Who Are The Two Teams In The Nba Finals?

The 2017 NBA Finals will feature the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league’s Western Conference Pacific Division.

Team History

The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference in the Pacific Division. The Lakers play their home games at Staples Center, an arena shared with the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).

The franchise began with the 1947 purchase of a disbanded team, the Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League (NBL). The new team began play in Minneapolis, calling themselves the Minneapolis Lakers. Initially a member of the NBL, the Lakers won five NBL championships before joining 21 other NBL, Basketball Association of America, and National Basketball League teams to form the NBA. Through early struggles, followed by years of success, and more struggles,the franchise has attempted to rebuild itself repeatedly. The franchise has won 16 NBA championships,[10][11] including their first in Minneapolis after relocating from Minneapolis to Los Angeles.

Their first Western Conference championship came in 1949, followed by another in 1950—the team’s last year in Minneapolis. Moving into L.A.’s Inglewood High School Gymnasium while their permanent home court was being constructed at nearby Inglewood Forum,[12] they would win four more titles between 1952 and 1954 while playing at Inglewood; they also won a then-record 33-game winning streak during that period.[13][14] Led by Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, L.A. made eight straight Finals appearances from 1958–65.[15] This is also tied for second-most appearances of any team behind only Boston with 21 appearances overall.[16] They would then win five Championships between 1962–1972; this is also tied for second-most Championships for any team behind only Boston with 17 Championships overall.[10][11]

With former head coach Phil Jackson at helm during this time, they would win four more titles between 2000 and 2010; this gave them a total of 15 Championships which ties them with Boston as second-most all-time.[10][11][17] After Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal’s exodus following their losses to Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs respectively; following years of mediocrity led by head coaches Rudy Tomjanovich[18] and Mike D’Antoni,[19][20] they returned to NBA Finals glory by winning back to back championships against Boston Celtics (2008) and Orlando Magic (2009).[21][22] During that time they also managed to acquire All-Star Pau Gasol from Memphis Grizzlies while still maintaining young talents such as Jordan Farmar,[23][24] Andrew Bynum[25], Sasha Vujacic[26], Josh Powell[27]. Head coach Jackson decided to retire after 2010 season ending his second threepeat with them thereby allowing assistant coach Kurt Rambis[28], who was previously interim head coach during 1999 lockout season where he led them to 37-45 record,[29]to take over as full time head coach but was ultimately unsuccessful causing him to be fired after just two seasons finishing with 56-108 record.[30]. In 2012 they acquired All Star center Dwight Howard from Orlando Magic while still having young talents such as Bynum,[31][32] Gasol[33], Steve Nash[34], Metta World Peace[35]. Under new head coach Mike Brown,[36][37](previously assistant coach under Jackson during their second threepeat)[38], however lack of cohesion both on court and off court led them to disappointing first round playoff exit against eventual champions San Antonio Spurs.[39]. Having failed to do so Brown was ultimately fired five games into 2012–13 season leading assistant Bernie Bickerstaff[40]-who had previously served as interim head coach on numerous occasions throughout his career-[41],to take over as interim head coach before eventually promoting D’Antoni as permanent head coach weeks later.[42].

Notable Players

The Los Angeles Lakers are a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They play in the Western Conference’s Pacific Division. The Lakers have won 16 NBA championships, their last being in 2010.

Some notable players for the Lakers include Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Shaquille O’Neal.

The Miami Heat

The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Southeast Division. They play their home games at the American Airlines Arena.

Team History

The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Southeast Division. They play their home games at the American Airlines Arena in downtown Miami. The team owner is Micky Arison, while Pat Riley serves as the team president and head coach.

The Heat were formed in 1988 as an expansion team, and won their first game on October 29, 1988, against the Los Angeles Clippers. Since then, they have gone on to win three NBA championships (2012, 2013, and 2020), and have appeared in the Finals six times (2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2020), going 2–4. They have also won two Eastern Conference titles (2011 and 2012). In addition to their three championships, they also reached the NBA Finals in 2006 and 2020.

Notable Players

The Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida. The Heat competes in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The Heat play their home games at American Airlines Arena, and have won three NBA championships.

The franchise began play in 1988 as an expansion team, where they qualified for the playoffs in their first season led by head coach Pat Riley. Riley would be the team’s head coach from their inception until 1996, when he took over as team president, a position he still holds today. In just their third season, with longtime star center Alonzo Mourning and rookie forward Glen Rice leading the way, the Heat would win their first NBA Championship in franchise history. After winning another title in 2006 with Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade leading the way, the Heat would cement themselves as one of the NBA’s most dominant teams of the late 2000s and 2010s by winning another NBA championship in 2012 with Wade and LeBron James leading the charge. The duo would go on to lead the Heat to 4 consecutive NBA Finals appearances.

The Finals

The two teams in the NBA Finals are the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat. The Lakers are the defending champions, having won the championship in 2020. The Heat are making their first appearance in the finals since 2014.

Schedule

The 2019 NBA Finals will be the championship series of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) 2018–19 season and conclusion of the season’s playoffs. In the best-of-seven playoff series, the Eastern Conference champion Toronto Raptors will play against the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors, with the Warriors looking to repeat as NBA champions after winning three of the last four NBA Finals. The Finals will begin on May 30, 2019, and will end no later than June 16, 2019.

The Raptors earned their first ever berth in the Finals after defeating the Milwaukee Bucks in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals. The team is making its first appearance in a major North American sports championship since their Major League Baseball counterparts, the Toronto Blue Jays, won their second World Series title in 1993. They finished with a 58–24 record during the regular season and are led by All-Star small forward Kawhi Leonard as well as veteran point guard Kyle Lowry.

The Warriors qualified for their fifth consecutive trip to the Finals after surviving a Game 7 against the Houston Rockets in which they came back from a 3–2 deficit in the Western Conference Finals. They went 57–25 during the regular season, led by Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Durant was named MVP for his performances throughout the playoffs.

How to Watch

The NBA Finals will air on ABC for the 18th consecutive year. Mike Breen will return as the play-by-play announcer, with Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson serving as analysts. Lisa Salters will be the sideline reporter. All games will also be available on the ESPN App.