Design NYC's Badge: HoopWrld Design Challenge ($250 Prize)

August 11, 2026

HoopWrld Design Challenge — Wave 1

New York Waited 53 Years. Now the City Gets a Badge — and You’re Designing It.

Fifty-three years. That’s how long New York waited between championships. The Knicks finally brought one home this June — first title since 1973 — and the city hasn’t stopped buzzing since. Some things deserve to be permanent. So we’re making one.

HoopWrld is a daily basketball trivia game where your badges say who you are as a fan — not just what you scored. And the first city badge we’re putting in the game is New York’s. We’re not designing it. You are.

The Challenge

Design an original NYC identity badge — a mark that captures what it feels like to hoop for, live in, and ride for New York. The city’s colors. The city’s attitude. No official logos, no trademarks, no player likenesses. Pure original art that says New York the second you see it.

The Design Brief

Shape

Circular badge. Your art must live inside the circle.

Colors

Built on the city’s orange and blue. Shades, gradients, and black/white accents are fair game — the badge just has to read as New York at a glance.

Size Test

Must read clean at 64×64px on a phone screen. Bold beats busy.

Deliverable

1024×1024px PNG with a transparent background. Keep your artwork inside the middle 85% — a circular safe zone — so nothing gets clipped when we frame it in-game. Bonus points for including a preview of how it looks at 64×64.

Originality

100% original artwork made by you. No NBA logos, wordmarks, trademarks, or copyrighted material of any kind. No AI-generated art.

The Vibe

Xbox achievements meets NBA 2K meets Pokémon badges. Collectible. Worthy of being earned.

The Prize

$250 to the winning designer — chosen by the HoopWrld team.

Plus: your badge goes live in the game on opening night of the title defense — the night the banner goes up — earned by players every day after, with you credited as one of HoopWrld’s founding badge designers. Your mark, in the game, forever.

How to Enter

Post your badge design on TikTok, Instagram, or X.

Tag @hoopwrldinc and use #HoopwrldBadge so we see it.

Include your HoopWrld username so we can credit the winning badge to you in-game. Don’t have one? Create your free account at play.hoopwrld.com — it takes a minute.

Include one or two sentences on the inspiration behind your design.

Not on social? Email your entry to coach@hoopwrld.com with your name, handle, and HoopWrld username.

Runs Monday, August 17 through Monday, August 24 at 11:59 PM ET. One week. That’s the whole window. Winner announced Thursday, August 27.

And this is just Wave 1. Every city badge in HoopWrld will be designed by the fans who actually live it — cities, college programs, eras, and more are coming. But right now, there’s only one badge on the table.

New York earned this one. Fifty-three years of showing up. Make the badge that proves it.

Contest rules: Entries must be 100% original artwork created by the entrant, containing no NBA logos, trademarks, wordmarks, or copyrighted material. AI-generated entries are not eligible. By submitting, you confirm the work is your own. The winning design will be licensed to HoopWrld for use in the game and related media, with the designer credited. One winner will be selected by the HoopWrld team. Open to entrants 18+. No purchase necessary. HoopWrld is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NBA or any of its teams.

You Know Hoop? Prove It.

Play today’s NBA ABC Challenge at play.hoopwrld.com