Larry O’Brien Trophy Could Return To NBA Finals Courts Next Season

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton knocked down a last-second jumper to steal Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals from the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night, but if you watched the game, there was nothing on the court to suggest it wasn’t a regular-season matchup.

TYRESE HALIBURTON GIVES THE PACERS THE LEAD!

GET TO ABC NOW FOR THE FINISH! pic.twitter.com/l4SPrNspGG
— NBA (@NBA) June 6, 2025

There wasn’t an oversized Larry O’Brien Trophy behind the logo at midcourt, as there was during the 2005-09 NBA Finals, nor was there a script “The Finals” wordmarks beyond the three-point line, as they haven’t been physically played on the court since 2014.

All that remains are the tiny “NBA Finals” wordmarks on the stanchion padding beneath the basket, the sideline video board and the lower third (or score bug), which is why fans on social media have shared their displeasure about the league’s presentation not matching the moment.

Commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged those complains during an interview with reporters at a charity event on Friday and cited player safety as to why the league no longer adds the decals to the courts, but he also indicted the NBA will revisit the discussion after the season.

“One of the reason we moved away from the logos on the court is – whether it was perception or reality – there was a sense that maybe the logos added some slipperiness to the court,” Silver said. “Maybe it’s for superstitious reasons or just a sense from teams that we shouldn’t be changing things around such important competition. That’s largely why we stopped putting the logos on the court.

“Maybe there’s a way around it. To be honest, I hadn’t thought much about it until I (saw) it (on social media. I’m nostalgic, as well, for certain things. I also think for a media-driving 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 Thunder’s core court – as well as the Pacers’ core court that we’ll see in Games 3 and 4, as well as a potential Game 6 – are a significant contrast from the brightly colored courts the league has used for the Emirates NBA Cup, a midseason tournament that began in 2023-24.

Those courts matched each team’s City or Statement Edition uniforms and prominently displayed the NBA Cup trophy at midcourt and the lanes. There was also a special design for the semifinals and finals, which took place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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

A new court would cost approximately $100,000 and take two weeks to stain, seal and paint. It also needs another two weeks to cure, which makes it impossible to manufacture a team-specific design between the end of the Eastern/Western Conference Finals and the NBA Finals.

Almost two months have passed since the end of the regular season, so perhaps the teams that make the playoffs could repurpose their City Edition or NBA Cup courts during that time. Then again, that would be a waste of money for 14 of the 16 postseason participants.

The league could also install state-of-the-art LED courts for the best-of-seven series after they debuted at the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend festivities. Teams have quietly been testing the technology in the year since, and that would allow the designs to change in an instant without sacrificing safety.

We’ll leave the logistics to Silver, who also oversaw the league moving the NBA Finals patch (and league logo) from the front of the jersey to beneath the back collar, paving the way for advertisements. We humbly request he revisit that decision, too, even if means placing it above the Nike Swoosh.