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NBA Announces Larry O'Brien Trophy Design on Court Will Return for 2026 Finals
The NBA received criticism during the 2025 Finals based on how boring the court decals were. The league even started using digital designs on the court, which fans also didn't like. The NBA world was up in arms begging for the league to bring back the iconic Larry O'Brien Trophy decal on the floor for the finals, something that hasn't been done since 2009.
Well, fans got what they asked for. It was announced on Wednesday that the NBA will bring back the Larry O'Brien Trophy design starting in the 2025-26 season, per ESPN's Shams Charania.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver alluded to the possibility after this past season's NBA Finals since the league received such backlash for having a boring court. He admitted it was a "nostalgic" thing for him and the fans.
The trophy will be painted on the hardwood court, though, instead of using a decal like what was used in the past. Players complained too much about slipping on the decals on the floor when the league used them, Silver previously noted, which is one reason why the NBA stopped having the trophy on the Finals court.
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Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.