In the lead up to the NBA playoffs tipping off on Saturday, the league unveiled a new logo for the 2022 Finals. Actually, this new logo was inspired by a previous design that the league decided to bring back. If you close your eyes and imagine some of your favorite memories from the NBA Finals, chances are a version of this logo (and the big Larry O’Brien trophy) graced the court during that time.
With the script font and the giant championship trophy behind it, a similar version of this logo was previously used from 1986-95 as well as 2004-17. While the league kept the general feel as the one before it, there are some noticeable changes. The cursive font is different from its predecessor, and the 2022 version doesn’t have a red star trail serving as the second cross on the “F” in Finals. This new version also uses black and gold for the font instead of just black on the older logo. The position and color of the Larry O’Brien trophy is also different.
Here’s what the new version looks like:
Here’s a view of the inspired logo from 1986-95 and 2004-17, plus last season’s logo:
“The NBA Finals serves as the culmination of our 75th Anniversary Season as we celebrate the league’s past, present and future,” NBA Chief Marketing Officer Kate Jhaveri said in a press release. “Highlighted by the return of our familiar Finals script font, back by popular demand, our new logo pays homage to our league’s history and looks forward to what’s ahead.”
This logo has so much familiarity tied to it, and it stands out as unique to the NBA. The previous logo the league was using, with standard block letters in blue font, was a mundane and forgettable graphic that didn’t do justice to the importance of the Finals. It also didn’t look too different from the traditional NBA logo the league uses throughout the regular season. The script font makes the Finals feel upscale and different from anything else in the season. It’s smart marketing by the league to reimagine an iconic logo for the 75th anniversary season, and hopefully it’ll stick around after a champion is crowned this summer.
We’ll get to see the updated script logo back on the court again when the Finals start on June 2.
