The NBA Finals is the championship series for the National Basketball Association (NBA) held at the conclusion of its postseason. All NBA Finals have been played in a best-of-seven format, and are contested between the winners of the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference (formerly Divisions before 1970), except in 1950 when the Eastern Division champion faced the winner between the Western and Central Division champions. From 1946 through 1949, when the league was known as the Basketball Association of America (BAA), the playoffs were a three-stage tournament where the two semifinal winners played each other in the finals.[1][2][3] The winning team of the series receives the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, which is awarded since 1977 (between 1947 and 1976 the winning team received the Walter A. Brown Trophy).[4]
The current home-and-away format in the NBA Finals is 2–2–1–1–1 (the team with the better regular-season record plays on its home court in Games 1, 2, 5, and 7), which has been used in 1947–1948,[5] 1950–1952,[6][7][8] 1957–1970, 1972–1974, 1976–1977, 1979–1984, and 2014–present. It was previously in a 2–3–2 format (the team with the better regular season record plays on its home court in Games 1, 2, 6, and 7) during 1949, 1953–1955, and 1985–2013,[9][10] in a 1–1–1–1–1–1–1 format during 1956 and 1971,[11][12] and in a 1–2–2–1–1 format during 1975 and 1978.[13][14]
As of 2023[update], the Eastern champions have a 40–37 advantage in NBA titles over the Western champions, with their most recent being the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021.[15][better source needed] The Boston Celtics and the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers have won a combined total of 34 NBA championships, with 17 apiece in their rivalry.[16] As of 2023[update], the defending champions are the Denver Nuggets.
Champions
- The first parentheses in the Western champions and Eastern champions columns indicate the teams' playoff seed. The second parentheses indicate the number of times that teams have appeared in an NBA Finals as well as each respective team's NBA Finals record to date.
Bold | Winning team of the BAA/NBA Finals |
Italics | Team with home-court advantage |
Italics | Finals MVP was on losing team |
† | Only defunct team to win championship |
Results by team
Consecutive championships
Eight consecutive
Three consecutive
- Minneapolis Lakers (1952–1954)
- Chicago Bulls (1991–1993)
- Chicago Bulls (1996–1998)
- Los Angeles Lakers (2000–2002)
Two consecutive
Frequent matchups
Count | Matchup | Record | Years |
---|---|---|---|
12 | Boston Celtics vs Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers | Celtics, 9–3 | 1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1984, 1985, 1987, 2008, 2010 |
6 | Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers vs Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers | Lakers, 5–1 | 1950, 1954, 1980, 1982, 1983, 2001 |
5 | Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers vs New York Knicks | Lakers, 3–2 | 1952, 1953, 1970, 1972, 1973 |
4 | St. Louis Hawks (Atlanta Hawks) vs Boston Celtics | Celtics, 3–1 | 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961 |
4 | Cleveland Cavaliers vs Golden State Warriors | Warriors, 3–1 | 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 |
3 | Detroit Pistons vs Los Angeles Lakers | Pistons, 2–1 | 1988, 1989, 2004 |
2 | Seattle SuperSonics (Oklahoma City Thunder) vs Washington Bullets (Washington Wizards) | Tied, 1–1 | 1978, 1979 |
2 | Boston Celtics vs Houston Rockets | Celtics, 2–0 | 1981, 1986 |
2 | Chicago Bulls vs Utah Jazz | Bulls, 2–0 | 1997, 1998 |
2 | Dallas Mavericks vs Miami Heat | Tied, 1–1 | 2006, 2011 |
2 | Miami Heat vs San Antonio Spurs | Tied, 1–1 | 2013, 2014 |
2 | Boston Celtics vs San Francisco/Golden State Warriors | Tied, 1–1 | 1964, 2022 |
See also
- List of ABA champions
- List of National Basketball Association longest winning streaks
- List of National Basketball League (United States) champions
- List of NBA championship head coaches
- List of NBA franchise post-season droughts
- List of NBA franchise post-season streaks
- List of NBA G League champions
- WNBA Finals
- List of NBA players with most championships
- NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award