The Thunder had been at dwelling Sunday night time to face the Pacers in Recreation 2 of the 2025 NBA Finals. Indiana surprised Oklahoma Metropolis in Recreation 1 with a 111-110 win.
Nonetheless, OKC shortly jumped to a lead in Recreation 2 and by no means appeared again. Ultimately, OKC gained 123-107, and the sequence is tied 1-1. After Recreation 1 final Thursday, the league was criticized for the dearth of Finals decals on the court docket. ESPN/ABC’s plan for Recreation 2 was to superimpose the Larry O’Brien Trophy and NBA Finals script emblem on the court docket. This transfer acquired much more backlash than they initially had. Including the Finals emblem to the court docket is a simple repair the league must make sooner or later.
ABC/ESPN was criticized for superimposing the Larry O’Brien Trophy and NBA Finals script emblem in Recreation 2
The NBA added digital trophies to the court docket then switched them out for the Finals emblem 💀
What a humiliation, the league used to have aura 😭 pic.twitter.com/zQu2aqflbf
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) June 9, 2025
After Recreation 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals, one main speaking level within the media was the dearth of branding by the league. ABC/ESPN has been the house of the NBA Finals since 2003. They’re below contract via 2036. The 2020 playoffs had been the final time the league had any sort of Finals branding on the court docket. Moreover, the massive bodily trophy decals haven’t been used since 2009.
There was no branding by the league in Recreation 1 that may let the viewer know they had been watching a Finals sport. To an informal viewer, this was simply one other regular-season sport. For Recreation 2, ABC/ESPN did make a change. They digitally superimposed the Larry O’Brien Trophy and NBA Finals script emblem in Recreation 2. Within the first quarter, it was the Larry O’Brien Trophy, and the second quarter had the NBA Finals script emblem.
Regardless of the league making an attempt to please the followers, it acquired much more backlash. There have been complaints of low decision for the Larry O’Brien Trophy and that the graphic was too small. Followers identified {that a} fast reduce by the digital camera would distort the picture they had been superimposing. What’s going to the league do for Recreation 3 on Wednesday? They may ditch the branding altogether, like they did in Recreation 1, or attempt to enhance on their Recreation 2 graphics.
