The National Basketball Association (NBA) is divided into two conferences - the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference - each with 15 teams. The reigning NBA champions are the Boston Celtics. Best Color Codes currently covers 5 NBA teams, with new team pages being added regularly. Every entry includes official HEX, RGB, CMYK, and Pantone values sourced from team brand guidelines and verified SVG artwork.
5 teams
Most common NBA team colors
Across the 5 NBA teams on Best Color Codes, certain colors dominate the league's visual identity. Blue and red appear most frequently, reflecting the patriotic and competitive spirit of the sport.
| Color family | Teams |
|---|---|
| Gold / Yellow | Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors |
| Black | Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors |
| Blue | Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks |
| Other | Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks |
| Red / Wine | Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors |
| Purple | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Green | Milwaukee Bucks |
| Silver / White | Toronto Raptors |
Note: colors are grouped into families (e.g. "Lakers Gold" and "Warriors Gold" both count under Gold / Yellow).
NBA team HEX color codes
HEX codes are the standard for web and digital design. Every value below is the official HEX code confirmed from team brand materials.
| Team | Color | HEX |
|---|---|---|
| Golden State Warriors | Warriors Royal Blue | #006BB6 |
| Golden Yellow | #FDB927 | |
| Slate | #26282A | |
| Los Angeles Lakers | Purple | #552583 |
| Gold | #FDB927 | |
| Black | #000000 | |
| Miami Heat | Red | #98002E |
| Yellow | #F9A01B | |
| Black | #000000 | |
| Milwaukee Bucks | Good Land Green | #00471B |
| Cream City Cream | #EEE1C6 | |
| Great Lakes Blue | #0077C0 | |
| Black | #000000 | |
| Toronto Raptors | Raptors Red | #CE1141 |
| Black | #000000 | |
| Silver | #A1A1A4 | |
| Gold | #B4975A |
NBA team RGB color codes
RGB values are used in digital displays, video production, and on-screen design tools. Each value represents Red, Green, and Blue channels on a 0-255 scale.
| Team | Color | RGB |
|---|---|---|
| Golden State Warriors | Warriors Royal Blue | 0, 107, 182 |
| Golden Yellow | 253, 185, 39 | |
| Slate | 38, 40, 42 | |
| Los Angeles Lakers | Purple | 85, 37, 130 |
| Gold | 253, 185, 39 | |
| Black | 6, 25, 34 | |
| Miami Heat | Red | 152, 0, 46 |
| Yellow | 249, 160, 27 | |
| Black | 6, 25, 34 | |
| Milwaukee Bucks | Good Land Green | 0, 71, 27 |
| Cream City Cream | 240, 235, 210 | |
| Great Lakes Blue | 0, 125, 197 | |
| Black | 6, 25, 34 | |
| Toronto Raptors | Raptors Red | 206, 17, 65 |
| Black | 6, 25, 34 | |
| Silver | 161, 161, 164 | |
| Gold | 180, 151, 90 |
NBA team CMYK color codes
CMYK values are used in print design and physical merchandise. The four channels - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (Black) - represent how ink is mixed for printing.
| Team | Color | CMYK |
|---|---|---|
| Golden State Warriors | Warriors Royal Blue | 100, 56, 0, 0 |
| Golden Yellow | 0, 30, 94, 0 | |
| Slate | 73, 65, 62, 67 | |
| Los Angeles Lakers | Purple | 79, 100, 0, 12 |
| Gold | 0, 30, 94, 0 | |
| Black | 30, 0, 0, 100 | |
| Miami Heat | Red | 0, 100, 61, 43 |
| Yellow | 0, 43, 100, 0 | |
| Black | 30, 0, 0, 100 | |
| Milwaukee Bucks | Good Land Green | 80, 0, 90, 75 |
| Cream City Cream | 6, 9, 23, 0 | |
| Great Lakes Blue | 100, 40, 0, 0 | |
| Black | 20, 20, 20, 100 | |
| Toronto Raptors | Raptors Red | 0, 100, 65, 15 |
| Black | 30, 0, 0, 100 | |
| Silver | 0, 1, 0, 43 | |
| Gold | 20, 30, 70, 15 |
NBA team Pantone color codes
Pantone (PMS) codes are the industry standard for brand color consistency across physical products - from jerseys to arena signage to merchandise.
| Team | Color | Pantone |
|---|---|---|
| Golden State Warriors | Warriors Royal Blue | PMS 293 C |
| Golden Yellow | PMS 123 C | |
| Slate | PMS 426 C | |
| Los Angeles Lakers | Purple | PMS 526 C |
| Gold | PMS 123 C | |
| Black | BLACK C | |
| Miami Heat | Red | PMS 202 C |
| Yellow | PMS 137 C | |
| Black | BLACK C | |
| Milwaukee Bucks | Good Land Green | PMS 350 C |
| Cream City Cream | PMS 468 C | |
| Great Lakes Blue | PMS 2935 C | |
| Black | BLACK C | |
| Toronto Raptors | Raptors Red | PMS 200 C |
| Black | BLACK C | |
| Silver | PMS Cool Gray 8 C | |
| Gold | PMS 872 C |
What do NBA team colors mean?
Every NBA team's color palette tells a story - rooted in city identity, history, or the symbolism behind the team's name.
Golden State Warriors
Royal blue and gold reflect the California Gold Rush and the San Francisco Bay's ocean waters. The colors were adopted in 1971 and have become synonymous with the team's dynasty era.
Los Angeles Lakers
Purple and gold were inherited from the Minneapolis Lakers when the franchise relocated to LA in 1960. The colors mirror the Minnesota state colors and have never changed in over 60 years.
Miami Heat
Red, black, and yellow-gold evoke the heat of Miami - fire, intensity, and the South Florida sun. The palette was designed to feel bold and aggressive when the franchise launched in 1988.
Milwaukee Bucks
Forest green, cream, and "fear the deer" gold reflect Wisconsin's natural landscape - the forests and fields of the Midwest. The 2015 rebrand leaned into the outdoors heritage of the state.
Toronto Raptors
Red, black, and silver were chosen in 1995 to reflect the Jurassic Park dinosaur craze. The 2015 rebrand refined the palette to a deeper red and gold, giving the franchise a more mature identity.
NBA team logo meanings
NBA logos are among the most globally recognized in sports. Each design reflects the team's character, city, or founding story.
Golden State Warriors
A bridge spanning the San Francisco Bay - introduced in 2010, the Golden Gate Bridge silhouette in blue and gold ties the franchise to its Bay Area home rather than any single city.
Los Angeles Lakers
A clean "Lakers" wordmark in purple and gold with a basketball. The simplicity reflects the franchise's confidence - one of the most storied brands in sports needs no elaborate imagery.
Miami Heat
A flaming basketball in red and yellow - pure intensity. The logo captures the team's brand promise: high energy, fast-paced, and burning hot.
Milwaukee Bucks
A white-tailed buck in profile, rendered with angular lines to feel fierce and modern. The 2015 redesign gave the deer more attitude - wider stance, more aggressive posture.
Toronto Raptors
A raptor claw gripping a basketball - updated in 2015 to be cleaner and more athletic. The OG 1995 logo featured a full dinosaur dunking, which was eventually retired in favor of the more timeless claw mark.
How to recreate an NBA logo
If you're designing fan art or a creative project using NBA team colors, here's a general workflow:
- Get the official colors - use the HEX, RGB, and Pantone values from this page or the team's individual color page.
- Source the logo SVG - official SVG logos are available through the NBA's press kit or Wikimedia Commons for reference use.
- Open in a vector tool - Adobe Illustrator, Figma, or Affinity Designer all work well for SVG editing.
- Apply official colors - replace any approximate colors with the exact values from team brand guidelines.
- Respect usage rights - NBA team logos are trademarked. Fan art is generally tolerated but commercial use requires licensing.
NBA teams with similar colors to other leagues
Several NBA teams share their color palette with franchises across the NFL, NHL, and MLB - creating cross-sport color connections.
Los Angeles Lakers
Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - both use purple and gold, tying them together as two of the most iconic purple-and-gold franchises in all of American sports.
Golden State Warriors
Pittsburgh Steelers (NFL) and Boston Bruins (NHL) - all use blue and gold as core palette colors, though each with a distinct shade.
Miami Heat
Chicago Blackhawks (NHL) and Atlanta Falcons (NFL) - red and black combinations that feel powerful and aggressive across every sport.
Milwaukee Bucks
Green Bay Packers (NFL) - both Wisconsin franchises share green and gold, making Wisconsin one of the most color-consistent sports states in the country.
Toronto Raptors
Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL) - the two Toronto major franchises both use red as a primary color, giving the city a unified sports identity.
Historical NBA teams and their colors
Several NBA franchises have relocated or rebranded over the decades, leaving behind distinctive color legacies.
| Team | Era | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle SuperSonics | 1967-2008 | Relocated to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder. The Sonics wore green and gold - colors that reflected the Pacific Northwest's forests and remained beloved by Seattle fans long after the team left. |
| New Jersey Nets | 1977-2012 (New Jersey) | Relocated to Brooklyn in 2012. The Nets rebranded from blue and white to a stark black and white identity - one of the boldest color decisions in NBA history. |
| Vancouver Grizzlies | 1995-2001 | Relocated to Memphis in 2001. Their teal, copper, and purple palette reflected the Pacific Northwest coastal identity - colors that never made the move south. |
| New Orleans Hornets | 2002-2013 (New Orleans) | Became the New Orleans Pelicans in 2013. The teal and purple Hornets colors then moved to Charlotte with the expansion Charlotte Hornets, reviving the original 1988 franchise colors. |