How Many Wins Does it Take to Win the NBA Finals?

It takes four wins to take home the NBA Finals trophy. However, in recent years, it seems like the team that wins the most regular season games doesn’t always come out on top.

Introduction

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. Winning four out of seven games is required in order to win the series and be crowned NBA champions.

In recent years, it has been common for teams to win the Finals by winning three games in a row (a “three-peat”), but it is also possible for a team to win the championship by winning four games in a row (a “four-peat”).

The most recent team to win the NBA Finals by winning four games in a row was the Golden State Warriors, who did so in 2018.

The History of the NBA Finals

The National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals is the championship series of the NBA, the world’s top professional basketball league. The annual Finals tournament is a best-of-seven playoff that pits the Eastern Conference against the Western Conference champions.

The winning team of the series receives the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, which was named in honor of former NBA commissioner Larry O’Brien. The current trophy was first awarded in 1984, after O’Brien successfully helped sign a Television Contract that significantly increased revenues for basketball games.

The first ever NBA Finals were played in 1947 between the Philadelphia Warriors and the Chicago Stags, but it wasn’t until 1949 that the finals became a best-of-seven playoff. In 1950, the Minneapolis Lakers became the first team to win back-to-back NBA championships by defeating the Syracuse Nationals in six games.

The Boston Celtics won an unprecedented eight straight NBA Finals between 1959 and 1966. During that time, they also won an astounding 11 championships in 13 years – missing out only in 1974 and 1976 when they lost in seven games to the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns respectively. The Celtics then went on to win two more titles in 1968 and 1969.

The Lakers have been one of the most successful teams in NBA history, appearing in 31 Finals Series – more than any other team. They hold the record for winning 16 championships, which they did between 1947 and 2010.

How Many Wins Does it Take to Win 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 NBA Finals receives the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.

The Number of Games in the NBA Finals

The National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals is the championship series of the NBA. The annual culmination of the NBA playoffs, it pits the winner of the Eastern Conference against the winner of the Western Conference in a best-of-seven showdown.

In 1950, the NBA expanded from 8 to 10 teams with the addition of the Minneapolis Lakers and the Syracuse Nationals. As a result, the NBA Finals was expanded from a best-of-five to a best-of-seven format. In 1953, the NBA increased its number of teams to 12 with the addition of three more teams: The Milwaukee Hawks, Fort Wayne Pistons and Rochester Royals. Consequently, the NBA Finals reverted back to a best-of-five format that lasted until 1957.

In 1967, when both sides had an equal number of wins after five games, for the first time in Finals history, Game 6 was declared a “must win” for both teams. With this rule in place, from 1967 onwards, every Game 7 in an NBA Finals series has been a “must win” for one team or the other.

From 1947 to 1958 inclusive, all Finals were played at neutral sites. From 1959 onwards however, home court advantage in the Finals has alternated between conferences every year. Currently (as of 2019), home court advantage in odd-numbered years belongs to the west division representative while home court advantage in even-numbered years belongs to east division representative.

The length of an NBA Finals series also varies depending on whether or not a team has home court advantage; if one team has home court advantage then they only need to win four games overall to win title (as opposed to five games if they do not have home court advantage). For example, in 2016 when LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers had home court advantage over Draymond Green’s Golden State Warriors, they only needed four victories overall to take out that year’s championship – which they did 4-3. On average, an NBA Finals series will last five or six games although there have been instances where it has gone longer – most notably when it took seven games for James’ Miami Heat to overcome Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers in 2010 and when it took seven games for Green’s Warriors to prevail over LeBron James’ Cavaliers in 2016.

The Number of Wins in the NBA Finals

The National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals is the annual championship series of the NBA. The Eastern and Western conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. Winners of the Finals are awarded the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, which replaced the Walter A. Brown Trophy in 1983.

Since 1947, when the NBA was founded, there have been 67 Finals held (an average of 2.9 per year). Out of those 67 Finals, 32 were won by the team with home court advantage (HCA), more than any other single factor. In other words, almost half (48%) of all NBA Finals have been won by the team with HCA.

The number of wins needed to win the NBA Finals has varied over time. In the early years of the NBA, from 1947 to 1957, it took as few as three wins to win the championship (the minimum possible). From 1958 to 1971, it took four wins; from 1972 to 1975, it took five wins; and from 1976 onward, it has taken six wins.

So far, only two teams have ever won the NBA Finals without having HCA at some point during the series: the 1969 Boston Celtics and the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers. In both cases, these teams won Game 7 on the road.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it takes four wins to win the NBA Finals.