:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/34446361/20140328_sng_aa1_101.0.jpg)
The Detroit Pistons new D-League affiliate finally has a nickname and it's ... Drive.
This comes after a long process where fans were asked to submit potential team nicknames and then fans were asked to vote on their favorite, with Drive obviously coming out on top.
Other potential nicknames were the Blue Racers, Chairmen and Horsepower.
The announcement was made official today along with the release of the team's sharp new logo:
BREAKING NEWS: Our team name is officially the Grand Rapids Drive! Check out our logo based around the Bad Boys era. pic.twitter.com/769xPWGYtC
— GR D-League (@grdleague) June 17, 2014
According to team president Steve Jbara, Drive received 78 percent of the 5,100 votes cast.
"I think it's a great name and it has a great tie into our parent club, the Pistons," Jbara said, (via MLive). "But it also speaks to the community ... and that was one of the things that stood out because of the economy and the growth over here. Now you can tailor the Drive to reflect that as well as the double meaning with drive to the hoop in the basketball sense.
"So we think we can do some promotional and merchandising stuff to bring it all together."
The new Grand Rapids Drive will have an open house on July 17 at its home gymnasium, The DeltaPlex, which seats about 5,000. The 50-game D-League season kicks off in November.