Ok, so I know this isn’t really in our wheelhouse most of the time. Sports is something that we generally talk about when vampires or the X-Men play it. But it’s the NBA Finals right now and for the first time two relatively small market teams, The Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder, are competing for the championship. And, since I’m based in Indianapolis and have been a die-hard Pacers fan for years, I took the opportunity to delve into the sportier side of fandom at Finals Game Three. There, I was able to check out their “Blooming Into Greatness” promotional experience.
“Blooming Into Greatness” is an installation that was at both Game One in Oklahoma City AND in Indianapolis for Game Three. A member of ESPN’s on-site team had this to say about this unique artistic creation and its development.
“We were looking to do something really unique for fans at the finals this year. We batted around a lot of great ideas and we’ve been looking for a way to work with Mr. Flower Fantastic since 2022. This came to mind and one of our colleagues said “What if we gave players their flowers now!” And so we thought to build floral installations in both cities. These are great cities (we actually prepared for all four, which is the fun part) and both teams were really excited.”
Of course, these playoffs have been surrounded by discussions of coverage and how ESPN and the NBA are handling “small markets” like OKC and Indianapolis. So I had to ask what she thought of my hometown.
“We’re so happy to be in Indiana. This city, I think, knows basketball better than any city in the world. And we’re just excited to bring it. So that’s how we found a great way to work with Mr. Flower Fantastic. He’s a huge sports fan and was really excited to come out. “
“We let him be really creative with the logos and the presentation, but we started planning this probably about a month ago. We wanted to do something. We landed on the floral idea. And then once we got it down to the four teams in the conference finals, then he went to work drawing and sketching, looking at which flowers he would source. And then as soon as those games were over and we had the two teams, he locked in on designs. “
This wasn’t the first installation of its type. The first debuted back at Game One in OKC and built the Thunder’s logo out of Oklahoma flowers.
“Fans were really excited about it,” ESPN said about the response out west. “We wanted to do something different and special. It was tremendous, and it’s already been tremendous here. We like to do something big that families can hop in and take photos of or single people or just couples can come in.”
You can watch the entirety of the NBA Finals on ABC. Game 4 is set to air tomorrow at 8:30 PM, with Game 5 set for Monday, June 16. You can find more information about ESPN’s 2025 NBA Finals coverage here.
Images via ESPN
Have strong thoughts about this piece you need to share? Or maybe there’s something else on your mind you’re wanting to talk about with fellow Fandomentals? Head on over to our Community server to join in the conversation!