During the broadcast of Game 2 of the NBA Finals, the NBA and ABC added digital images of the Larry O’Brien Trophy onto the court, which sparked a range of reactions on social media, with many users poking fun at the choice.
Critics were particularly vocal after Game 1 featured no decals at all, not even digital ones. It seems the league took note of the feedback, as Sunday night’s game showed alternating images of the trophy and a logo stating “The NBA Finals presented by YouTube TV.”
Awful Announcing reported that since 2020, the NBA has not had physical decals on the court, and large decals of the trophy haven’t been used in the Finals since 2009.
But the attempt by the league and ABC on Sunday drew criticism from fans.
“FANS: The NBA Finals are supposed to be special. You could at least put the logo back on the court.
“NBA: Here are the terribly low-res digital Larry O’Brien Trophies superimposed on the court like you wanted. They’re glitchy and disappear if we cut back to them too quickly.” a fan wrote on X.
“Looks like the @NBA got the memo about fans wanting more visuals of the #NBAFinals insignia and Larry OB, but superimposing a digital image isn’t the answer,” another person wrote on x.
“Lmaoo Adam silver said ‘here damn’ and put a cgi trophy logo on the finals court,” a third person said on the social media platform.
The trophy on the court has become such a talking point among fans on social media that NBA commissioner Adam Silver had weighed in about it after Game 1.
“To be honest, I hadn’t thought all that much about it until I (saw) it (on social media),” he told reporters, per The Athletic. “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.”
After all the talk about it during Game 2, Silver might explore the situation further ahead of Game 3.
The Thunder won Game 2, 123-107, to even the series up at 1-1.
