Championship series of the National Basketball Association
For the most recent series, see 2023 NBA Finals. For a list of individual NBA Finals by year, see List of NBA champions.
NBA Finals
Status
Active
Genre
Sporting event
Date(s)
Mid May–June[A]
Frequency
Annual
Country
United States Canada
Inaugurated
1947 (1947)
Sponsor
YouTube TV (2018–present)
Most titles
Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers (17 each)
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven-game 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 1977, though under the same name.
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 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.[1] Since 2018, it has been officially known as the NBA Finals presented by YouTube TV for sponsorship reasons.[2][3]
The NBA Finals was initially structured in a 2–2–1–1–1 format.[4] 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.[5][6] In 2014, the 2–2–1–1–1 format was restored. This team 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.[7][8]
A total of 21 franchises have won the NBA Finals, with the Denver Nuggets winning the most recent title in 2023. The Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics hold the record for the most victories, having both won the championship 17 times. The Boston Celtics also won the most consecutive titles, winning eight in a row from 1959 to 1966. The Los Angeles Lakers have competed in the NBA Finals the most times, with 32 appearances. The Eastern Division/Conference has provided the most champions, with 40 wins from 11 franchises with the most recent being the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021; the Western Division/Conference has 37, from nine franchises including the defending champion Nuggets.
Cite error: There are <ref group=upper-alpha> tags or {{efn-ua}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=upper-alpha}} template or {{notelist-ua}} template (see the help page).
^Ballard, Bill (June 4, 1989). "Here Are Some Final Facts on NBA Playoffs". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015.
^"NBA and YouTube TV announce first-ever presenting partnership of the NBA Finals". NBA.com (Press release). NBA Media Ventures, LLC. March 26, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
^Cite error: The named reference USAToday20180326 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Avalos, Christopher (June 7, 2022). "What is the NBA finals format?". Boundtoball. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
^"Stern: Celts' Auerbach played role in Finals format". ESPN.com. June 9, 2008. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
^Delamater, Tom. "2010 NBA Finals, Game 4: Does the 2-3-2 Format Favor L.A. or Boston Most?". Bleacher Report. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
^"NBA Board of Governors unanimously approves format change for The Finals". NBA.com (Press release). NBA Media Ventures, LLC. October 23, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
^Golliver, Ben (October 23, 2013). "NBA Board of Governors unanimously adopts 2-2-1-1-1 Finals format change". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
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