Basketball fans are pissed about the Finals’ court design. But there’s a reason it’s so plain
The look of the NBA Finals basketball court is being reconsidered, and we could have the fans to thank.
At Game 2 last Friday, the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder played on the Thunder’s home court. The “Thunder Blue” court shows the team logo at half court and also features logos for Paycom Center, the arena. What it didn’t have was any indication this was a championship game. No “NBA Finals” logo, no Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Unlike the in-season NBA Cup, which got 30 all-new, fully painted courts designed by artist Victor Solomon last fall, the Pacers and Thunder are playing the NBA Finals on their regular courts. It’s a matter of logistics and the quick turnaround of the games, but fans say it robs the games of a special design detail.
Friday’s game was broadcast with virtual Finals logos shown on the court for fans watching at home, but viewers complained about technical glitches and compared the look of the virtual trophy decal to an emoji. One social media user likened the busy floor design packed with virtual decals for corporate sponsorships to a NASCAR hood. Mid-game, the broadcast swapped out the emoji-like virtual trophy logo for a script “Finals” logo. The poorly received court had fans wishing for an elevated design for the Finals.
One reason the NBA Finals doesn’t have any physical on-court branding for the series is because the NBA doesn’t use decals on its courts to maintain the integrity of the playing surface. That’s not just in the Finals, but all season long, and it’s been that way since 2014. Instead, team logos and other elements like sponsor logos are painted on, or virtual logos can be added.
“One of the reasons we moved away from the logos on the courts is—whether it was perception or reality—there was a sense that maybe the logos added some slipperiness to the court,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said before Game 2.
But painting takes time. Making a custom court involves building, sanding, painting, and drying, which would take too long for the NBA’s quick-turn Finals schedule. There was less than a week between this year’s semifinals and Game 1.
Since 2021, the NBA has added virtual Finals logos on the court for viewers at home as a workaround, and it’s found other ways to bring in NBA Finals branding into the game, including logos on uniform jerseys, warmups, basket stanchions, courtside signage, and game balls. Still, Silver said he understood the fans’ disappointment.
“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,” he said recently at an event. “So, we’ll look at it.”
The time commitment involved in making basketball courts presents a challenge, but Silver suggested there still might be a solution. “Maybe there’s a way around it,” he said.