The Milwaukee Bucks have revealed the name of their new Oshkosh-based G-League franchise.
The Milwaukee Bucks officially announced the name of their new G-League franchise early on Thursday morning, with the Oshkosh-based team unveiled as the Wisconsin Herd.
The organization had previously asked for names to be submitted via the team’s website, and although logos and further details have yet to be publicized, some details were shared in the email to fans which announced the name.
The release that accompanied the aforementioned email reads as follows:
"“The Milwaukee Bucks’ new NBA D-League franchise set to begin play in Oshkosh for the 2017-18 season has been named the Wisconsin Herd. The Wisconsin Herd name reflects the Bucks brand while representing the Bucks as a statewide organization from the top down. The Herd will begin their inaugural season in the NBA D-League in November.”"
The email also included two examples of branding and potential wordmarks for the Herd.
No logo yet, but initial branding certainly looks and feels familiar. pic.twitter.com/f001Re8Y6Y
— Behind the Buck Pass (@BehindTheBucks) June 8, 2017
Both designs will look familiar to Bucks fans, particularly the wordmark with the green text on the white background, which is commonly used by the Bucks themselves.
In predicting names for the team, references to bucks and deer were generally seen as a likely element of the new franchise’s identity, and so it has proved.
The Herd could have opted for a name dedicated a little more closely to their new home, but in skipping past Oshkosh or Fox Valley as the lead element, names such as Fliers would ultimately have felt like peculiar fits.
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Instead, in opting for Wisconsin as the team’s driving identity, it continues a trend that has been evident within the Bucks’ organization since the current ownership group’s purchase of the team.
The Bucks have made a conscious effort to push the franchise as being the state’s team, even using a map of the state as an outline for one of the NBA team’s secondary logos following the relatively recent rebrand.
In carrying those ties to the state as a whole over into the name of the G-League team, it appears the focus remains on drawing in from the wide base of sports fans across Wisconsin. Rather than being Oshkosh’s team, the goal seems to be to make this a team that can be easily latched on to from all the towns and cities nearby.
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The Herd will start playing in the newly renamed NBA G-League next season. The G-League will return shortly after the beginning of the NBA season proper, and the Herd will hope to have their new arena Oshkosh completed in time for opening night.