If you're a fan of Ahmad Rashad interviews on Saturday mornings, the John Tesh intro theme song and high tops that were actually high, you've probably got something in common with NFL great JJ Watt. That's because, as this year's version of the NBA Finals got underway in Oklahoma City, where the Thunder played the Pacers in Game 1, Watt took a moment to remember the NBA of yesteryear.
In particular, Watt--a CBS NFL anaylst--was nostalgic for the NBA Finals script logo that used to adorn the court at this time of year, with a cartoonized version of the Larry O'Brien championship trophy in the background.
Around halftime, with the Thunder holding a 12-point lead and the Pacers struggling mightily with turnovers, Watt took to Twitter/X and urged NBA commissioner Adam Silver, "Put the Larry O’Brien back at center court and bring the cursive writing back too. Make the finals look & feel like The Finals."
According to NBC Sports, "the 1989 Finals between the Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers was the first to feature an on-court decals displaying that year’s Finals logo. The NBA kept that practice in place through 2004." At that time, the league put a giant trophy logo behind the team's logo at midcourt. That lasted through 2009, before the league reverted to smaller trophy logos.
Jun 12, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; General view of the Finals logo on the court prior to game four of the 2014 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
General view of the Finals logo on the court prior to game four of the 2014 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs at American Airlines Arena.
Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
Since 2014, though, the Finals logo has mostly been out of sight, with exceptions for Cleveland in 2017 and in the Orlando bubble during the 2020 Covid-19 season. "There were no decals of any kind during the 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 NBA Finals, except for those superimposed for TV viewers," NBC added.
It's the case again here in 2025. Unless Silver decides to listen to Watt.