NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association. The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awarded the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, which replaced the original Walter A. Brown Trophy in 1976–77, though under the same name until 1984.
The series was initially known as the BAA Finals prior to the 1949–50 season when the Basketball Association of America merged with the National Basketball League to form the NBA. The competition oversaw further name changes to NBA World Championship Series from 1950 to 1985, as well as a brief stint as the Showdown, before settling on NBA Finals in 1986. Since 2018, it has been officially known as the NBA Finals presented by YouTube TV for sponsorship reasons.
The NBA Finals was initially structured in a 2–2–1–1–1 format. In 1985, to ease the amount of cross-country travel, it was changed to a 2–3–2 format, in which the first two and last two games of the series were played at the arena of the team who earned home-court advantage by having the better record during the regular season. In 2014, the 2–2–1–1–1 format was restored. The team with the better regular season record hosts the first two games and the other team hosts the next two games. If needed, the remaining three are played at each team's home arena alternately, starting with the arena of the team with the better regular season record.
A total of 21 franchises have won the NBA Finals, with the Oklahoma City Thunder winning the most recent and earning their first title since relocating to Oklahoma City, and second overall.
History
1940s–50s: Beginnings and Lakers dynasty
The beginning era of modern professional basketball was dominated by the Minneapolis Lakers, who won five of the first ten titles. The Philadelphia Warriors also won multiple championships, including the inaugural title in 1947 and another in 1956 to bookend the NBA's first decade.After being founded in 1946, the Basketball Association of America completed its inaugural season in April 1947 with the Philadelphia Warriors defeating the Chicago Stags in the 1947 BAA Finals in five games. The following season the Warriors again reached the Finals, however they fell short to the now defunct Baltimore Bullets. To date the Baltimore Bullets are the only defunct team to win a championship.
In 1948, the Minneapolis Lakers won the championship of the rival National Basketball League before joining the BAA. Led by future Hall of Famer George Mikan, the Lakers won the third and final BAA championship in 1949 over the Red Auerbach-coached Washington Capitals. The BAA then merged with the NBL to form the National Basketball Association before the 1949–50 season. The Lakers won the inaugural NBA championship in 1950 to become the first team to repeat as champions.
In 1951, the Rochester Royals defeated the New York Knicks in the only Finals contested between two teams from the same state. This was the first of three consecutive losses in the Finals for the Knicks. Meanwhile, the Lakers won three straight Finals from 1952 to 1954 to become the first team to three-peat while also winning their fifth title in six seasons.
Of the five franchises to win a championship from 1947 to 1956, one folded and the other four all relocated by 1964.
1950s–60s: Celtics Dynasty
The Boston Celtics won 11 of the 12 NBA Finals they reached during 13 seasons, including eight straight NBA championships from 1959 through 1966. During this time the St. Louis Hawks also won their only title before moving to Atlanta and the Philadelphia 76ers won their first title since relocating from Syracuse.With the establishment of the Celtics dynasty in 1957, spearheaded by center Bill Russell, the team saw great success. Despite encountering some difficulty when up against teams led by Wilt Chamberlain, for most of the late 1950s and 1960s, the Celtics and Russell managed to have an upper hand on Chamberlain's teams.
In 1964, Chamberlain, who had moved to the state of California alongside his team, led the San Francisco Warriors to a Western Division championship, but again failed to conquer the Celtics. The following season, he returned to the Eastern Division to join the Philadelphia 76ers after the former Syracuse Nationals relocated to the city to cover the vacancy created by the Warriors.
The first clash between the two stars in the playoffs was in 1966, with Boston winning the series 4–1. In the following season, Philadelphia coach Alex Hannum instructed Chamberlain to provide an increased focus on playing a team game, to avoid drawing the double-teams that troubled Chamberlain during the Finals. This tactical change brought the team to a new record of 68 wins the following season, as well as defeating the Celtics before winning the 1967 Finals. In 1968, Boston overcame a 3–1 deficit against Philadelphia to once again arrive in the Finals. They went on to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals to again become NBA champions.
In 1969, the Celtics faced great difficulty entering the postseason, as they had an aging team and multiple injuries to a number of players. They qualified for the playoffs as the fourth and final seed in the East, while the Lakers, who had added Chamberlain in the off-season to join stars Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, won the West and were prohibitive favorites to become champions for the first time since relocating to Los Angeles. Despite holding a 2–1 advantage going into Game 4, the Lakers led 87–86 and had the ball with 10 seconds to play. But after a turnover, Sam Jones scored to give the Celtics a narrow 88–87 win and tying the series. The series was eventually tied 3–3 going into Game 7 in Los Angeles, with Lakers owner Jack Cooke hanging balloons in the arena in anticipation of a Lakers victory. West also picked up injuries to his thigh and hamstring during the series, but returned to play for the final game. Russell utilized this newly lacking mobility in West to organize fast breaks at every opportunity for the Celtics, which allowed them to gain an early lead. They held off a furious Lakers comeback to win 108–106 and win the series, and win their eleventh championship in 13 years.
As many stars either declined or retired following this win, it is largely recognized as the last NBA Finals conducted by the Celtics dynasty.
1970s: Decade of parity
The 1970s saw ten different teams reach the Finals and eight different teams win a championship, the most of any decade in the NBA, with the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks winning twice.In 1970, a classic Finals featured the Knicks against the Lakers. In the waning moments of Game 3, with the series tied, Jerry West hit a basket from 60 feet to tie the game, a shot that became one of the most famous ever. However, the Knicks won in overtime and eventually won the series in 7 games. Game 7 featured an injured Willis Reed returning to action for the Knicks and inspiring his team to victory, though Reed scored only 4 points. The following season had another first-time champion, as the Milwaukee Bucks, led by Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, defeated the Baltimore Bullets.
Two seasons after losing in the Finals, the Lakers won 33 straight games, the longest winning streak in NBA history. By season's end, they broke the record for most wins in a season with 69, one more than the 1966–67 Philadelphia 76ers, before taking home the championship for the first time since relocating to Los Angeles, beating the Knicks. The Knicks returned to win the Finals again a season later, followed by the Celtics’ 12th title in 1974.
The late 1970s were characterized by a major breakthrough of the league's western franchises. In 1975, after compiling a 48–34 regular season record, the Golden State Warriors swept the Washington Bullets 4–0 in the 1975 NBA Finals. In 1976, the Phoenix Suns, after only eight years of existence, overcame an 18–27 losing record early in the regular season to build a remarkable run to finish 42–40. The team, nicknamed the "Sunderella Suns," achieved upset victories over the Seattle SuperSonics and the Warriors, before facing the Celtics in the Finals. The teams split the first four games, before Game 5 went into three overtimes, and Boston won 128–126. The Celtics quickly managed to secure their 13th championship, and second in three years, defeating the Suns 87–80 in Game 6.
Franchises that won their first titles in the 1970s included the New York Knicks in 1970, Milwaukee Bucks in 1971, the Portland Trail Blazers in 1977, and the Washington Bullets, who defeated the Seattle SuperSonics, in 1978. The Sonics exacted revenge on the Bullets the following season, beating Washington in five games in 1979 to win their first title.
1980s: Celtics–Lakers rivalry and "Bad Boys" Pistons
The 1980s were mostly known for the rivalry between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, who combined to win eight titles in the decade. Rookie Magic Johnson led the Showtime Lakers to the 1980 NBA Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers, who were led by Julius Erving. The Lakers took a 3–2 lead, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar could not play in Game 6 due to injury. Johnson, a natural point guard, was shifted to center and played every position on the court during the game, scoring 42 points, with 15 rebounds and 7 assists to win his first championship and Finals MVP honors, becoming the first and only rookie to win the award.Boston reached the 1981 NBA Finals led by the "Big Three" of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish. They met the Houston Rockets, who were carried practically single-handedly by Moses Malone and upset the Lakers in the first round. The Rockets were only the second team in NBA history to make the Finals after posting a losing record in the regular season, and the Celtics had an NBA best record of 62–20. The Celtics won the Finals in 6 games.
The Lakers returned to the Finals in 1982, this time led by new coach Pat Riley, in a rematch against the 76ers. The 76ers defeated the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals in a 7-game series, but were defeated by the Lakers in 6 games. The 76ers responded by trading for Moses Malone, the league's reigning MVP. With the new duo of Malone and Erving, the 76ers won the 1983 NBA Finals in a sweep of the Lakers.
The Celtics and Lakers met in the Finals in 1984, 1985, and 1987. In 1984, the Celtics toppled the Lakers 4–3. The final game of this series attracted the largest ever TV audience for an NBA game, and the second-largest ever for a basketball game, with only the 1979 NCAA Championship game between Johnson and Bird having a larger audience. The teams faced off again in 1985 and 1987, but the Lakers came up on top both times, winning in 6 games despite each time, despite losing Game 1 in 1985 by 34 points in the Memorial Day Massacre. The 1987 Finals included Johnson hitting a hook shot with two seconds left in Game 4 to give the Lakers a 107–106 win and a 3–1 series lead.
In the following two seasons, the Celtics failed to reach the Finals, becoming overshadowed by the Detroit Pistons. The Lakers defended their title in the 1988 NBA Finals, winning the series in 7 games against the Pistons. They became the first team to win back-to-back NBA titles since 1969. Seeking a three-peat in 1989, the Lakers were swept by the Pistons in a rematch of the previous year's Finals. The Pistons were nicknamed the "Bad Boys" due to their rough, physical play led by future Hall of Fame guards Joe Dumars and Isiah Thomas and a rugged front court with Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman. In 1990, the Pistons went back-to-back, defeating the Clyde Drexler-led Portland Trail Blazers in five games.