“Regular as hell and straight aura less” - NBA fans ridicule Finals court presentation, urge to bring back legendary designs

The 2025 NBA Finals tipped off with an electrifying Game 1, highlighted by Tyrese Haliburton’s clutch game-winner and a dramatic Indiana Pacers comeback. However, fans expressed frustration over the court design and overall Finals atmosphere.

One of the biggest fan complaints? The absence of the Larry O’Brien trophy logo and “NBA Finals” text on the court, a visual staple of past championship series. The league hasn’t included a Finals-specific logo on the floor in several years, reportedly due to safety concerns around players possibly slipping.

With this year’s Finals featuring two small-market teams, many NBA fans on X/Twitter voiced that the already subdued environment was worsened by a generic-looking court, which, to them, lacked the grandeur expected from the league's biggest stage.

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“For the life of me I cannot understand why the in season tournament has a brand new court with a trophy in the middle but the NBA FINALS court now is regular as hell and straight auraless,” one said.

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Other fans echoed similar feelings:

Some fans pointed fingers at Commissioner Adam Silver:

A brief history of NBA Finals trophy decals

According to NBC Sports, the Larry O’Brien trophy first appeared at center court during the 2005 NBA Finals between the Spurs and Pistons. The league kept the large decal for the next four years, last using it in 2009 when the Lakers defeated the Magic.

From 2010 to 2014, the NBA opted for smaller Finals logo decals instead. Since then, court branding has largely faded, though the Cavaliers briefly revived trophy decals in 2017.

The 2020 NBA Finals inside the Orlando bubble also featured a special midcourt logo.

Unique court designs have also been rolled out for the in-season tournament, which was later rebranded as the Emirates NBA Cup.

NBA Cup games showcase team logos alongside the tournament trophy. - Source: Getty

In recent years, no physical Finals decals have appeared on the court, with visuals instead added digitally for TV broadcasts.

About the author

John Ezekiel Hirro is an experienced NBA and WNBA journalist at Sportskeeda, with over five years in the field as a news correspondent, sports writer, and Editor-in-Chief. His sports writing career began in high school, where he garnered numerous accolades, including being named the national sports writing champion in 2016.

He earned his journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines in 2024 and served as the Editor-in-Chief of The Varsitarian, the university's official student publication, for four years—the longest in history.

A passionate basketball enthusiast, he became a fan of the OKC Thunder during the Russ-KD-Harden era. Russell Westbrook, his all-time favorite athlete, impressed him by stepping up as MVP after Kevin Durant's departure. His current favorite players include Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, who he believes are the future of the OKC franchise.

He excels in game analysis and rapid news story turnaround, drawing inspiration from the journalistic styles of Woj and Shams. He emphasizes thorough research to ensure accuracy in his articles. One of his most memorable moments is Russell Westbrook breaking Oscar Robertson's record with his 42nd triple-double and securing a 106-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Outside of writing, he enjoys listening to music and creating Spotify playlists.

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Edited by John Ezekiel Hirro