The Larry O’Brien Trophy is back.
The league is planning to paint the iconic championship trophy and the classic “Finals” script logo on the home team’s floor during the NBA Finals this season, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. It will mark the first time since 2009 that the trophy logo has returned to the court.
Andrew Bynum of the Los Angeles Lakers and Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic go after the tip-off to start Game 5 of the 2009 NBA Finals at Amway Arena in Orlando, Florida. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
(Ronald Martinez via Getty Images)
The giant trophy logo that sits behind the home team’s decal at center court was something that’s only happened a few times. The 2005 NBA Finals, between the San Antonio Spurs and the Detroit Pistons, was the first to have the massive logo. Previously, teams had on-court decals with a custom Finals logo for that season. The giant trophy system happened for five years, and was last used during the 2009 NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic.
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The league then started using smaller trophy logos over the next several years before they largely went away completely. There have been a few exceptions, like in 2017 when the Cavaliers put a small trophy logo behind theirs in the corners of their court. The 2020 NBA Finals had a generic decal, too, but that was held at Walt Disney World in the COVID-19 bubble.
The league has experimented with different courts in recent years, too. Most notably, the in-season tournament is played on a unique, colorful floor for all 30 teams. The championship game in Las Vegas has featured a massive trophy logo at half court, too.
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But other than the rare exceptions, the Finals have just been played on the home team’s original courts over the last several years. While that’s obviously fine and doesn’t impact the game, having the giant trophy logo at center court and the old “Finals” script painted on will undoubtedly add a bigger feel to the series.