On 20 May 2014, the franchise was re-branded as Melbourne United. The change was made to symbolise the connection to all of Victorian basketball, with the navy blue logo of Melbourne United becoming the new face of professional basketball in Victoria, replacing the Melbourne Tigers brand. Owner Larry Kestelman wanted to end the partisan divisions between the Tigers (Melbourne Basketball Association) and other Victorian supporters and bring the state together behind one NBL team. The change was met with strong scrutiny from members, fans and past legends such as Andrew Gaze and Lanard Copeland, with the latter even stating he wanted his jersey "taken down from the rafters".