NBA Finals Trophy Logo May Return To Court Next Year

Commissioner Adam Silver, speaking at an NBA Cares charity event, confirmed there would be conversations in the summer about returning the NBA Finals trophy logo back to the court.

Since 2014, the NBA has done away with the iconic logo citing player safety and the slipperiness the painted on logo caused. The exception was the 2020 NBA Finals in the Orlando bubble.

These Finals in particular have triggered a conversation on social media, prompting the response from Silver.

“Maybe there’s a way around it,” Silver said at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Oklahoma County. “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.”

Basketball in June is synonymous with the NBA Finals but there is something special about distinguishing the court.

Game 2 of the Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers is Sunday at 8:00 p.m. EST.

Why Is The Finals Trophy Logo Being Discussed Now?

There is a big reason why fans are questioning the absence of the Larry O’Brien trophy visual on the court. That reason is how unique the NBA Cup courts are.

Fans have consistently complained about how excessive some of those courts look. As a result, they wonder how not having the Finals trophy logo can be such a big deal. Moreover, if it can be so important to let people know it’s an NBA Cup game, surely the same must apply to the Finals.

“In the case of the [NBA] Cup, of course, we have the opportunity to plan well in advance and to design a specific neutral court for a Cup championship game,” Silver said. “And the teams design their own Cup courts. It actually takes a significant amount of time to create new courts in terms of how they’re painted, et cetera.”

If the concern is having a court adjustment just for the NBA Finals, perhaps there’s value in having recognition of previous rounds, too. Maybe there should be a way to distinguish the court when it’s the conference finals or even just the playoffs in general. That way, having that extra paint on the court will be a theme for the entire postseason and not just the Finals.

In this era of parity and a transition period in terms of who the superstars of the league are, it may make sense beyond nostalgia to have that recognition that it is indeed the NBA Finals.