Zach LoweESPN Senior Writer Oct 30, 2023, 11:30am ET9 minutes read
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About seven months ago — when the NBA was optimistic that its long-dreamed-of-season tournament would finally become a reality — the league’s creative brain trust began tinkering with a big question: How could they make sure fans knew it was them right away ? watch a group stage game?
Of course, the league could work with broadcast partners to have the scoreboards alert viewers that the game is part of the tournament. That was easy. But these words and marks are small and could quickly disappear from the viewer’s consciousness.
Around April, they started thinking about the basketball court itself. Officials suggested special stickers on the floor and borders, similar to those used for the NBA Finals and the All-Star Game – only these could say “Group A” or “Group B,” perhaps together with a display of the trophy the tournament winners would eventually get. Others suggested teams could warm up in new shooting jerseys that would only be used for tournament games.
Around mid-July, they brought these ideas to senior leadership, including Commissioner Adam Silver. The feedback – with Silver perhaps being the loudest voice – was clear, said Christopher Arena, NBA head of gaming and brand partnerships: “More, more, more – bigger and bolder.”
Soon after, a combination of Silver, other senior executives and the league’s creative services group began developing a bigger idea: What if we eliminated the entire field? And what if we did it for all 30 teams, using the same general template?
“The biggest decision was to paint the entire court with no visible wood,” Arena told ESPN. “That was the ‘wow’ thing.”
By the end of July, they had agreed on this template: the majority of the pitch was a color linked to each team’s City Edition kit, with a central stripe the width of the area painted in the key used by Baseline to baseline is a different color – was intended to evoke an airport runway and the idea that teams play each group game on their own runway to the tournament’s Final Four in Las Vegas.
The center court logo was a huge tournament trophy for each season, which was placed above each team’s individual logo. An overturned version of the trophy would be wedged inside the foul line at either end of each court.
“We started making decisions later than we probably could have,” Arena said. “And it became, ‘OK, how do we do this? How do we manage to provide 30 spaces for 30 teams in 29 buildings, and on time? Are we crazy?’” (The Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers play in the same arena.)
Here are three finished examples – an update of a classic court (the Lakers) and two more radical floors based on City Edition jerseys from the Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans:
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(Yes, the Pelicans are embracing a combination of nightlife and Halloween themes in their City Edition art this season, complete with a revamped bony Pelican logo – also called the “Skelican” in some corners.)
On Aug. 10, the league asked the primary facility contact for each of its 30 teams to join a Zoom call. The plan was to show them some renderings, explain the turnaround needed, and ask them to cooperate. They braced themselves for objections. Several teams with legendary courts — including the Boston Celtics, Lakers and Chicago Bulls — had never used an alternate court.
It would be a difficult task for everyone: team employees; League staff who had to locate 29 available spots and rent some of them; the painting and repair shops that would have to expedite some jobs to meet league demands; even trucking companies that would transport the dishes to these repair shops.
Some arenas require courts of slightly different overall width and length depending on several variables, including courtside seating.
“It was like playing Tetris,” Arena said. “But everyone said, ‘I understand. I understand why we do this.’ When I think about it now, it makes me tingly. It was a remarkable collaboration to get this completed on time.”
The league emphasized that the template was essentially non-negotiable, but gave teams input into color selection. This process took another week or two. In the meantime, the league has found courts and prepared its repair and painting partners. Some are used as college courts. Two teams – the Indiana Pacers and Suns – repainted the floors of WNBA teams in their respective cities. All 29 are sourced from the only three companies that make NBA courts: Horner Sports Flooring, Robbins Sports Surfaces and Connor Sports.
At Praters Flooring’s Rossville, Georgia facility, crews accelerated existing finishing and painting work to free up as many of the ten floors as possible for the NBA’s upcoming megaproject. In the end, Praters painted and repainted 11 of the 29 courts during the season and was able to use those 10 courts to handle multiple courts at once. (A total of 10 companies were involved in the refinishing, sanding and painting of the 29 courts, league officials said.)
“We were very nervous three weeks ago because it was going to be very challenging,” said John Prater, the founder and CEO of Praters. “Nothing ever goes quite according to plan. For our staff, it was like, ‘Hey, it’s 4 p.m. Friday and I bet you want to go home, but no one can go home right now.'”
A team of 25 to 30 people were employed in the Prater and worked at least six days a week on the 11 courts. Repainting could take two weeks, Prater said. The company shortened this to about a week per dish. Each space requires about 50 gallons of paint, Prater said. The company purchases colors from a supplier – Bona – and then mixes them to match each specific PMS (Pantone Matching System) hue specified by the league and teams.
“It basically became a painting party,” Prater said.
Two dishes aren’t ready yet, but all 29 are on their way to being unveiled.
Some other dishes that will turn heads:
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It’s flashy and has a lot of red – red on red even with a white Bulls logo.
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Wow! The Pacers get a little more frisky with some artistic, graffiti-like lettering and a much brighter and bolder blue to match the yellow runway.
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Here are a couple of appealing blue-on-blue pitches – the Wolves in a calmer light blue and the Thunder with a high contrast between dark and light tones. The orange center court logo and small Oklahoma State map on the sideline really stand out for the Blues. The Thunder – once perhaps the most boring art team in the league – have been on a roll for about half a decade now.
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The Blazers – in these eyes the best art team in the league – do it again with a red-wood combination and the wordmark “Rip City” in a suit designed by Dr. Jack Ramsay inspired check pattern.
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The Bucks’ court is another glimpse of the league’s willingness to experiment, and some teams are venturing onto these grounds. Her cream hue — usually part of the trim — takes center stage, wrapping around a runway painted a lighter green than the Bucks typically use. There are no deer here, the Bucks opt for their blue Wisconsin logo on the center court trophy.
The Celtics – owners of perhaps the most legendary basketball court in the world – played fairly traditional, choosing dark green on most of the field and a wood-shaded runway:
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According to Arena and other league officials, the league went back and forth with at least two teams wearing the colors. In discussing several proposals, the New York Knicks asked the league if they could use a shade of gray instead of orange for most of the field, but the league stressed the importance of sticking with the team’s core colors – in this case, one Orange Court, Arena and other league officials said:
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For the Sacramento Kings, the league initially proposed a mostly red court to incorporate elements of the team’s City Edition look this season. The team declined, pointing out that red was only a minor part of their overall palette. the result ended up here:
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Adding the overturned trophies into the paint required consultation with Monty McCutchen, the league’s senior vice president of referee development and training, to ensure referees could still see the blocking attack circle amid the confusion, Arena said. The boundary lines are also at their maximum width – 10cm – which is the NBA standard for courts where the playing surface and the apron around it are the same color, Arena said. (Other fields may have two-inch boundary lines.)
The league and the third parties who helped are thrilled with the results. They know the new dishes are bold – a notable departure.
“It’s like art,” Prater said. “Some people like it, some people don’t. You can’t please everyone.”
The league is confident that the floors will appeal to most fans and that the courts will serve their primary purpose.
“We just had to separate these games from all the other games,” Arena said. “You have to turn the channel and immediately know this is different.”