Who Is Playing In The Nba Finals 2021?
Contents
The 2021 NBA Finals will be the championship series of the 2021 NBA playoffs. The Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors will face the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers.
The teams
The Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat will be playing in the 2021 NBA Finals. This will be the first time these two teams have faced each other in the Finals since 2010.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league’s Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their home games at Staples Center, an arena shared with the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers and the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks.
The Lakers are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NBA, having won 16 NBA championships, their last being in 2010. As of 2020, they hold the record for having made the most appearances in the NBA Finals with 31, and tie Boston for having won the most championships with 16. Eighteen Hall of Famers have played for Los Angeles, while four have coached the team.
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at American Airlines Arena, and has won five NBA championships.
The players
The 2021 NBA Finals will feature two of the league’s best teams: the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat. These two teams have met in the Finals before, with the Lakers winning in 2009. This year’s matchup will be a rematch of sorts, as the two teams faced off in the 2020 NBA Finals, with the Lakers winning in six games.
LeBron James
LeBron James is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in NBA history. By acclamation, James is the greatest player of his generation and often compared to Michael Jordan as the greatest player of all time. These accolades have made him one of the most marketed athletes in history.
In his seventeen seasons, James has played for three teams: the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and Los Angeles Lakers. He is a four-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), a four-time NBA Finals MVP, a three-time All-Star Game MVP, and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. He has also been selected to fifteen All-NBA Teams and fifteen All-Defensive Teams.
James has led the league in scoring ten times and won four regular season MVP awards. His accomplishments include becoming the youngest player to score 29,000 points in NBA history; winning two Olympic gold medals with Team USA; being named AP Athlete of the Year in both 2003 and 2004; becoming only the second player to be named AP Athlete of the Decade for 2000–09 behind only Tiger Woods (the other being Usain Bolt); and being named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year in 2012.
Anthony Davis
Anthony Davis (born March 11, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays the power forward and center positions.
Jimmy Butler
Jimmy Butler III (born September 14, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After one year of college basketball for Tyler Junior College, he transferred to Marquette University. He was drafted with the 30th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls.
In his first season with the Bulls, Butler was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. In 2015, he was named an NBA All-Star for the first time and led the Bulls to the Playoffs where they lost in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The next season, he became a starter for the Bulls and helped them return to the Playoffs as a No. 3 seed. That season, he earned his second NBA All-Star selection and was named to his first All-NBA Third Team. In 2017, after requesting a trade from the Bulls due to frustration with their organization, Butler was sent to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a blockbuster deal that included Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine.
With Minnesota, Butler made immediate impacts, being named to his third consecutive NBA All-Star Game and his second All-NBA Third Team while helping lead Minnesota to their first playoff berth in 14 years. The following season, Butler averaged 22.2 points per game as he was named an All-Star for the fourth consecutive time.
The coaches
The coaches of the NBA Finals are Frank Vogel for the Los Angeles Lakers and Tyronn Lue for the Miami Heat. These are two of the best coaches in the league and have been for many years. They have both won championships as head coaches and are looking to add another one to their resumes.
Frank Vogel
Vogel has been the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers since 2019. Prior to that, he was the head coach of the Indiana Pacers from 2011 to 2016 and the Orlando Magic from 2016 to 2018. He has also served as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics and Lakers. Vogel led the Pacers to the playoffs in five of his six seasons as head coach, including two trips to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2013 and 2014. He was named NBA Coach of the Year in 2012.
Erik Spoelstra
Erik Spoelstra is an American professional basketball coach who is the head coach of the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a two-time NBA champion, winning consecutive titles in 2012 and 2013 with the Heat.
The schedule
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 2021 NBA Finals will be the 70th edition of the championship series.
Game 1
The first game of the 2021 NBA Finals will be on Wednesday, September 30th at 9pm ET. The Los Angeles Lakers will take on the Miami Heat at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. The game will be televised on ABC.
Game 2
The Los Angeles Lakers will take on the Miami Heat in game 2 of the NBA finals on October 1st at 9pm EST. The game will be broadcast on ABC.
Game 3
Tuesday, October 13
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Miami Heat, 9 p.m. ET on ABC
The location
The 2021 NBA Finals will be the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)’s 2020–21 season and the conclusion of the season’s playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff, the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers will play the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat. This will be the 18th time that the NBA Finals will be played at a neutral site.
Staples Center
The Staples Center is a large arena in downtown Los Angeles. Home to the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers, the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, and the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, it is one of the premier venues in the country. The complex also features a number of smaller arenas and concert venues, making it a popular destination for concerts and other events. The Staples Center is located near other popular attractions like L.A. Live and the Microsoft Theater, making it a great place to visit if you’re looking for things to do in LA.
American Airlines Arena
The American Airlines Arena is a sports and entertainment arena located in Downtown Miami, Florida. Its construction was completed in 1999. Along with attracting more than two million spectators each year, the Heat’s home has also hosted other sporting events, concerts and live entertainment.