The 2026 NBA Finals courts for the Knicks at Madison Square Garden and the Spurs at Frost Bank Center, revealed by the NBA. via NBA
The NBA just released the official 2026 NBA Finals court designs for the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden and the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center, and the league brought everything back. The Larry O'Brien Trophy is painted at center court for the first time since the 2009 NBA Finals between the Lakers and the Magic. "The Finals" cursive script wordmark is back in the keys on both sides of the floor for the first time since the 2014 NBA Finals between the Heat and the Spurs. And the league added a brand new design touch on top of the throwbacks. A small NBA Finals logo painted on the sideline directly above the center court trophy mark. We give this an A+. The 2026 NBA Finals court is the most heavily branded NBA Finals court since 2009, and the design weight finally matches the moment.
The 2026 NBA Finals court at Madison Square Garden. via NBA
The New York Knicks 2026 NBA Finals court at Madison Square Garden carries the Knicks blue paint outside the three-point arc, the NEW YORK KNICKS wordmark in white running vertically along both baselines, the Madison Square Garden Chase sponsor logo on both sidelines, and the Larry O'Brien Trophy painted at center court with the Knicks roundel embedded inside the trophy silhouette. The Finals cursive script sits in each key. The new NBA Finals logo lives on the sideline directly above the trophy. The Michelob Ultra sponsor branding runs vertically along both sides of the floor. Every camera angle frames Finals branding.
The 2026 NBA Finals court at Frost Bank Center. via NBA
The San Antonio Spurs 2026 NBA Finals court at Frost Bank Center mirrors the layout in Spurs silver, black, and natural hardwood. SAN ANTONIO SPURS in black runs vertically along both baselines. Frost Bank Center sits on both sidelines as the venue sponsor. The Larry O'Brien Trophy is painted at center court with the Spurs primary mark embedded inside the trophy. The Finals cursive script is painted in both keys. The new NBA Finals logo is painted on the sideline above the trophy. Same template, executed in the Spurs identity, and the silver, black, and gold trophy combination is one of the cleanest Finals court color stories in recent memory.
What the NBA Brought Back After 17 Years
The 2026 NBA Finals court redesign restores two foundational pieces of NBA Finals visual identity that have been missing from the court for over a decade.
The Larry O'Brien Trophy at center court is back for the first time since 2009. This is a 17-year absence. The last NBA Finals to paint the trophy at center court was the 2009 NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic at Staples Center. Every Finals from the 2010 Lakers vs. Celtics series forward removed the trophy from the center court mark in favor of the home team's standard primary logo. The 2026 redesign restores the trophy as the visual anchor of the court, and the league layered the trophy over each home team's identity. The Knicks roundel sits inside the trophy at Madison Square Garden. The Spurs primary mark sits inside the trophy at Frost Bank Center. The team logo is preserved. The trophy is the headliner. The execution is exactly right.
"The Finals" cursive script in the keys is back for the first time since 2014. This is a 12-year absence. The Finals cursive script was a fixture of every NBA Finals court from the early 2000s through the 2014 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs, then disappeared from the court for the next 11 Finals series. The 2026 court puts the script back in both keys on both ends of the floor, doubling the on-broadcast Finals branding at every camera angle. Wide shots, transition cameras, isolated cameras under the basket. The Finals script is in frame on every play.
The Brand New Touch: NBA Finals Logo on the Sideline Above Center Court
The third element on the 2026 NBA Finals court is brand new. The NBA painted a small NBA Finals logo directly on the sideline above the center court trophy mark. This sideline Finals logo has not appeared on any previous NBA Finals court. It is a fresh design choice that frames the trophy at center court inside the broadcast camera and creates a vertical Finals branding stack. Sideline NBA Finals logo on top, Larry O'Brien Trophy at center court below it, "The Finals" cursive script in the keys flanking the trophy on both sides. The court reads as Finals from every camera position. There is no angle on the broadcast that does not have at least two Finals marks in frame at the same time. That is what a championship court is supposed to feel like.
Why the 2026 NBA Finals Court Is an A+
We have been writing about this for months. In our full visual history of NBA playoff court branding, we mapped how the NBA Finals court got stripped down from the iconic painted designs of the early 2010s to the bare-bones Finals decal of the 2020s. In our Larry O'Brien Trophy and Finals script return post from April, we wrote that we wanted "as much branding as possible on this court. Larry O'Brien trophy at center court. The Finals script in front of the team benches." In our Adam Silver Pardon My Take confirmation post, we asked for the Finals logo painted in the keys on both sides of the court.
The league delivered all of it.
Trophy at center court, yes. Finals script in both keys, yes. Bonus Finals logo on the sideline that we did not even ask for, yes. The 2026 NBA Finals court is the most heavily branded NBA Finals court since 2009. The design language matches the weight of the moment. The court itself tells you it is a Finals game from the first tip-off camera angle. Players walking onto the floor for warmups will see the trophy under their feet. Fans buying a Madison Square Garden or Frost Bank Center Finals ticket will get a Finals court that looks like a Finals court instead of a regular-season home court with a sideline decal. The painted-not-decal commitment means it photographs in every wide shot and reads as part of the floor instead of as a sticker on top of it.
The 2026 NBA Finals court is an A+. It is the strongest signal we have seen that Adam Silver and the NBA are taking the visual identity of the postseason seriously again.
The 2026 NBA Finals Matchup: New York Knicks vs San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs locked in the second NBA Finals spot last night with a Western Conference Finals Game 7 win at Frost Bank Center to send the Oklahoma City Thunder home. The Spurs join the New York Knicks, who swept the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals to clinch their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999. It is the second time in 27 years that the Spurs and Knicks meet in the NBA Finals. The last time was the 1999 NBA Finals, which the Spurs won 4-1 to claim the first championship in franchise history.
There is a uniform and court story layered on top of the basketball matchup. The Knicks return to the Finals 27 years after their last appearance with the Madison Square Garden roundel inside the Larry O'Brien Trophy at center court. The Spurs return to the Finals 12 years after their last championship in 2014, the same year the Finals cursive script was last painted on the court. The 2014 Finals were the last Spurs Finals. The 2014 Finals were the last script Finals. The 2026 Finals bring both back. It is the cleanest narrative the NBA could have asked for to launch the redesigned Finals court.
What This Means for the Broader NBA Postseason Court Direction
The 2026 NBA Finals court redesign is the strongest visual signal yet that the NBA is rebuilding the postseason identity from the floor up. The Conference Finals court should be next. The First Round and Conference Semis courts should be next after that. Every round of the NBA Playoffs should look distinct on the floor. First round with first round branding, semis with semis branding, conference finals with conference finals branding, Finals with the trophy and the script. The 2026 NBA Finals court is the proof of concept. The league has confirmed it can paint dramatic Finals branding on a host court without slipping issues, without sponsor conflicts, and without sacrificing the home team's primary mark. The blueprint is on the floor at Madison Square Garden and Frost Bank Center starting next week. The expectation now is that every future Finals court matches or exceeds this design, and that the rest of the postseason starts catching up.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the 2026 NBA Finals court look like?
The 2026 NBA Finals courts at Madison Square Garden and Frost Bank Center feature the Larry O'Brien Trophy painted at center court with the home team's primary mark embedded inside the trophy silhouette, "The Finals" cursive script wordmark painted in both keys on both sides of the floor, and a brand new NBA Finals logo painted on the sideline directly above the center court trophy. The Knicks court at Madison Square Garden carries Knicks blue paint outside the three-point arc, the NEW YORK KNICKS wordmark in white running vertically along both baselines, and the Madison Square Garden Chase sponsor logo on both sidelines. The Spurs court at Frost Bank Center carries natural hardwood, SAN ANTONIO SPURS in black running vertically along both baselines, and Frost Bank Center on both sidelines.
Is the Larry O'Brien Trophy painted at center court for the 2026 NBA Finals?
Yes. The Larry O'Brien Trophy is painted at center court on both the New York Knicks 2026 NBA Finals court at Madison Square Garden and the San Antonio Spurs 2026 NBA Finals court at Frost Bank Center. This is the first time the Larry O'Brien Trophy has been painted at center court on an NBA Finals floor since the 2009 NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic at Staples Center. A 17-year absence. The home team's primary mark is embedded inside the trophy silhouette on each court.
When was the last time "The Finals" cursive script was on the NBA Finals court?
"The Finals" cursive script logo was last painted on an NBA Finals court in 2014 during the Miami Heat vs. San Antonio Spurs NBA Finals. The 2026 NBA Finals court brings the script back to both keys on both sides of the floor for the first time in 12 years, doubling the on-broadcast Finals branding at every camera angle.
Where is the new NBA Finals logo on the 2026 Finals court?
The new NBA Finals logo on the 2026 Finals court is painted on the sideline directly above the center court Larry O'Brien Trophy mark. This is a brand new placement that has not appeared on any previous NBA Finals court. It creates a vertical Finals branding stack with the sideline NBA Finals logo on top, the Larry O'Brien Trophy at center court below it, and "The Finals" cursive script in the keys flanking the trophy on both sides.
Who is playing in the 2026 NBA Finals?
The 2026 NBA Finals matchup is the New York Knicks against the San Antonio Spurs. The Knicks clinched the Eastern Conference with a 4-0 sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Spurs clinched the Western Conference with a Game 7 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder at Frost Bank Center on May 30, 2026. The 2026 NBA Finals is the second meeting between the Knicks and the Spurs in the Finals. The last meeting was the 1999 NBA Finals, which the Spurs won 4-1 for the first championship in franchise history.
What network is the 2026 NBA Finals on?
The 2026 NBA Finals will be broadcast on ABC and ESPN. It is the first NBA postseason under the league's new broadcast deal, with NBC, Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video airing early round games. ABC retained the Finals rights.
Where can I buy a Knicks or Spurs 2026 NBA Finals jersey?
The official Knicks and Spurs 2026 NBA Finals jerseys are available at Fanatics. Both teams' Finals jerseys feature the 2026 NBA Finals patch on the back of the jersey just below the collar, above the player nameplate.
When was the last NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center?
The 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center is the first NBA Finals at the renamed San Antonio Spurs home arena. The Spurs last hosted an NBA Finals game in 2014 during the Heat vs. Spurs Finals at the AT&T Center, the same Finals that produced the last NBA Finals court painted with "The Finals" cursive script logo.
When was the last NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden?
The New York Knicks last hosted an NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden in 1999 during the Spurs vs. Knicks Finals, which the Spurs won 4-1. The 2026 NBA Finals matchup against the Spurs is a rematch of the 1999 Finals, this time 27 years later at the same arena.
Are the 2026 NBA Finals court logos painted or decals?
Painted. Adam Silver confirmed on the Pardon My Take podcast earlier this year that the NBA is painting the 2026 NBA Finals logos directly into the hardwood instead of using adhesive court decals. The change addresses player safety concerns from previous Finals series, where the raised edges of decals at center court created slipping issues. Painted logos sit at the same level as the rest of the floor.
Is there a Conference Finals logo painted on the 2026 NBA Playoffs court?
No. The 2026 NBA Conference Finals courts at Madison Square Garden, Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Paycom Center, and Frost Bank Center did not feature a Conference Finals logo painted on the floor. Only "Playoffs" sideline branding and the round-specific logo on the basket stanchion pad. The 2026 NBA Finals court redesign is the first painted on-court round logo of the 2026 postseason. We would like to see the Conference Finals get on-court branding next.
For the full background on how the NBA Finals court got here, read our visual history of NBA playoff court logos from 2010 to 2026. For the first look at the 2026 NBA Finals jerseys, read our Knicks 2026 NBA Finals jersey back patch first look.
