After using special court designs for all 67 games of the In-Season Tournament, including the semifinals and finals, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league is considering something similar for the NBA Finals.
“For the Finals, we could have a special Finals court – not just with the trophy in the center, but a little bit more colorful,” Silver told reporters before the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers in Saturday’s tournament championship. “I’m a big advocate of the colorful courts.”
The In-Season Tournament courts were fully painted and featured a contrasting runway down the middle, as well as the NBA Cup as midcourt, reminiscent of the Larry O’Brien Trophy that was displayed behind the team logos during the 2005-09 NBA Finals.
The cup was also in both lanes, further promoting the In-Season Tournament games as something bigger than a normal regular season contests. Meanwhile, the NBA Finals have featured each team’s standard court with the Finals logo superimposed onto the court in recent seasons.
“(Fans have told me) if they’re not at home or in a sports bar or somewhere and they see the color from the court, it signifies there’s something different going on,” Silver said.
Moving forward, the NBA still plans to use special courts for the In-Season Tournament. But perhaps the teams and players will have more input on the designs, which might not be as templated in the future.
“I think in the process we went through the first time, they are a bit cookie cutter,” Silver said. “I love the court we are using here for the semifinals and final game, but I think there could be some more creativity.
“Obviously, we want to make sure that the players have confidence in them, that the type of paint used isn’t (too) slippery, and I think we’ve dealt with those issues incidentally, but we want to make sure they’re not a distraction.”
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