Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals may have been universally regarded as a barnburner, but nearly every fan was in agreement that ESPN’s presentation of the NBA’s biggest matchup of the season was not the best. The series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers had the feel and look of a regular-season game, and the lack of court floor logos that signify the stakes involved in the event has been particularly egregious.
To ESPN’s credit, they at least listened to the outcry from fans and took the initiative to display a digital logo of the Larry O’Brien trophy on the Paycom Center floor for Game 2 between the Thunder and Pacers. But this only brought forth more clowning, as the digital trophy did not look very appealing to the eye.
A digital view of the Larry O’Brien trophy on the court for Game 2 of the NBA Finals
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“This is not what we meant when we said we wanted the Larry O’Brien Trophy back on the floor,” Sam Quinn of CBS expressed.
“Looks cheap as hell,” X user @gary_xavier05 wrote.
“got bullied into putting digital larry o’briens out there,” @WorldWideWob added.
“This looks like some minor league stuff,” @calvinwatkins opined.
“They’ve now superimposed a dinky little Larry O’Brien trophy on the telecast,” @CoachLewGrizz furthered.
While this effort is commendable, fans made it clear that what they wanted was the real logo sticker to be put on the hardwood, not for the ESPN broadcast to compensate with an unimpressive digital logo.
“This is so ridiculous. It looks so obviously fake. Why even do this? Either put the real logo there or don’t,” @dustinjkent wrote.
“Bro we want it actually printed on the court tho,” @scottathletic1 added.
“We prefer the real design on the wood. Not this one,” @WhilWhillz furthered.
Fans continue to clamor for a return to the mid-2000s NBA Finals aesthetic, and it’s not quite clear if the league can implement those changes in the middle of this year’s Finals. But perhaps this is something the league office must take note of heading into next season.
Thunder come storming back in Game 2 win vs. Pacers in 2025 NBA Finals
The Thunder suffered a heartbreaking 111-110 loss in Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals, with the Pacers coming back from 15 down to win via a Tyrese Haliburton midrange shot that left only 0.3 seconds on the clock. But in Game 2, OKC got into one of their signature runs in the second quarter and did not look back en route to a 123-107 win to even up the series.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 34 points led OKC, but it was Aaron Wiggins and Chet Holmgren who built such a huge lead for the Thunder that even the “team of destiny” Pacers couldn’t come back from.
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