List of NBA champions


The National Basketball Association Finals is the championship series for the NBA and the conclusion of its postseason. All Finals have been played in a best-of-seven format, and are contested between the winners of the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference, except in 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, the playoffs were a three-stage tournament where the two semifinal winners played each other in the finals. The winning team of the series receives the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy.
The current home-and-away format in the NBA Finals is 2–2–1–1–1, which has been used in –, –, –, –, –, –, and –present. It was previously in a 2–3–2 format during, –, and –, in a 1–1–1–1–1–1–1 format during and, and in a 1–2–2–1–1 format during and.
The Eastern Conference/Division leads the Western Conference/Division in series won. The defunct Central Division, in existence during the 1949–50 NBA season when the NBA was divided into three divisions and different from the current Central Division created in 1970 when the then existing Eastern Division was upgraded as a conference, won one championship. The Boston Celtics and the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers alone own almost half of the titles, having won a combined 33 of 73 championships. The two also have the most Finals meetings with 12; the Celtics own a 9–3 edge over their arch rivals., the defending champions are the Toronto Raptors, making history as the first team from outside of the United States to win.

Champions

BoldWinning team of the NBA Finals
ItalicsTeam with home-court advantage

YearWestern championCoachResultEastern championCoachRef.
1947Chicago Stags Harold Olsen1–4Philadelphia Warriors Eddie Gottlieb
1948Baltimore Bullets Buddy Jeannette4–2Philadelphia Warriors Eddie Gottlieb
1949Minneapolis Lakers John Kundla4–2Washington Capitols Red Auerbach
Minneapolis Lakers John Kundla4–2Syracuse Nationals Al Cervi
Rochester Royals Les Harrison4–3New York Knicks Joe Lapchick
Minneapolis Lakers John Kundla4–3New York Knicks Joe Lapchick
Minneapolis Lakers John Kundla4–1New York Knicks Joe Lapchick
Minneapolis Lakers John Kundla4–3Syracuse Nationals Al Cervi
Fort Wayne Pistons Charles Eckman3–4Syracuse Nationals Al Cervi
Fort Wayne Pistons Charles Eckman1–4Philadelphia Warriors George Senesky
St. Louis Hawks Alex Hannum3–4Boston Celtics Red Auerbach
St. Louis Hawks Alex Hannum4–2Boston Celtics Red Auerbach
Minneapolis Lakers John Kundla0–4Boston Celtics Red Auerbach
St. Louis Hawks Ed Macauley3–4Boston Celtics Red Auerbach
St. Louis Hawks Paul Seymour1–4Boston Celtics Red Auerbach
Los Angeles Lakers Fred Schaus3–4Boston Celtics Red Auerbach
Los Angeles Lakers Fred Schaus2–4Boston Celtics Red Auerbach
San Francisco Warriors Alex Hannum1–4Boston Celtics Red Auerbach
Los Angeles Lakers Fred Schaus1–4Boston Celtics Red Auerbach
Los Angeles Lakers Fred Schaus3–4Boston Celtics Red Auerbach
San Francisco Warriors Bill Sharman2–4Philadelphia 76ers Alex Hannum
Los Angeles Lakers Butch van Breda Kolff2–4Boston Celtics Bill Russell
Los Angeles Lakers Butch van Breda Kolff3–4Boston Celtics Bill Russell
Los Angeles Lakers Joe Mullaney3–4New York Knicks Red Holzman
Milwaukee Bucks Larry Costello4–0Baltimore Bullets Gene Shue
Los Angeles Lakers Bill Sharman4–1New York Knicks Red Holzman
Los Angeles Lakers Bill Sharman1–4New York Knicks Red Holzman
Milwaukee Bucks Larry Costello3–4Boston Celtics Tom Heinsohn
Golden State Warriors Al Attles4–0Washington Bullets K. C. Jones
Phoenix Suns John MacLeod2–4Boston Celtics Tom Heinsohn
Portland Trail Blazers Jack Ramsey4–2Philadelphia 76ers Gene Shue
Seattle SuperSonics Lenny Wilkens3–4Washington Bullets Dick Motta
Seattle SuperSonics Lenny Wilkens4–1Washington Bullets Dick Motta
Los Angeles Lakers Paul Westhead4–2Philadelphia 76ers Billy Cunningham
Houston Rockets Del Harris2–4Boston Celtics Bill Fitch
Los Angeles Lakers Pat Riley4–2Philadelphia 76ers Billy Cunningham
Los Angeles Lakers Pat Riley0–4Philadelphia 76ers Billy Cunningham
Los Angeles Lakers Pat Riley3–4Boston Celtics K. C. Jones
Los Angeles Lakers Pat Riley4–2Boston Celtics K. C. Jones
Houston Rockets Bill Fitch2–4Boston Celtics K. C. Jones
Los Angeles Lakers Pat Riley4–2Boston Celtics K. C. Jones
Los Angeles Lakers Pat Riley4–3Detroit Pistons Chuck Daly
Los Angeles Lakers Pat Riley0–4Detroit Pistons Chuck Daly
Portland Trail Blazers Rick Adelman1–4Detroit Pistons Chuck Daly
Los Angeles Lakers Mike Dunleavy1–4Chicago Bulls Phil Jackson
Portland Trail Blazers Rick Adelman2–4Chicago Bulls Phil Jackson
Phoenix Suns Paul Westphal2–4Chicago Bulls Phil Jackson
Houston Rockets Rudy Tomjanovich4–3New York Knicks Pat Riley
Houston Rockets Rudy Tomjanovich4–0Orlando Magic Brian Hill
Seattle SuperSonics George Karl2–4Chicago Bulls Phil Jackson
Utah Jazz Jerry Sloan2–4Chicago Bulls Phil Jackson
Utah Jazz Jerry Sloan2–4Chicago Bulls Phil Jackson
San Antonio Spurs Gregg Popovich4–1New York Knicks Jeff Van Gundy
Los Angeles Lakers Phil Jackson4–2Indiana Pacers Larry Bird
Los Angeles Lakers Phil Jackson4–1Philadelphia 76ers Larry Brown
Los Angeles Lakers Phil Jackson4–0New Jersey Nets Byron Scott
San Antonio Spurs Gregg Popovich4–2New Jersey Nets Byron Scott
Los Angeles Lakers Phil Jackson1–4Detroit Pistons Larry Brown
San Antonio Spurs Gregg Popovich4–3Detroit Pistons Larry Brown
Dallas Mavericks Avery Johnson2–4Miami Heat Pat Riley
San Antonio Spurs Gregg Popovich4–0Cleveland Cavaliers Mike Brown
Los Angeles Lakers Phil Jackson2–4Boston Celtics Doc Rivers
Los Angeles Lakers Phil Jackson4–1Orlando Magic Stan Van Gundy
Los Angeles Lakers Phil Jackson4–3Boston Celtics Doc Rivers
Dallas Mavericks Rick Carlisle4–2Miami Heat Erik Spoelstra
Oklahoma City Thunder Scott Brooks1–4Miami Heat Erik Spoelstra
San Antonio Spurs Gregg Popovich3–4Miami Heat Erik Spoelstra
San Antonio Spurs Gregg Popovich4–1Miami Heat Erik Spoelstra
Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr4–2Cleveland Cavaliers David Blatt
Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr3–4Cleveland Cavaliers Tyronn Lue
Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr4–1Cleveland Cavaliers Tyronn Lue
Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr4–0Cleveland Cavaliers Tyronn Lue
Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr2–4Toronto Raptors Nick Nurse

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