What Happened in the NBA?

A comprehensive analysis of the previous night’s NBA action, highlighting the top performers and biggest storylines.

The NBA Season

The NBA season was full of surprises. The Cleveland Cavaliers lost in the finals, and the Golden State Warriors won the championship.

The regular season

The 2019–20 NBA season was the 74th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 22, 2019 and ended on March 11, 2020. The 2020 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 16, 2020 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.

On March 11, 2020, the NBA announced that it would be suspending the season indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The playoffs

The playoffs began on April 14 and ended on June 19, with the Golden State Warriors defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.

The Warriors set the NBA record for best regular season start by winning their first 24 games. They also broke the record for most wins in a season, finishing with a 73–9 record.

Golden State became the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3–1 deficit in the Finals, as they defeated the Cavaliers in seven games. LeBron James was named Finals MVP for the second straight year.

The NBA Finals

The Toronto Raptors have won the NBA Finals after an exciting game seven. This is the first time that a Canadian team has won the championship. The Raptors were down by one point in the final minutes of the game, but they were able to come back and win it.

The championship series

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 were initially structured in a 2–2–1–1–1 format (the team with the better regular season record plays on their home court for games 1, 2, 5 and 7), which was used until 1985, following which a 2–3–2 format was used until 2013, when the current 3–2–2 format was introduced. Starting in 2020, the Finals will be played in a neutral site format, with games 1, 2, 5 and 7 at the home court of the team with the better regular season record.

The first finals was played between the Rochester Royals and New York Knicks in 1950. Since 1985, when the championship reverted to a best-of-seven game format, each final series has been played in June.

The Eastern Conference has produced more champions than the Western Conference since 1980—the Boston Celtics winning nine times in that timespan compared to five for the Lakers—but except for 2010 and 2014 when these two traditional powers met in The Finals, most recent champions have come from either Chicago (6), San Antonio (5), or Miami (3). Eight different franchises have won all championships since 1980: Lakers (10), Celtics (9), Bulls (6), Spurs (5), Heat (3), Pistons (3), Rockets (2) and Warriors (2). Each of those teams were led by either Hall of Fame players or eventual Hall of Famers. From 1957 to 1969 one franchise appeared more than twice in The Finals: The Celtics winning eight championships during that time frame.

The Finals MVP

The Finals MVP, also known as the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player, is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1969 NBA Finals. The Finals MVP is awarded to the most outstanding player of the four-player team that wins in the NBA Finals; they receive the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award.

Since its inception, the award has been given to 31 players. Michael Jordan is a record six-time recipient. Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James have each won the award on three occasions, while Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard have won it twice. James has been awarded it in each of his ten trips to the NBA Finals, making him the only player to receive the honor in every appearance. Bob Lanier and Jerry West are the only players to win the award while being on the losing team in an NBA Finals series.

The only other player to receive multiple Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Awards is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who won it in 1971 and 1985 with two different teams: The Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers respectively. Willis Reed is the only player who has won both awards in two different years: he was named Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player when he led his New York Knicks team to victory in 1970, then he was named National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player after leading them to a world championship again in 1973 (the Knicks had lost in seven games toMilwaukee).

The Off-Season

It’s been an eventful summer in the NBA with plenty of player movement and storylines to keep us occupied until the season starts. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest things that happened in the NBA this off-season.

Free agency

After the finals, the offseason begins. This is when teams can sign free agents to new contracts. It’s also when trades can happen. The offseason is a busy time for teams and their front offices.

Free agency is when players who are not under contract can sign with any team they want. Players usually wait to see what offers they get before making a decision.

Trades happen during the offseason too. Teams can trade players, draft picks, and other assets to each other. Trades often happen because a team needs to unload salary, or they want to acquire a player that they think can help them win now or in the future.

The draft

The NBA draft is an annual event dating back to 1947 in which the (now thirty) teams from the National Basketball Association (NBA) can draft players who are eligible and wish to join the league. These are typically young players who have recently finished their college basketball careers, although international players are also eligible to be drafted. The draft order is determined by a lottery system, and the selected players are usually introduced at a press conference held at the site of the draft.