The case of the missing Larry O’Brien Tophy decals continues to light up social media during the NBA Finals, as do the sagging TV ratings.

Before Game 3 in Indianapolis on Wednesday night, NBA commissioner Adam Silver joined the ESPN pregame set and was asked by Malika Andrews if there are plans to “reincorporate” The Finals decals on the court.

Where’s The Finals Glitz?

“I’ve seen some of the chatter on social media about on-court decals,” Silver said. “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.”

During Game 1, Front Office Sports was among the myriad outlets and personalities clamoring for a return to The Finals pageantry, including the on-court decals. The NBA draws a distinction between decals and painted advertisements. In the past decade since removing the decals, it has not been able to navigate the lead time required to get “The Finals” or the Larry O’Brien Trophy (which went away after 2009) painted—and dried—on the court. 

As Silver alluded, during Games 2 and 3, the logos have been digitally superimposed on the court on the ESPN/ABC broadcasts. 

Two Small-Market Teams

Silver also put a happy face on the NBA Finals ratings. Games 1 and 2 together averaged 8.84 million viewers. This total is down at least 24% from the past three years and is the lowest since 2007, except for during the Lakers’ bubble championship in 2020. 

Silver said that Indianapolis and Oklahoma City are both “completely captured” by The Finals. 

“As a media matter, it’s interesting. People compare us to 20 years ago, but Games 1 and 2 are the highest-rated programs in May and June so far on television,” Silver said. “If something beats us, it’ll be another sports program. Back 20 years ago, we often didn’t win the night when The Finals were on. But the absolute rating is lower now.” 

Silver acknowledged that the goal was to draw in more casual viewers in a fragmented content marketplace. “We have to be innovative and find new ways—podcasts, social media, direct-to-consumer marketing, new digital platforms that we’re moving to next year; ESPN and ABC are doing the same—it’s a changed society,” Silver said.  

Next season, the NBA is exiting its longstanding partnership with TNT, and joining Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service and rekindling its relationship with NBC, which also simulcasts its sports programming on Peacock. ESPN is launching its direct-to-consumer streaming service later this year. 

The Missouri Legislature has completed its approval of a stadium funding bill for the NFL’s Chiefs and MLB’s Royals, marking the biggest political statement to date from the Show Me State in the team’s long-running facility sagas. 

After the state Senate last week approved a measure that would allow the teams to bond against their state tax payments, in turn funding up to half of new or renovated stadiums for the Chiefs and Royals, the Missouri House of Representatives voted Wednesday afternoon by a 90–58 count to send the bill to Gov. Mike Kehoe. 

A signature is expected soon there, as he has led an effort to keep the teams from moving to neighboring Kansas. That state last year approved a somewhat similar bond initiative that funds up to 70% of stadium costs for the teams, but that provision expires at the end of the month without an extension. 

The approval, however, followed several hours of often-intense debate, with many legislators challenging public support for pro teams owned by billionaires, as well as various technical elements of the bill. Ultimately, though, a clear majority of representatives supported the bill as a means to retain the teams and the economic and psychic benefits they provide to the Kansas City area and state overall. 

“This is a zero-sum game. If we lose [the teams], the revenue we’re worried about no longer exists [in Missouri],” said Rep. Keri Ingle. “The fact that we’d be willing to forgo that, I know we’re smarter than this.”

Ingle also touted the “cultural phenomenon” of the current Chiefs run of success, led by Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce—heavily involving the stardom of pop sensation Taylor Swift—and what it means to the Kansas City area.

“We’re no longer flyover country,” she said. 

The legislative approval in Missouri marks a big turnaround after voters in Jackson County strongly rejected a sales tax measure last year to help fund stadium work. 

On the Clock

The competing legislation in Missouri and Kansas now places the issue more firmly back in the hands of the teams. The Chiefs and Royals have each been seeking to upgrade from their current facilities, but are weighing a series of additional considerations, including mixed-use development opportunities, and in the case of the Chiefs, the possibility of a domed facility and the additional events that an indoor stadium of that size could bring to Kansas City.

Local measures would also be needed to complete any stadium deal with either team, and neither the Chiefs nor the Royals has committed to staying in Missouri. 

“We are grateful to Gov. Mike Kehoe and the Missouri Legislature for taking this significant step forward,” the Chiefs said in a statement. “The passing of this legislation is an important piece of the overall effort. While there’s still work to be done, this legislation enables the Chiefs to continue exploring potential options to consider remaining in Missouri.”

INDIANAPOLIS — One of the major storylines surrounding the NBA this year has been the debate about the next “face” of the league. As superstars like LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant approach the end of their careers, it’s unclear who exactly will carry the league moving forward.

It’s an arbitrary question, but one with consequences that can be defined quantitatively. NBA Finals viewership has steadily declined since 2018, the last time James and the Cavaliers battled Curry and the Warriors, and this year has seen the most drastic fall so far. The first two games of the NBA Finals have averaged 8.84 million viewers, less than half of the first two games in 2018.

The decline is, in part, due to Indiana and Oklahoma City being two of the league’s smallest markets. However, it can also be attributed to the lack of star power on both sides. While the Thunder roster includes 2025 MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Pacers have rising star Tyrese Haliburton, neither has star power similar to that of James, Curry, and Durant.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver admitted so himself at a press conference before Game 1.

“I think Shai is an enormous star. Tyrese is a huge star. Pascal [Siakam]. In fairness, not at the level of some other stars that we’ve had in this league, and maybe not as prominent as some players currently still playing in the league,” Silver said.

Social followers depict the gap between Gilgeous-Alexander, Haliburton, and the league’s brightest stars. Gilgeous-Alexander is 30th in the league with 4.4 million Instagram followers, while Haliburton is 46th with 1.6 million, according to information from the data and insights company Two Circles. Many of the players ahead of Gilgeous-Alexander, 27, and Haliburton, 25, are veterans in the league, but they trail some players with similar experience, including Trae Young and Devin Booker.

Silver, however, argued that playoff success is what will elevate those stars to the level of their contemporaries, which will come from playing in the Finals.

“I would only say that those players—say LeBron and Steph or Kevin Durant, who are better known nationally and globally than some of these players—they are in those positions because of their success on the floor. … It’s my expectation that whoever comes out of this championship series will rise to the next level almost automatically,” Silver said.

There’s validity to Silver’s argument. James, for all of his hype, even leading up to the 2003 NBA draft, was part of one of the least-watched Finals in 2007. That was a battle between two relatively small markets (Cleveland and San Antonio), and James was only in his fourth year in the league.

Haliburton and Gilgeous-Alexander have also seen their social followings grow during the playoffs and are No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in terms of Instagram followers gained. Gilgeous-Alexander has also gained nearly a million followers since the beginning of the year, around the time it became clear that he was a legitimate MVP candidate.

However, what truly helped push the likes of James, Curry, and Durant was the consistency of their runs to the Finals. It’s much more difficult to assume the Thunder and Pacers will make the Finals year after year—even with Oklahoma City’s war chest of assets—considering the designed parity the league has achieved in recent years, which includes a record seventh-straight new champion this year.