The Thunder were at home on Sunday night to face the Pacers in Game 2 of the 2025 NBA Finals. Indiana surprised Oklahoma City with a 111-110 victory in Game 1.
However, OKC jumped to the lead in Game 2 soon and never looked back. In the end, OKC scored 123-107, with the series tied to 1-1. Last Thursday after Game 1, the league was criticized in the court for a lack of decals in the final. ESPN/ABC’s plan for Game 2 was to layer the Larry O’Brien Trophy and the NBA Finals Script logo onto the coat. The move received even more backlash than they had in the first place. Adding the Final Logo to the court is a simple fix the league needs to make in the future.
ABC/ESPN was criticized for overlaying the Larry O’Brien trophy and the NBA Finals Script logo in Game 2
The NBA added digital trophies to the court and switched them for the final logo.
What an embarrassing thing, the league had an aura 😠pic.twitter.com/zqu2aqflbf
– Lakeshowyo (@lakeshowyo) June 9, 2025
After Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals, one of the major topics in the media was the lack of branding by the league. ABC/ESPN has been home to the NBA Finals since 2003. The contract is underway until 2036. The 2020 playoffs was the last time the league had done some kind of final branding on the court. Furthermore, since 2009, no large physical trophy decals have been used.
There was no league branding in Game 1. This informed viewers that they were watching the final. For casual viewers, this was just a regular season game. For Game 2, ABC/ESPN has made changes. They digitally layered the Larry O’Brien Trophy and the NBA Finals Script logos in Game 2. The first quarter was the Larry O’Brien Trophy, and the second quarter had the NBA Finals Script logo.
It received even more backlash, despite the league trying to please its fans. The Larry O’Brien Trophy had a low resolution complaint, and the graphics were too small. Fans pointed out that a quick cut with the camera distorts the overlapping image. What will the league do in Game 3 on Wednesday? They can either completely throw away branding like in Game 1 or try to improve Game 2 graphics.
