Back by popular demand, the NBA Finals will have the large Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy logo return to center court as well the Finals script logo on the floor, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Wednesday.
The logos will be painted on the court instead of appearing digitally or via a decal, sources told ESPN.
Fans on social media complained during and after Game 1 of the past Finals between Oklahoma City and Indiana when they saw there were no Finals logo decals on the court.
The Larry O’Brien Trophy logo, shown here in 2007, hasn’t been painted on a court for the NBA Finals since 2009. It will be back this postseason, sources told ESPN, after an outcry on social media during last year’s Finals for it to return. AP Photo/Eric Gay
NBA commissioner Adam Silver noticed the discussions during the Finals and said the league would look into potentially bringing back the distinctive logos that came only on the NBA’s biggest stage.
“I’ve seen some of the chatter on social media around on-court decals,” Silver said on ESPN during the Finals. “People don’t realize they went away a decade ago because there were claims that some of the players [were saying] they were slippery when we had the decals on the floor.”
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The last time the large trophy was painted on an NBA Finals court was in 2009.
“Maybe there’s a way around it,” Silver told reporters during the Finals. “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.”
