This period marks the largest stretch of seasons that a single team made up over 65% of Finals appearances, and also includes the only time the NBA Finals was decided in double overtime. They won eight straight NBA championships from 1959 through 1966. The Boston Celtics went 11–1 in the NBA Finals during 12 seasons (1956–57 to 1968–69). Of the five franchises to win a championship from 1947 to 1956, one would fold and the other four would all relocate by 1964.īill Russell (off ball) was a member of one of the first dynasties in the NBA, winning eight straight titles while contending against Wilt Chamberlain (on ball). In 1955 the Syracuse Nationals would win their only title before becoming the Philadelphia 76ers, and in 1956 the Warriors won their second and last title in Philadelphia before eventually moving to California. This would be the fifth championship in six years for the Lakers and their last title won in Minneapolis. The Lakers would win again in 1954 to become the first team to three-peat. This would be the first of three consecutive losses in the Finals for the Knicks, as they would lose the 19 Finals to the Lakers. In 1951 the Rochester Royals defeated the New York Knicks in the only Finals contested between two teams from the same state. The Lakers would win the inaugural NBA championship in 1950 to become the first team to repeat as champions. The BAA would merge with the NBL to become the National Basketball Association before the 1949–50 season. Led by future Hall of Famer George Mikan, the Lakers would win the third and final BAA championship in 1949 over the Red Auerbach coached Washington Capitals. In 1948 the Minneapolis Lakers would win the championship of the rival National Basketball League before joining the BAA. To date the Baltimore Bullets are the only defunct team to win a championship. The following season the Warriors would again reach the Finals, however they would fall short to the now defunct Baltimore Bullets. The Philadelphia Warriors also won multiple championships, including the inaugural title in 1947 and another in 1956 to bookend the NBA's first decade.Īfter 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 five games.
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The beginning era of modern professional basketball was dominated by the Minneapolis Lakers, who won half of the first ten titles. 1946–1956: Beginnings and Lakers dynasty The Eastern Conference has provided the most champions, with 38 wins from 10 franchises the Western Conference has 34, from nine franchises. The Los Angeles Lakers have contested the NBA Finals the most times, with 32 appearances. The Boston Celtics also won the most consecutive titles, winning eight in a row from 1959 to 1966. The Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics hold the record for the most victories, having both won the competition 17 times. Ī total of 19 franchises have won the NBA Finals, with the Milwaukee Bucks winning in 2021. If needed, the remaining three are played at each team's home arena alternately.
This team hosts the first two games and the other team hosts the next two games.
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In 1985, to ease the amount of cross-country travel, it was changed to a 2–3–2 format, where 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. The NBA Finals was initially structured in a 2–2–1–1–1 format.
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Since 2018, it has been officially known as the NBA Finals presented by YouTube TV for sponsorship reasons.
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. The series was initially known as the BAA Finals prior to the 1949–50 season when the Basketball Association of America (BAA) merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) to form the NBA. The team that wins the series is awarded the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, which replaced the Walter A. The Eastern and Western conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)