The giant Larry O’Brien Trophy is back.
The league released court designs for the NBA Finals matchup on Sunday night, just days before the San Antonio Spurs host the New York Knicks in Game 1 of that series. A giant painted trophy sits behind each team’s logo, and the classic “Finals” script is painted on one corner of each end.
The design, which was first reported back in October, marks the first time since 2009 that the iconic trophy logo has returned to the court for the NBA Finals.
The trophy logo is something that’s only happened a few times in the NBA Finals. The 2005 NBA Finals, between the Spurs and the Detroit Pistons, was the first to have that logo in place. That design stayed in place for five years, but went away after the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic’s series in 2009.
The Larry O’Brien Trophy will return to NBA Finals courts this season for the first time since 2009. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
(Ronald Martinez via Getty Images)
Before 2005, teams had on-court decals with a custom Finals logo for that season in place. After 2009, the league started using smaller trophy logos over the next several years before it went away completely.
There have been a few exceptions in recent years. In 2017, for example, the Cleveland Cavaliers put a small trophy logo behind their own in the corners of their court. The NBA Finals in 2020 had a generic decal, too, when it was held at Walt Disney World in the COVID-19 bubble.
“I’m nostalgic, as well, for certain things,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said about the potential change last year. “And also, 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. So, we’ll look at it.”
The Knicks swept the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. They’ll enter the Finals on an 11-game win streak. The Knicks haven’t won a title since 1973.
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs closed out the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals on Saturday night. They’ve not been in the NBA Finals since 2014. The Spurs will host Games 1 and 2 at the Frost Bank Center on Wednesday and Friday, respectively. The Knicks will then host Games 3 and 4 next week.
While the court design won’t impact the games any, the classic look is sure to only add to what is expected to be a thrilling series over the next few weeks.
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