New 'champion gold tabs' on NBA jerseys causes confusion for Thunder

The recent revelation that NBA jerseys would now include a gold tab on the back for franchises that have won an NBA championship has caused some confusion for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Thunder, of course, have not won an NBA title, having only existed since 2008-09. Before that, the Thunder were the Seattle Supersonics, who definitely did win an NBA title, back in the Lenny Wilkens-Jack Sikma days of 1978-79.

But the gold championship tab does not appear on the Thunder's jersey, according to The Oklahoman.

Cody Stavenhagen explains the confusion, considering that other teams in a similar situation will have a tab:

However, a Thunder spokesman has not confirmed whether the Thunder will or won’t wear the tab. The Thunder does have rights to Seattle’s history and records, though the organization doesn’t typically take advantage of it as part of branding a new identity.

The Atlanta Hawks franchise won a title in 1957-58 as the St Louis Hawks, and the Sacramento Kings won in 1950-51 as the Rochester Royals. Both team’s jerseys do feature the tab in catalog photos.

A poll conducted by the publication showed 90 percent of over 4,000 respondents voting against the inclusion of the tab, so it seems like this may be no issue at all from a fan perspective.