Once upon a time, playing in the NBA Finals meant something. Not to the players of course, the championship series will always mean something to them. I’m talking about to the viewers tuning in at home. It was a complete experience. A true Basketball Presentation that reminded you how high the stakes are at all times.
There was the giant Larry O’Brien Trophy logo at center court, the script Finals on either side of the paint and we got to see player intros.
On Thursday night, the start of the 2025 NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers, there was nothing about the presentation distinguishing the title fight from an early December contest.
Case in point: It’s nearly impossible to even spot the NBA Finals patch affixed to each jersey.
Aha! There it is! Right above Pascal Siakam’s nameplate!
Brilliant placement, NBA. Good luck trying to catch that during the broadcast without a slo-mo replay. Surely the patch will only remain there until the league can sell the space to advertisers. On the bright side, that just means we’ll get to play this game at home all over again next year.