Mascots can be polarizing characters. Some—especially the young fans—love them and the joviality they bring to NBA games. Others find them off-putting and hope they stay far away (or at least mind their own business). Still, most can probably agree that the NBA currently boasts a roster of pretty polished mascots with their own set of skills and entertainment value. But to get to this point, the league has had to say goodbye to its fair share of mascots. Here are 19 of those retired mascots.
- Brooklyknight // Brooklyn Nets
- Sly The Silver Fox // New Jersey Nets
- Rufus D. Lynx // Charlotte Bobcats
- Whammer // Cleveland Cavaliers
- Maxie the Miner // Denver Nuggets
- Sir Slam-A-Lot // Detroit Pistons
- Turbo and Booster // Houston Rockets
- Berserker and Thunder // Golden State Warriors
- Sam Dunk // Los Angeles Clippers
- Big Shot and Hoops // Philadelphia 76ers
- Hip-Hop // Philadelphia 76ers
- The Gorilla // Sacramento Kings
- Squatch // Seattle Supersonics
- The Wheedle // Seattle Supersonics
- Hoops and Tiny B-B // Washington Bullets
Brooklyknight // Brooklyn Nets
The BrooklyKnight (whose moniker might have been a play on the term Brooklynite) debuted in a 2012 game by descending from the ceiling to minimal crowd excitement. You may have guessed, thanks to his shiny mask, six-pack, cape, and chest emblem, that Marvel Comics designed the character, who was touted as the first superhero in the history of the NBA. Marvel even timed his debut with the release of a comic book all about the BrooklyKnight. Unfortunately, he probably became better known for the baffling way he once got a basketball stuck above the hoop during a dunk. The BrooklynKnight only lasted two seasons, so we probably won’t see him joining the MCU anytime soon.
Sly The Silver Fox // New Jersey Nets
Before they played in Brooklyn, the Nets called New Jersey home. There, they were represented by Sly The Silver Fox. He introduced himself in 1997 by sliding down a 150-foot tall rope in Continental Airlines Arena. According to his bio, Sly hailed from the pine barrens of New Jersey. He was 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds, and his position was “center (of attention).” Sly got some media coverage for being particularly injury-prone. For instance, in 2001, he blew out his right patella while attempting to limbo. Sly was retired by the time the BrooklyKnight came on the scene in 2012.
Rufus D. Lynx // Charlotte Bobcats
When the Charlotte Bobcats became the Hornets in 2014, the decade-long career of the fuzzy, orange, sunglasses-wearing Rufus D. Lynx ended. A bobcat himself, his name came from the species’ scientific name: Lynx rufus. Among his many career accomplishments, Lynx joined four other mascots (including Sly!) in 2012 to break the Guinness World Record for “most between-the-legs basketball dunks by a team of mascots in one minute.” As for what Rufus is up to now, his retirement video showed him making plans to skydive, swim with sharks, and go to space.
Whammer // Cleveland Cavaliers
From the mid-nineties to early-aughts, a polar bear with wraparound sunglasses named Whammer represented the Cleveland Cavaliers. According to his backstory, Whammer grew up in the tundra. He was known for his halftime dunks, and he also had that signature mascot sassiness, once wearing multiple colorful wigs in a game against the LA Lakers as a reference to Dennis Rodman (who wasn’t playing). Whammer has since made some reappearances, but because the Cavs already have Moondog and Sir CC, it doesn’t seem likely that they’ll make way for him to become a permanent fixture again anytime soon.
Maxie the Miner // Denver Nuggets
Maxie the Miner is a bearded fellow whose profession is apparently mining for basketballs. He was added to the team’s logo in 1974 when the Rockets became the Nuggets. At the time, they were still an ABA franchise. Maxie hasn’t appeared in physical form on the court in a while, but a cartoon Maxie has appeared on the waistband of their city edition jerseys in recent years. And in 2023, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone made headlines for getting a tattoo of Maxie the Miner holding the Larry O'Brien trophy to celebrate Denver’s first NBA Championship.
Sir Slam-A-Lot // Detroit Pistons
In 1994, two years after the release of Sir Mix-A-Lot’s hit “Baby Got Back,” the Pistons introduced Sir Slam-A-Lot. Rather than a big, furry costume, Sir Slam-A-Lot just wore some tights, basketball shorts, and a shiny knight’s mask. It seems safe to assume he wasn’t given his esteemed title by real royalty. And he was actually the team’s third mascot attempt: First came Mr. Piston in the 1960s, followed by a two-season wonder named Cocky Rocky.
Despite all their mascot tinkering, the Pistons still hadn’t landed on a winning formula with Sir Slam-A-Lot. In 1995, the Detroit Free Press’s Rob Parker wrote, “The only time the crowd gets loud for Sir Slam-A-Lot is when he’s giving away free pizza.” Sir Slam-A-Lot was replaced by Hooper the horse in 1996.
Turbo and Booster // Houston Rockets
Unlike many on this list, Turbo had a solid following immediately after his debut in 1993. When the Rockets organization announced that Turbo was fired the next year, over 1600 fans called the front office to object. Turbo—who wore a red and yellow skin-tight getup with a cape, mask, and sunglasses—was rehired within months and lasted until the early 2000s. Fans went wild for Turbo’s acrobatic dunks. You can still watch a four-minute compilation of them on the Rockets’ official YouTube channel.
Gymnast Jerry Burrell was behind Turbo, as well as another Rockets mascot: Booster, a sunglasses-wearing green and purple alien. Booster once unintentionally helped a player for another team. In a 1990 game between the Rockets and the Atlanta Hawks, center Jon Koncak missed a free throw after Booster attempted to distract him by unfolding a poster of a woman wearing a bikini. The referee scolded Booster and let Koncak take another shot, which he sunk. The Hawks won the game 113–110.
Berserker and Thunder // Golden State Warriors
In the 1996-’97 season, while their home arena of the Oakland Coliseum was being renovated, the Golden State Warriors played in the San Jose Arena. They embraced this time of change by also introducing their first-ever mascot, Berserker, named after a famous Norse warrior. If you squinted—and ignored the sunglasses and tuft of yellow hair poking through his backward baseball cap—Berserker kind of looked like Sasquatch in a Warriors uniform.
The team cleverly used their renovation project for Berserker’s backstory. According to a promotional poster, he was a sewer creature found in a crate “in the plumbing channel used for freezing the floor … Coolant and asbestos may account for his odd appearance.” Maybe he made his way back to the plumbing because Berserker was gone by the following season.
From 1997 through 2008, the Warriors had Thunder, who fit in well with the other high-flying, sunglass-wearing mascots of the ’90s. He was retired when the Oklahoma City Thunder entered the league, possibly due to the name overlap. Since then, there has been no Warriors mascot.
Sam Dunk // Los Angeles Clippers
For a single season, Clippers fans had to stare at the giant human-shaped mascot known as Sam Dunk. When he first appeared in November 1985, the fans booed him, and despite his name, Sam never actually dunked—the team had a trampoline, but according to Mark Monninger, “they were worried about insurance or something,” so he remained grounded. He tried to make half-court shots his claim to fame for a bit. But at one game, he missed two in a row—and when a referee took the basketball from him, the crowd cheered, after which the general manager banned him from attempting any more half-court shots. Sam Dunk stuck to high fives and dancing until his retirement in 1986.
Big Shot and Hoops // Philadelphia 76ers
Big Shot is the 76ers’ mascot that they just can’t banish. The bulbous blue guy with bright orange hair came on the scene in the late 1970s; initially he didn’t have a name and simply went by “It.” Fans were immediately skeptical, and soon after he was hired in 1980, team president Lou Scheinfeld gave Big Shot the boot. He explained, “I must have had 50 people tell me, on radio talk shows, or getting on elevators; they all said: ‘Get rid of Big Shot.’ So I got rid of Big Shot.”
But Big Shot never really went away. By 1982, he was back, along with a yellow bird named Hoops. Big Shot became known for his dance moves, particularly his Michael Jackson impersonation, moonwalk and all. Thankfully, video still exists of Big Shot pumping up the crowd (and even some of the players) with his spot-on impression.
Big Shot faded away in the mid-1990s, but if any mascot knows how to rise from the grave, it’s him. In 2012, 76ers CEO Adam Aron acknowledged a “surprising ground swell” for bringing Big Shot back.
Hip-Hop // Philadelphia 76ers
After Big Shot retired, Philadelphia fans got a muscular rabbit named Hip-Hop in 1998. Hip-Hop and his crew, the Hare Raisers, did the standard mascot trampoline dunks. But as any NBA player knows, muscle overuse can lead to injuries, and Hip-Hop had to go through physical therapy in 2008 after a knee injury, a journey that came with an accompanying YouTube video on the team’s official channel.
The Gorilla // Sacramento Kings
Bafflingly, there were once two gorilla mascots in the NBA at the same time. In 1985, the Kansas City Kings moved to Sacramento. Soon after, The Gorilla debuted and became a fan favorite. But, the Phoenix Suns had had their own gorilla mascot since 1980—and still do to this day. In 1989, the Suns’ Gorilla mocked Kings Coach Jerry Reynolds for fainting during a game. The man behind the Kings’ Gorilla ended up meeting with Reynolds to express, as The Sacramento Bee put it, “his displeasure with his fellow mascot.” In the ’90s, The Kings’ Gorilla was replaced by their current mascot, Slamson the Lion.
Squatch // Seattle Supersonics
Squatch is the only mascot on this list with his very own song written by a bonafide rock star. In 2007, Chris Ballew of The Presidents of the United States of America released a theme song for the mascot (with Squatch himself playing on drums). Squatch debuted in 1993 and retired in 2008 when the Seattle Supersonics moved to Oklahoma City. Squatch was a master of dunks and stunts, once performing a jump on rollerskates over the cars of NBA players Ray Allen and Robert Swift. But with the daredevil lifestyle comes accidents: Squatch once fell on stilts and another time lost his mascot head after an attempted trampoline dunk.
In addition to his risky behavior, Squatch also had a sense of humor. He had a playful rapport with Charles Barkley when the rival player came to Squatch’s home turf. In 1996, Barkley faked out Squatch, pretending he would shake his hand, but punched him instead. Later that year, Squatch handed Barkley a massive baby bottle, which Barkley kicked into the crowd.
The Wheedle // Seattle Supersonics
Before Squatch, the Supersonics had The Wheedle, or T. Wheedle for short. An orange furry guy with an oval-shaped head and purple eyes, The Wheedle premiered in 1977; he was inspired by a children’s book character of the same name, which rhymes with Space Needle, where The Wheedle supposedly lived.
He was relatively successful. The year of his debut, Washington’s Daily Chronicle wrote, “The Wheedle waddles the sidelines during the game, usually trailed like the Pied Piper by a gaggle of kids who love him more than the team.”
In 1981, The Wheedle made headlines when the costume was stolen from the performer’s trunk; it was promptly returned after being spotted on a Seattle playground. Eventually, The Wheedle had to go: The mascot ultimately lasted less than a decade.
Hoops and Tiny B-B // Washington Bullets
In 1979, Jimmy Carter became the first president to attend an NBA game. He saw the Washington Bullets defeat the Atlanta Hawks at Capital Centre. He also had the honor of meeting Tiny B-B, a real-life dachshund who was the Bullets’ mascot in the ’70s.
Two decades later, the Bullets had Hoops, who had a basketball as a head and a basket covering his torso, plus a hat that read “Hoops.” He may be best known for getting ejected from a game in 1991 (above). He encouraged the crowd to get loud against the referees and that was enough for ref Steve Javie, who booted the anthropomorphic ball. When the Bullets became the Wizards in 1997, it was sadly time to retire Hoops.
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