The 2025 NBA Finals are already in full swing with the series tied at 1-1 heading back to Indiana on Wednesday night. But the battle for a championship appears to be missing one thing that the NFL and MLB both have: the championship logo. This phenomenon dates back over a decade to 2014, when the NBA removed any sort of Finals logo or decals from the court. Their reasoning behind the removal was that it was a safety concern for players. But in Game Two on Sunday night, the NBA tried a new way of implementing the logo.
The NBA heard the fans’ outrage over the mediocre-looking court from Game One. So, in Game Two, they added two digital Larry O’Brien trophies to the court. Fans across social media were not happy with the design, as the NBA used the same lackluster technology that they use for in-game advertisements. The digital design allows for only the fans watching at home on ABC/ESPN to see the logo and not the actual fans at the game. They later switched the Larry O’Brien trophies out for the classic Finals logo with “Powered by YouTube TV” underneath it.
In an interview with The Athletic, NBA Commisioner Adam Silver responded to the missing logo and its potential return next year.
“To be honest, I hadn’t thought all that much about it until I saw it on social media. I’m nostalgic as well for certain things. And also, I think for a media-driven culture, whether it’s people watching live or seeing those images on social media, it’s nice when you’re looking back on highlights and they stand out because you see that trophy logo or some other indication that it’s a special event. So, we’ll look at it.”
The Commisioner’s awareness of the issue and willingness to take a look at adding the logo back can at least give fans hope that it may return in the coming years.
There are several things that go into creating the atmosphere for a championship game or series in professional sports. The deafining crowd dawning their team’s jereseys or shirts, the rivalry between two top heavy teams, and the level of competitive play. But the one thing that the NBA has been missing since 2014 is the indication on the floor that this is what the two teams played their entire season for.
As Adam Silver alluded to, the NBA could get back to physcially putting the Finals logo on the court, not just digitally. But they would need to do so in a way that protects their players from injuries. This may mean finding an alternitive way to do so, such as painting the logo on instead of adding the logo as a decal of some sort. Or the NBA could alter the court like they did for the Emirates NBA Cup Final. Whatever the solution is, the NBA should look to bring the Finals logo back like the NFL and MLB in order to signify the importance of the matchup like in years past.
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