Fans Are Not Happy After Major Change During NBA Finals
Fans Are Not Happy After Major Change During NBA Finals originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
NBA fans have been begging for a big change during ESPN's presentation of the NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers.
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During Game 2 in Oklahoma City on Sunday, they got what they asked for, but still, it was not enough.
Amid concern about ratings between two small market teams, criticism of ESPN's NBA Finals broadcast team and the pressure of a new television rights deal beginning next season, viewers have been clamoring for the NBA and ESPN to bring back the nostalgic on-court graphic elements of the NBA Finals broadcasts in the past.
In particular, calls mounted during Game 1 for the court to include large icons of the Larry O'Brien trophy and/or the NBA Finals script logo to give the championship series a standout feel.
General view of the Finals logo on the court prior to game four of the 2014 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs at American Airlines Arena.Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
The script on the court last appeared in 2014, taken away by the league due to safety concerns.
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The image of the O'Brien trophy at center court has also gone by the wayside, a strange juxtaposition when compared to the daring, trophy-laden court designs of the NBA Cup in recent years.
"To be honest, I hadn't thought all that much about it until I [saw] it [on social media]," NBA Commissioner admitted to The Athletic after Game 1. "I'm nostalgic, as well, for certain things... 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.'
It appears that the commissioner did not need a long look to make a major overhaul. During Game 2, a digital mini version of the Finals trophy and the script logo appeared during ESPN's broadcast of the game on ABC.
Fans were not pleased with the understated logos and the inauthentic look of the projected images over the court for television.
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"They somehow made it worse," one fan on X replied.
"they heard all the criticism and did the laziest thing possible," said one sarcastic user.
"Looks bad and out of place," said another response.
"The NBA heard the concerns over the lack of Finals logos, then put the most hideous logo on the court instead," criticized a fan.
The change for Game 2 happened in quick response to the initial criticism. While it was a big call, the watered-down improvement still did not represent the size of the occasion in the eyes of fans — and that was the entire point.
Related: Fans Saying Same Thing About Tyrese Haliburton After NBA Finals Game 1
Related: Charles Barkley's Unexpected Message During Final NBA on TNT Broadcast
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
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