KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Rumors have been going around about the NBA receiving two expansion teams. Cities like Las Vegas and Seattle have been the top names.
Lots of people remember the Kansas City Kings who were at Kemper Arena until 1985 and plenty of local people have wanted an NBA team back in the area since.
A local graphic designer has his own idea of how a KC NBA team would look.
Robbie Poulain has always been an artist. From being in AP art in high school to graduating from Johnson County Community College in three years to doing graphics for the Oklahoma City Thunder to where he is now as a graphic designer for the Royals.
A couple years ago, Poulain started a project on how an NBA team in Kansas City would look. Two years full of procrastination later, he came up with the KC Reign and some beautiful designs to go with it.
“When I got good at graphic design, it was one of my goals to make as realistic of a mockup as I could and really bring that idea to life,” Poulain said.
Black and yellow with a roster of KC area natives and a home court of T-Mobile Center. Social media caught wind of it and were blown away by the designs and so was Poulain by the reaction.
“It’s been unreal,” Poulain said. “I still pinch myself when I wake up and see the response that it’s gotten.”
And Poulain credits the KC Kings for his inspiration.
“Get it as close to the Kansas City Kings without actually being there. I went total opposite direction in terms of color scheme.
“The Kings when they played here they had a little crown on the word mark.”
Kansas City is a hotbed of basketball history and basketball talent which makes so many want an NBA team in the area. And ideas like this prove that.
“The goal at the end of the day was really just to inspire another generation of basketball fans in Kansas City hopefully. Maybe one day when we get a team, that passion will really grow.”
The only pushback on Poulain’s design?
“Some KU fans don’t like the black and yellow.”
