As OKC Thunder is introduced, Warriors mascot is getting no love from NBA or team

September 3, 8:47 PMGolden State Warriors ExaminerMatt Steinmetz

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Thunder: Diminished role/uncertain future

Looks like Thunder -- the Warriors’ mascot, that is -- is on his own. If he's as smart as he is strong, he's thinking head-hunter right now.

He doesn’t seem to be getting any love these days from the NBA … or his hometown team, the Warriors.

On Wednesday, the NBA officially named its Oklahoma City team Thunder.

“Thunder” also happens to be the name of the Warriors’ mascot, first introduced by the team in 1997. That would seem to be a conflict. Not a big one, mind you, but one in need of addressing.

Commissioner David Stern can make a mascot go away just like that, after all. Right?

Problem is, Thunder is different; he’s not your run-of-the-mill mascot.

The Warriors' first logo love: the  "Flying W"

In fact, he’s quite unique.

Thunder is actually part of the Warriors’ primary logo -- central to it, in fact -- and he happens to be the only mascot in the entire league with such a distinction. So, he’s NBA-approved and all that stuff.

Right now, there is a team in the Northwest Division named the Oklahoma City Thunder and another team in the Pacific division with a mascot named Thunder, who just happens to be the only mascot in the league featured on his team’s logo.

A spokesman for the league said the NBA didn’t view it as an “identity conflict.”

Tell that to Thunder. He knows his identity. He’s the one who scares the kids, dances at inappropriate times and puts the lampshade on his bolt-head during crunch-time.

Rarely seen around 1011 Broadway, Oakland

Anyway, you might think the Warriors would be a little wound up over all this. Not necessarily. They don’t seem to be too crazy about Thunder, themselves.

It turns out that for the past few years the Warriors have been trying to make their secondary logo -- the “Flying W” -- their primary logo. But the NBA has demanded upwards of $500,000 for the switcheroo.

Instead, the Warriors use their secondary logo -- the one without Thunder -- all the time. And when we say all the time, we mean all the time. There is not one image of the Warriors’ primary logo in their 2007-08 media guide.

In other words, not only doesn’t the NBA care about Thunder, but the Warriors may be pushing him out the door, too.