Liberty adds Nets black-and-white to logo, part of increasing integration

The New York Liberty rebranding has begun.

A little more than a year after Joe Tsai brought the team from James Dolan —and days before the Liberty is expected to draft a generational talent in Sabrina Ionescu— the team announced its first logo change in its 24-year history. The logo retains the “seafoam” or pale green color that has long been its signature and Lady Liberty’s torch, but the secondary color scheme is now the Nets black-and-white. The Knicks’ orange-and-blue has been abandoned.

The Liberty and Nets are both owned by Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment, Joe Tsai’s parent group that also owns Barclays Center where the Liberty will play this season. Tsai bought the Liberty 15 months ago and the Nets and Barclays last August. Everything is on hold, of course, because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The rebranding was announced on Twitter...

Later Tuesday, the Liberty tweeted out the new logo on new uniforms...

“While this new logo pays homage to our franchise history and the history of New York City, it also nods to our future and modernizes the team’s overall look,” Liberty chief operating officer Keia Clarke said. “This new chapter of Liberty basketball in Brooklyn will begin with the rollout of a new visual that energizes and excites our Liberty Loyals.”

Just last week, the Liberty and FanDuel signed a jersey ad partnership...

The rebranding is only one step in an increasing integration between the Nets and Liberty. Expect new uniforms ... and cooperation between the front offices.

“Any time that you can bridge the two worlds I think it’s good for both — I think they learn from one another,” Liberty coach Walt Hopkins said on Monday in a pre-WNBA Draft conference call. “And I think that’s going to be the same type of situation in Brooklyn.

”Our ownership is really good. They’re really committed to both franchises and I know that from speaking with Sean Marks with the Nets as their GM, he is really big on collaboration. He talked a lot in this off-season about ways that we can best kind of bridge the two groups, so it’s absolutely going to be a consideration for us and something we look to maximize.”

Specifically, the Liberty would like to mimic the Nets development strategy. The teams are already cooperating on marketing and social media.

Also, expect to see Nets stars at Liberty events whenever that becomes possible, In particular, Kyrie Irving has been a big fan of the WNBA, as Sue Bird (wearing a Kyrie t-shirt) told Ryan Ruocco on YES, We’re Here last week.

Of course, on Friday, the Liberty are expected to take Ionescu, the NCAA Women’s Player of the Year, with the first overall pick in the WNBA Draft. The Draft will be broadcast live on ESPN starting

• Liberty unveil new logo with move to Brooklyn - AP