The NBA Finals is the yearly championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western conference champions play with a best-of-seven game set to ascertain the league champion. The winners of the Finals are given the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, which replaced the Walter A. Brown Trophy in 1983.
The series was originally Called the BAA Finals before the 1949–50 year when the Basketball Association of America (BAA) united 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 NBA Finals in 1986. [1]
The NBA Finals was originally structured at a 2–2–1–1–1 format. In 1985, to alleviate the quantity of cross-country travel, it had been changed into a 2–3–2 format, in which the first two and last two games of the series have been played in the stadium of the team who earned home-court advantage by getting the better record during the regular season. The two –2–1–1–1 format has been revived. The first two games are played with the higher-seeded team’s home, the subsequent two at the home of the lower-seeded team, along with the rest three are played in each team’s home arena . [2]
A total of 19 franchises have won the NBA Finals, with the Toronto Raptors winning in 2019. The Boston Celtics maintain the record for the most victories, having won the competition 17 times, in addition to the most consecutive titles, winning 8 times from 1959 to 1966. The Los Angeles Lakers have contested the NBA Finals the most times, with 31 appearances. The Eastern Conference has provided the most champions, with 38 wins from 10 franchises; the Western Conference has 32, from 9 franchises.
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