Patriots/Rangers/Montreal Expos and whoever). Too low.

20. Cleveland Cavaliers
19. Orlando Magic
18. Phoenix Suns
17. Brooklyn Nets

"Oh, so we can use MS-DOS to design uniform logos now? I wish I knew that before I blew $4.7 million on commissioning a creative team to update our franchise logo." - At least 29 NBA owners. Spurstalk.com was kind enough to re-design the jersey patch, and I've got to say, it's a strong effort.

16. Houston Rockets
15. Los Angeles Lakers
14. New Orleans Pelicans

Inexcusable. In the opinion of the GSoM logo Power Ranking committee (me), this is the best logo in the land, outside of Golden State. It's gorgeous, representative of its region (Pelicans are the state bird, blue, gold and white are the state colors, there's a fleur de lis and that old-timey New Orleans text with bulges at the middle which represent eating shrimp po' boys and beignets all day), and it's unique in American sports. What more could you ask of a logo?

13. Indiana Pacers

Probably a bit low. The Pacers may be the first franchise to perfect their logo, and I see no reason for this classic to ever change. It's impossibly concise, completely unique, and totally tied to its region. As a bonus, it's one of the more recognizable logos in sports, pretty much: a shocking feat for a team in Indiana. And bonus points for the Hoosiers night jerseys this season.

12. San Antonio Spurs
11. Atlanta Hawks
10. Golden State Warriors
9. Philadelphia 76ers
8. Toronto Raptors
7. Portland Trailblazers

While the rest of the league embraces circular logos, the Blazers remain as one of three with a rectangular design. But that's not what counts: all that matters is that sweet, gorgeous blazer swirl-thing going on in the center. And it is glorious. What does it mean? Who cares? It's cool looking, and anything cool enough to not need to make sense is still cool, sense be dammed.

6. Boston Celtics
5. Memphis Grizzlies
4. Milwaukee Bucks

Lowe's entire top-5 is a mess, but the Buck starts here. Their champagne and green Bucks logo is meh with a capital-M (which no doubt served as the inspiration for the M-shaped Buck on the logo. Basically, the Bucks took their former logo, put in on a circle-badge (as is the style right now), and brought the whole thing a bit closer to their original (yet highly generic) circle-patch logos from their 1960s glory days. In doing so, they inadvertently gave the Buck a look very reminiscent of the Memphis Grizzlies logo, without the region-specific subtext. Again, not terrible by any stretch. But the fourth best design in the NBA? Heck no.

3. Miami Heat
2. Charlotte Hornets
1. Chicago Bulls

And without further ado, the Official GSoM NBA Logo Power Rankings*

*The OGSOMNBALPR may or may not reflect the opinion of anyone else at GSoM

29. Los Angeles Clippers
17. Brooklyn Nets
30. Oklahoma City Thunder
18. Phoenix Suns
19. Orlando Magic
23. Dallas Mavericks
20. Cleveland Cavaliers
24. Sacramento Kings
2. Charlotte Hornets
27. Minnesota Timberwolves
28. Detroit Pistons
25. Denver Nuggets
22. Utah Jazz
15. Los Angeles Lakers
12. San Antonio Spurs
16. Houston Rockets
4. Milwaukee Bucks
26. New York Knicks
3. Miami Heat
11. Atlanta Hawks
21. Washington Wizards
5. Memphis Grizzlies
9. Philadelphia 76ers
13. Indiana Pacers
1. Chicago Bulls
8. Toronto Raptors
6. Boston Celtics
7. Portland Trailblazers
14. New Orleans Pelicans
10. Golden State Warriors

(But seriously, do yourself a favor and listen to/read Zach Lowe: he's awesome)