Sixers score with Ben Franklin logo

The Philadelphia 76ers may not have enjoyed much success on the court lately, but they now have the coolest logo in the NBA. That's because the team's new logo set, which was unveiled Tuesday morning, includes the long-rumored design that shows Ben Franklin dribbling a basketball with a mischievous gleam in his eye.

Some quick background: The Franklin logo, variously referred to as Dribbling Ben, Running Ben, and Ballin' Ben, first surfaced last June and was met with near-unanimous praise. So fans were disappointed when the Sixers announced that they wouldn't be adopting the logo after all. He's been used on some merchandise over the past year, but nothing more than that.

Now Running Ben is back, and this time he's part of the team's official logo package. He instantly becomes the NBA's best logo, even though he's only designated as a secondary mark.

Other notes regarding the Sixers' new logo set:

The team's primary logo has been changed from rectangular to circular. In addition, the design of the basketball at the center of this logo has been adjusted.

The tweak to the basketball in the primary logo also is reflected in the new version of the team's familiar "partial primary" logo. A team official says this is the design that will be used in most applications

There's also a new secondary logo featuring the number 76 surrounded by 13 stars.

The team also will have new uniforms, which will be unveiled on the evening of June 18 at a public event at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. A team press release describes the uniforms as being "inspired by Sixers jersey designs from the eras of [Wilt] Chamberlain (late 1960s), [Billy] Cunningham (1970s) and Julius Erving (1980s)."

Unfortunately, a team official says Running Ben will not be included on the new uniforms, but here's hoping he shows up in lots of other contexts.