How Does the NBA Finals Work?
The NBA Finals is the 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.
What is the NBA Finals?
The NBA Finals is the 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 winning team of the series receives the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.
The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The NBA Finals is the 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 NBA Finals receives the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, which is named after former NBA commissioner Larry O’Brien.
The Finals have been played every year since 1947, when the NBA was known as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The first ever Finals was between the Philadelphia Warriors and the Chicago Stags, with the Warriors winning in four games. In 1949, when the BAA merged with its rival National Basketball League to form the NBA, the Finals format changed to a best-of-seven series.
The first NBA Finals to be played under the best-of-seven format was in 1950, between the Minneapolis Lakers and Syracuse Nationals. The Lakers won in seven games. In 1954, the Syracuse Nationals moved to Philadelphia and became known as the Philadelphia Warriors. In 1967, they changed their name again to become the Philadelphia 76ers.
Throughout its history, there have been many dynasties and rivalries in the NBA Finals. Perhaps one of the most famous dynasties is that of the Boston Celtics, who won eight consecutive NBA titles between 1959 and 1966. Another well-known dynasty is that of Magic Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers teams which won five titles in nine years between 1980 and 1988 (Johnson himself was only on four of those teams due to retirement and injury). The Chicago Bulls dynasty of Jordan’s era won six titles in eight years between 1991 and 1998.
The most recent dynasty belongs to LeBron James’s teams, who have made it to nine straight NBA Finals since 2010 (winning three times). James himself has appeared in more consecutive Finals than any other player in history, appearing in ten straight from 2011 to 2020 (winning four times).
The Finals is a best-of-seven playoff series played between the Western Conference and Eastern Conference champions.
The NBA Finals is the 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 winning team of the series receives the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.
The Finals was originally established in 1947, when the Basketball Association of America (BAA) merged with the National Basketball League (NBL). The first overall pick in the BAA Draft would be given to the team with the worst record in each conference, while the second and third picks were given to the teams with the second- and third-worst records. The playoffs began afterwards, with three regular season games played before two teams would advance to play in the Finals.
How does it work?
The NBA Finals is the 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 winning team of the NBA Finals receives the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.
The team with the best record in each conference is seeded first and plays the team with the worst record in the first round.
In the NBA Finals, the two best teams in the league compete for the championship. The Finals is a best-of-seven series, meaning that the team who wins four games first wins the series.
The team with the best record in each conference is seeded first and plays the team with the worst record in the first round. The second round matches up the two remaining teams in each conference, and the winners of those series advance to the NBA Finals.
The two teams with the best records in each conference then play each other in the second round.
During the regular season, each team plays 82 games. Out of those games, they play against teams in their own conference either three or four times. They also play half of the teams in the opposite conference twice, and the other half just once. At the end of the regular season, the team with the best record in each conference is seeded first and second. The next four best teams in each conference are seeded third through sixth.
The first round of the playoffs is a best-of-seven series between the fifth and sixth seeds and the seventh and eighth seeds in each conference. The winners of those two series then play each other in the second round. In the second round, the top seed in each conference plays against either the lowest remaining seed from their conference or one of the winners from round one. The second seed also plays one of those teams. The winners of those two series then advance to their respective conference finals.
The Conference Finals are also best-of-seven series between the top two teams from each conference. The winner from each Conference Final advances to the NBA Finals.
The NBA Finals is a best-of-seven series between the Eastern Conference Champion and Western Conference Champion. The team that wins four games first wins the NBA Championship.
The team that wins the second round then advances to the NBA Finals.
As of 2019, the NBA Finals follows a 2-2-1-1-1 format. The first two games are played at the home of the team with the best record during the regular season, and the next two games are played at the home of the other team. If necessary, games five through seven are then played in a row at either set of home arenas. The team with the best record remaining is declared the champion.