How Many Games in the NBA Finals?

Contents

Introduction
History of the NBA Finals
How Many Games in the NBA Finals?
Conclusion

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.

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Introduction

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 winning team of the NBA Finals receives the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, which was named in honor of former NBA commissioner Larry O’Brien. The trophy is made of 24-karat gold, silver and bronze, and it weighs around 15 pounds.

Since the formation of the NBA in 1947, there have been 71 Finals series played. The first 67 were played in a 2–2–1–1–1 format (the team with the better record playing on their home court for games 1, 2, 5 and 7), while games 3, 4 and 6 were played at a predetermined neutral site. This changed starting with the 1968 Finals, when the league adopted the current 2–3–2 format (the team with the better record playing on their home court for games 1, 2, 6 and 7), where the first two and last two games are played at the home court of team with the better record while games 3–5 are played at a predetermined neutral site.

History of the NBA Finals

The National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals is the championship series of the NBA, played between the Eastern and Western conference champions. The Finals have been played every year since 1947, except in 1949, 1953, 1954, and 1959. When the playoffs were created in 1947, the Finals were a best-of-seven series; all but two leagues that currently use best-of-seven series for their playoff finals (the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball) have since done so. The last 2 games of each Finals are now held at a neutral site.

The first Finals was played between the Western Conference champion Chicago Stags and the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia Warriors, with the Warriors winning 4 games to 2. The next year, 1948, saw the birth of two basketball dynasties: The Lakers and Knicks. At that time, those two franchises were in different conferences; therefore they could not meet in the Finals until 1970. In 1949, after relocating from Detroit to Minneapolis, the Lakers won their first NBA Championship by defeating the Washington Capitols 4 games to 2; this would be the last time an NBA Finals would not be played between two teams from the same conference until 1984. From 1950 to 1970 inclusive, every single NBA Finals was contested by one of just three teams: The Knicks ( who won in 1970), Lakers ( who won in 1952, 1953, 1972), or Celtics ( who won in 1957 and 1959).

How Many Games in 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, which is named after former NBA commissioner Larry O’Brien.

The first NBA Finals was played in 1947 between the Philadelphia Warriors and the Chicago Stags, but the league did not adopt the name “NBA Finals” until 1949. Since then, the finals has been played every year except for 1950 and 1995. In 1998, the NBA expanded from 30 to 32 teams with the addition of the Vancouver Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors. As a result, four teams from each conference now qualify for the playoffs.

The NBA Finals was originally established as a best-of-five series in 1947, but was changed to a best-of-seven format in 1949. The number of games has been fi xed at seven since 1985, when it was increased from five.

The current format of the NBA Finals is 2-2-1-1-1, meaning that one team will host Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 (if necessary), while the other team will host Games 3, 4 and 6 (if necessary).