Adam Silver Says NBA Trophy Logos Could Return For 2026 Finals

Older NBA fans might remember when the league used to decorate the court with logos and decals during the NBA playoffs. The tradition recently died out, but fans have grown nostalgic for the look after comparing clips from this year's Finals to those of years past.  In a recent chat with the media, Commissioner Adam Silver spoke at length on this subject and revealed that the logos may be coming back.

“Maybe there’s a way around it,” said Silver, via The Athletic's Sam Amick. “To be honest, I hadn’t thought all that much about it until I (saw) it (on social media). I’m nostalgic, as well, for certain things. 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 only time when the NBA will change the courts is during the Emirates Cup in December, where Silver admits that it takes a lot of planning and work.

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

During the Conference Finals and NBA Finals, the court used to feature logos of the Larry O'Brien trophy, adding a flair of flavor to the event that helped it stand out. Recently, the league removed these logos, and now the Finals court looks identical to how it normally looks in the regular season.

According to Silver, one of the reasons the NBA made this change is to preserve the integrity of the court for the protection of the players. They felt that the logos compromised the safety of their players and elected to remove it for the sake of avoiding injuries.

“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, and it was a change, sort of on the court that was coming just at the time of the finals. … 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.”

Suspicion and superstition are what led the league to do away with the specialized Finals courts, but we shouldn't be surprised if they make a return for the 2025-26 campaign. With league ratings dropping (Game 1 was one of the least watched Finals games ever), Silver needs to do something big to lure the fans back.

Bringing back the unique court setup for the NBA Finals might seem like a small thing but it can have a major impact on the overall vibe and aura of the Finals, as many fans have been pointing out on social media.