NBA Finals 2026

Traditional TMs
Written By Justin Powley
Cartoon basketball stick figures standing next to a whiteboard depicting the NBA Finals Logo - representing a blog post about trademark registrations related to the 2026 NBA Finals

Trademark: NBA

First Used: 1954

Registered: 1969

Current Owner: NBA PROPERTIES, INC. [1]

Trademark Type: collective mark; traditional trademark; word mark; design mark; non-traditional trademark; trade dress; configuration mark

Primarily Associated With: association services-namely, promoting the interest of basketball clubs and promoting interest in the game of basketball [2]

Brief (and likely incomplete) History:

The court is swept and we are ready for tipoff. Congratulations to the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs for advancing to the 2026 NBA® Finals! Before the series starts on June 3, 2026, lets highlight some trademark registrations celebrating the NBA’s championship game, including those owned by New York and San Antonio. Good luck to both teams!

Basketball was invented in 1891 by James Naismith (at a YMCA training school!), but it took decades for the sport to develop into a major professional league. In 1937, the National Basketball League was formed as a Midwest-based professional basketball league with teams often backed by companies and industrial sponsors. In 1946, a second league, the Basketball Association of America, was launched by major arena owners in cities like New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago. The BAA had bigger-city venues, while the NBL had more established professional teams and players. After competing for talent and attention, the two leagues merged in 1949 to form the National Basketball Association.

The first NBA Finals, then called the BAA Finals, began on April 16, 1947, when the Philadelphia Warriors defeated the Chicago Stags. The Warriors were led by Joe Fulks, one of the early stars of professional basketball and the league’s first major scoring champion. Over the last ~80 years, the Lakers have appeared in the most Finals with 32 trips and also have the most Finals losses with 15. The Celtics have won the most championships with 18, just ahead of the Lakers’ 17, while the two franchises together account for more NBA titles than any other pair of teams in league history.

NBA® is a registered word mark used primarily for association services-namely, promoting the interest of basketball clubs and promoting interest in the game of basketball [3], and also for toys and sporting goods, trading cards, clothing, retail clothing and sporting goods stores, posters and flags, and audio recordings and video recordings, among many other goods and services [4]. The full league name NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION® is also a registered word mark for entertainment services in the nature of rendering live basketball games an basketball exhibitions and the production and distribution of radio and television broadcasts of basketball games and exhibitions [5], and clothing, trading cards, posters, stickers, toys and sporting goods, and other goods and services [6]. If you feel like being less formal, THE ASSOCIATION® [7] is also a registered word mark, used in connection with computer game programs; computer game software and computer game cartridges; and instruction manuals sold therewith.

The NBA has one of the most famous logos in the sporting world. The NBA Logoman Logo design mark (LOGOMAN® is also a registered word mark) is a registered trademark primarily for association services; namely, promoting the interest of basketball clubs and promoting interest in the game of basketball [8], but also for clothing, entertainment services, toys and sporting goods, trading cards, stickers, jewelry, video tapes, and others [9]. The NBA also utilizes several logos during the NBA finals, including the NBA The Finals Logo [10] and the NBA Finals Logo [11], registered for clothing and entertainment and education services, respectively.

The San Antonio Spurs is representing the NBA Western Conference and the New York Knicks is representing the NHL Eastern Conference. The NBA Western Conference Logo [12] and NBA Eastern Conference Logo [13] design marks are both registered trademarks in connection with “entertainment in the nature of hockey games.”

Both teams will be vying for the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. The three-dimensional configuration of the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy is a registered, non-traditional trademark, including primarily in connection with replica trophies [14].

Interested in matchups from other years? Check out our post on the 2025 NBA Finals featuring the champion Oklahoma City Thunder against the Indiana Pacers.

Interested in learning more about other 2026 sporting events? Check out our 2026 posts on the College Football National Championship, Team USA in the Winter Olympics, Super Bowl, Final Four, Masters (including the Masters 12th Hole and Masters Green Jacket), and Stanley Cup.

Copyright © 2026 by Illustrated IP, LLC. All rights reserved.

NBA word mark trademark registration
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION word mark trademark registration
THE ASSOCIATION word mark trademark registration
NBA Logoman Logo design mark trademark registration
NBA Western Conference Logo design mark trademark registration
NBA Eastern Conference Logo design mark trademark registration
NBA The Finals Logo design mark trademark registration
NBA Finals Logo design mark trademark registration
Larry O'Brien Trophy configuration mark trademark registration

[1] National Basketball Association, https://www.nba.com/.

[2] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 864,034, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=72287036&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[3] Id.

[4] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,832,819, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74415210&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,835,437, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74415222&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,833,902, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74415223&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,239,294, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75170406&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,770,670, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=76182764&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 4,509,194, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=85842623&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[5] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,206,789, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75325146&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[6] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,183,983, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75330478&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,162,201, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75330850&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,216,096, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75354178&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[7] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 3,291,790, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=78698377&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[8] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 938,213, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=72365232&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[9] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,525,782, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=73696675&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,622,682, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=73819966&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,609,765, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74006340&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,715,549, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74243902&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch; USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,901,528, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74467425&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[10] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 3,716,960, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=78662187&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[11] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 7,402,762, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=97361080&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[12] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,978,202, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74675874&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[13] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1,976,449, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=74675873&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

[14] USPTO, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 5,237,767, available at https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=86841222&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch.

Justin Powley
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