Exciting NBA Finals Development Announced on Wednesday

Many longtime supporters of the league draw great nostalgia from watching the NBA Finals prior to 2010, in large part because of the tell-tale signs that the season had reached its climax. The trophy and scripted text had generally been regarded as regal, aesthetically pleasing features that made the series unique.

The 1989 NBA Finals between the Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers was the first to feature on-court decals, with that year's specific 'Finals' script logo being featured.

Those designs remained the only additions to the playing surface until 2004, when the league opted to also paint a large Larry O'Brien Trophy behind the home team's mid-court logo.

But after the 2009 season, the NBA changed gears and got rid of the trophy before also removing the 'Finals' decals following the 2014 campaign.

The home floors in San Antonio and Los Angeles were freshened up plenty over that span, because the Spurs and Lakers appeared in a combined eight championship series from 2004-2014. But the Miami Heat have both those clubs beat with five individual Finals appearances during that time period.

On-court designs during the Finals have now mostly disappeared, with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017 and the 2020 NBA Bubble featuring the only unique artwork since.

The league opted to get rid of the painted aesthetics due to claims regarding player safety when it comes to slippage, but NBA Commissioner Adam Silver felt the social-media pressure during the 2025 Finals and worked out a way to bring the decals back.

"I've seen some of the chatter on social media around on-court decals," Silver said on ESPN during those Finals. "People don't realize they went away a decade ago because there were claims that some of the players [were saying] they were slippery when we had the decals on the floor. But maybe there's a way around it."