When Do The NBA Conference Finals Start?

The NBA Conference Finals are the second round of the NBA Playoffs. The conference finals are a best-of-seven series played between the winners of the NBA’s two conferences, the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference.

Eastern Conference

The Eastern Conference Finals are set to start on May 14th and will be held between the Toronto Raptors and the Milwaukee Bucks.

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of the league’s original eight teams, the team play their home games at TD Garden, which they share with the National Hockey League (NHL)’s Boston Bruins. The Celtics are one of only two NBA teams with a perfect record in NBA Finals appearances, having won nine out of thirteen total appearances, winning their first eight appearance between 1957 and 1966. The Celtics have played more playoff games than any other team in NBA history.

Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. The team was founded in 1995 as part of the NBA’s expansion into Canada, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies. Since their debut, the Raptors have been categorized as an American success story, having made the NBA playoffs 10 times in their 24-season history.

The Raptors never won more than 48 games in a regular season until 2015–16, when they notched 56; that year, they also won their first playoff series and made their first appearance in the Conference Finals. In 2018–19, Toronto recorded their best regular season record with 58 wins and 24 losses. They then won a franchise-record 17 games in a row from December 28, 2018 to January 23, 2019. The streak was stopped by the Indiana Pacers on January 25; nonetheless it was still both franchise records for wins and win streak. They went on to win their first NBA championship that same year after defeating the Golden State Warriors in six games during the 2019 NBA Finals.

Philadelphia 76ers

The Eastern Conference Finals are the NBA playoffs series to determine the champion of the Eastern Conference and face off against the Western Conference champion in the NBA Finals.

The Philadelphia 76ers are currently in first place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 52-30. They will most likely face off against the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Raptors are in second place with a record of 51-31.

Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and play at the Fiserv Forum. Formerly known as the Milwaukee Hawks and the Atlanta Hawks, the team has won one conference title (1971), two division titles (1980, 1981), and 15 playoff appearances since joining the NBA in 1968. They currently hold the best record in the Eastern Conference and havewon all three of their first-round playoff matchups.

Western Conference

The Golden State Warriors are the two-time defending NBA champions, but they will have their work cut out for them if they want to make it to the NBA Finals for a third straight year. The Warriors will have to go through the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Finals.

Golden State Warriors

The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco, California. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 1946 in Philadelphia, the Warriors moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1962 and took the city’s name, before changing its geographic moniker to Golden State in 1971. They play their home games at the Chase Center.

The Warriors won the NBA championship in 1947 and returned to win it again in 1956, led by Hall of Fame trio Paul Arizin, Tom Gola, and Neil Johnston. However, the Warriors would not return to similar heights in Philadelphia until 1975, when they drafted NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Rick Barry from Miami (FL) after winning only 15 games that season. Barry joined Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants a month-long holdout ending just days before Opening Day of his rookie season caused him to miss all 82 games that year; he would go on to win Rookie of the Year honors.

Willard Sheppard had become interim coach in 1968 after witnessing some brutal losses firsthand while serving as Warrior broadcaster. Under Sheppard, Golden State increased its win total by 15 games from 1968–69 and again by nine more games in 1969–70 en route to athen-record 44 wins and first place atop the Pacific Division; however, they were swept by Oscar Robertson’s Milwaukee Bucks team featuring future Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bob Dandridge in the Western Conference Finals. Wilt Chamberlain returned as coach for two more seasons following that, but was unable to duplicate his previous success.

Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets are a professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league’s Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Center, located in downtown Houston. The Rockets have won several championships and are one of the most successful teams in NBA history.

The Rockets were established as the San Diego Rockets, an expansion team originally based in San Diego, in 1967. In 1971, the team was relocated to Houston. The Rockets won only 15 games their debut season as a franchise, and finished last in their division. In 1972, after drafting future All-Star center Elvin Hayes first overall, the franchise posted their first winning record and went to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, but were quickly swept out of the playoffs by the Milwaukee Bucks.

In 1975, after adding center Moses Malone, they advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time but lost to Golden State Warriors. After missing out on making it to back-to-back Finals appearances, they captured back-to-back championships in 1981 and 1982 by defeating both Julius Erving’s Philadelphia 76ers as well as Larry Bird’s Boston Celtics en route to each championship series victory; this is so far the only time any team has ever defeats those two Hall of Fame players in consecutive NBA Finals series’. The team went back into rebuilding mode for much of next decade after their repeat championship successes; though they did make it back to playoffs led by perennial All-Star Clyde Drexler from 1988 onwards. In 1995 withfuture Hall of Famer point guard Clyde Drexlerstill on board (acquired two years prior), they finally made it back to NBA Finals led by All-Star power forward Hakeem Olajuwon; however they were swept by Shaquille O’Neal’s Orlando Magic despite being favored coming into that series.[1] Olajuwon would then be traded to Toronto Raptors during next season amid disagreements with then head coach Rudy Tomjanovich,[2] marking an end of “Twin Towers” era which resulted with two championships earlier in decade.

Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference Northwest Division. The franchise was founded in 1970, and played its home games in Memorial Coliseum before moving to Moda Center in 1995 (called the Rose Garden until 2013). The team has advanced to the NBA Finals three times, winning the NBA championship once in 1977. Their other NBA Finals appearances were in 1990 and 1992.

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder are a professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Thunder competes in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays its home games at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

The Thunder were previously known as the Seattle SuperSonics, an expansion team that joined the NBA for the 1967–68 season. The SuperSonics moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City in 2008 after a settlement was reached between the ownership group led by Clay Bennett and lawmakers in Seattle. In Seattle, the SuperSonics qualified for the NBA playoffs 22 times, won their division six times, and advanced to three NBA Finals, winning the NBA championship in 1979. In Oklahoma City, the Thunder qualified for their first playoff berth during the 2009–10 season. They also won their first division title as well as their first Western Conference championship that same season.