ESPN and the NBA have discussed major changes to this year’s presentation of the NBA Finals. And fans will notice a significant one right out of the gate — YouTube TV is no longer the presenting sponsor of the NBA Finals.
When the 2025 NBA Finals began with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers, there was a groundswell of momentum to restore the aura of the association’s showcase event. While some of those changes began last season, they will be fully in place for the 2026 NBA Finals. That includes the starting-lineup introductions, the national anthem, and the return of the Larry O’Brien Trophy to center court.
And now the changing look of the NBA Finals will even extend to its sponsorship, with the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks tipping off on Wednesday night.
The NBA confirmed to Awful Announcing that there will be no presenting sponsor for this year’s Finals, as the sponsorship deal with YouTube TV has ended. The news was first shared by Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch. YouTube TV first joined as a presenting sponsor for the championship series in 2018,
While some of the aura had felt lost over the last several years, with certain special production elements missing, the presence of YouTube TV ads was at times overwhelming. In 2023, for instance, you could count up to nine YTV ads visible on screen at the same time.
YouTube and the NBA will remain partners, with international games and NBA TV carried on the YouTube platform. But if this is indeed another shift by the league to restore some of the glamour and prestige of the NBA Finals, it will definitely be well received by basketball fans, even if the association misses out on some sponsorship dollars.
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