Where Are The NBA Finals Being Played?
Contents
- The NBA Finals are 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 NBA Finals have been played at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, home of the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, since 2000.
- In 2014, the Finals returned to its original 2–2–1–1–1 format (the team with the better regular season record plays on their home court in Games 1, 2, 5 and 7) after the 2013 Finals were played in the 2–3–2 format (the team with the better regular season record plays on their home court in Games 1, 2, 6 and 7), which was used in 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997 and 1999.
- The best-of-seven format was originally introduced in the 1949 NBA Finals, when the Minneapolis Lakers defeated the Washington Capitols four games to two. The Eastern and Western Division champions played each other in the first round of the playoffs, with the divisional winners proceeding to the NBA Finals. In 1954, the 1954 NBA Finals became the first Finals to use the 2-2-1-1-1 format, when the Boston Celtics defeated the Syracuse Nationals in seven games.
- The NBA Finals have been played at the following venues:
The 2020 NBA Finals will be held in the Orlando, Florida area at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
The NBA Finals are 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 NBA Finals are 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 Finals were originally established in 1947, when the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL) merged to form the NBA. The first Finals was played between the BAA’s Minneapolis Lakers and the NBL’s Rochester Royals, with Minneapolis winning four games to three. Since that time, the Finals have been played every year except for 1950 and 1999, when professional basketball was canceled due to labor disputes.
The Finals are widely considered to be one of the most important basketball tournaments in the world, with many of the greatest players having played in it. It is also one of the most watched sporting events in the United States, with television ratings for recent Finals games consistently being among the highest for any program on American television.
The NBA Finals have been played at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, home of the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, since 2000.
The NBA Finals are 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 series receives the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.
The Finals were first established in 1947, when the Basketball Association of America (BBA) and the National Basketball League (NBL) merged to create one professional basketball league. The first Finals were played between the Philadelphia Warriors and the Chicago Stags, with the Warriors winning the series four games to one. The NBA Finals has been played every year since 1947, except for 1950 when there was no champion crowned due to a players’ strike.
The NBA Finals has been played at several different venues throughout its history. From 1947-1955, the Finals were played at various arenas around the United States; in 1956, it was held at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada; and from 1957-1999, it alternated between various arenas in cities that had an NBA team. In 2000, the Finals settled in Los Angeles, California, where they have been held at Staples Center ever since.
In 2014, the Finals returned to its original 2–2–1–1–1 format (the team with the better regular season record plays on their home court in Games 1, 2, 5 and 7) after the 2013 Finals were played in the 2–3–2 format (the team with the better regular season record plays on their home court in Games 1, 2, 6 and 7), which was used in 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997 and 1999.
Since the 2-3-2 format was instituted in 1985, home teams have gone on to win the NBA Finals 12 times out of a possible 19. In the 1990s, when Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were winning championships seemingly at will, they went 6-0 in NBA Finals played on their home court. The only road team to win under the 2-3-2 format was the Houston Rockets, who did it twice: first in 1995 against Orlando, and then again in 2017 against Golden State.
But even with the 2-3-2 format seemingly tilted in favor of the home team, there have been some memorable moments for road teams. In 1988, the Lakers won Game 7 in Detroit to complete a comeback from a 0-2 deficit in the series. And in 2000, the New Jersey Nets won Game 5 in Los Angeles to take a 3-2 lead back home to New Jersey. The Lakers would ultimately come back to win that series in six games.
The current NBA Finals format – 2-2-1-1-1 – has been in place since 1984. It gives an extra game to the team with home court advantage, but also makes it possible for a road team to steal a game or two early on and put pressure on the home team throughout the rest of the series.
The best-of-seven format was originally introduced in the 1949 NBA Finals, when the Minneapolis Lakers defeated the Washington Capitols four games to two. The Eastern and Western Division champions played each other in the first round of the playoffs, with the divisional winners proceeding to the NBA Finals. In 1954, the 1954 NBA Finals became the first Finals to use the 2-2-1-1-1 format, when the Boston Celtics defeated the Syracuse Nationals in seven games.
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. Prior to the 1950 NBA Finals, the round-robin tournament format was used to determine the champions of the Western Division and Eastern Division. The 1949 NBA Finals was the first four-team tournament, involving the Western Division champion Minneapolis Lakers, the Eastern Division champion Washington Capitols, the runner-up for each division, and a fourth team based on winning percentage. In 1950, three more teams qualified for what became a seven-team tournament; thus each conference’s bracket played out as follows:
Round one (best-of-three series):
3rd seed vs. 6th seed
4th seed vs. 5th seed
Round two (best-of-three series):
1st seed vs. 4th/5th seed winner
2nd seed vs 3rd seed winner
NBA Finals (best-of-seven series):
Western Conference champion vs. Eastern Conference champion
The NBA Finals have been played at the following venues:
The NBA Finals are 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 series receives the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.