NBA, ABC Air Finals Lineup Intros After Fan Complaints

The NBA continues to step up its belated efforts to remind fans they’re watching the Finals and not an ordinary game. 

Ahead of Monday night’s Game 5, ABC aired the introductions of the starting lineups for both the Pacers and Thunder, the first time it had done so at the Finals since 2013. The plan to air the intros was first reported by ESPN. Sources told Front Office Sports that ABC will continue to do so for the remainder of the series.

The Thunder beat the Pacers 120–109 on Monday night to take a 3–2 series lead. Oklahoma City will have a chance to clinch the title in Indianapolis on Thursday night. 

Through five games, the Finals have been a competitive series. Off the court, though, ratings have dipped, and fans have bemoaned a lack of pageantry. The move to air the intros—and add a digitally imposed Larry O’Brien Trophy logo to the court—shows that the league is plugged into the online discourse about its product.

The trophy logo was removed from Finals courts after 2009, and fans have complained every year since.

“I’ve seen some of the chatter on social media about on-court decals,” commissioner Adam Silver said before Game 3. “People don’t realize, they went away a decade ago because there were claims, Kendrick [Perkins] knows … they were slippery when we had them on the court. We’re back to adding them virtually.”

The NBA and ESPN did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The ad space right before tip-off is valuable inventory, and airing introductions would eat into that ad time.

Michael McCarthy contributed reporting.