Who Is Going To The NBA Finals?
Find out which teams are playing in the NBA Finals and who is predicted to win.
The teams
The four teams that are going to the NBA Finals this year are the Golden State Warriors, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Houston Rockets, and the Boston Celtics. These are all great teams that have worked hard to get to this point. Let’s take a look at each team’s chances of winning.
The Los Angeles Lakers
Many experts say that the Los Angeles Lakers are one of the best teams in the NBA and have a good chance of making it to the NBA Finals. The team is led by LeBron James, who is considered by many to be the best player in the world. The Lakers also have a number of other star players, including Anthony Davis and Kyle Kuzma.
The Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league’s Western Conference. The Clippers play their home games at Staples Center, an arena they share with fellow NBA team the Los Angeles Lakers, as well as the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).
The franchise was founded in 1970 as the Buffalo Braves, and relocated to San Diego, California, in 1978. In 1984, the Braves franchise moved to Los Angeles. The Clippers began playing in 1985. Through much of its history, it was associated with poor management and finances. Since the turn of the century, however, the franchise has been much more successful under current owner Steve Ballmer.
Ballmer purchased the team in 2014 for $2 billion, making it then the most expensive NBA franchise sale in history. Beginning in 2019 under head coach Doc Rivers, led by Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, Los Angeles made it to their first ever finals appearance in 2020.
The Milwaukee Bucks
This is a team that no one wants to play. They have the best record in the NBA and have lost only four games at home all season. They are led by MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is averaging 29 points and 13 rebounds per game. The Bucks also have a deep bench and are one of the best defensive teams in the league.
The 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 club of the league’s Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA’s expansion into Canada. When the Grizzlies relocated to Memphis, Tennessee to become the Memphis Grizzlies in 2001, the Raptors became the only Canadian-based team in the NBA.
The Raptors play their home games at Scotiabank Arena, which they share with their primary rivals, the Boston Celtics. The team was founded by Bitove and Wishnick as part of MLSE’s bid for a 28th NBA franchise and therefore are currently owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd.
The players
The two best teams in the NBA are the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers. These teams have the best players in the league. The Warriors have Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. The Cavaliers have LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love.
LeBron James
LeBron Raymone James Sr. (/ləˈbrɒn/; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is widely considered to be one of the greatest basketball players in NBA history. Discussions ranking him as the greatest player of all time have often occurred and do so currently, with James leading all players in All-Star appearances and All-NBA First and Second Team selections. His accomplishments include four NBA Most Valuable Player Awards, four NBA Finals MVP Awards, three Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Awards, two Olympic gold medals, an NBA championship, and the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. Many players and analysts believe that he is currently playing at the greatest level of his career. In 2020, he won his fourth NBA title with the Lakers after defeating the Miami Heat in six games during the 2020 NBA Finals, becoming one of only two players in league history to win at least four championships with three different franchises. James holds many league records including scoring average (27.1 points per game), playoff scoring average (28.9 points per game), and career regular season assists (10,642).
Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi Anthony Leonard (/kəˈwaɪ/, born June 29, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played two seasons of college basketball for San Diego State University, and was named a consensus second-team All-American as a sophomore. Leonard was selected by the Indiana Pacers with the 15th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft, but was traded to the San Antonio Spurs on draft night. He quickly became one of the best wing defenders in the NBA, winning NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2015 and 2016. Offensively, he evolved into a prolific scoring threat, leading the league in scoring in 2020. A two-time NBA champion, Leonard was named Finals MVP in 2014 and 2019. He has been selected to five NBA All-Star teams and four All-NBA teams.
Leonard grew up in Riverside, California and played high school basketball for Martin Luther King High School before transferring to Canyon Springs High School his junior year. As a junior college freshman at Riverside Community College, he was named a first-team all-conference player in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA). After one season at San Diego State University, he was selected by Indiana with the 15th overall pick in 2011. missed most of his rookie season due to injury but returned healthy for 2012–13; he became an important part of head coach Gregg Popovich’s rotation and led San Antonio to victory over Miami Heat in the 2014 NBA Finals, earning him his first championship ring as well as Finals MVP honors. The Spurs rewarded him with a fourth contract extension before the start of 2014–15; however he only played nine games that season due to a right quadriceps tendinopathy that later developed into a partial tear during rehabbing process. In 2017–18 regular season’s game against Denver Nuggets on January 13th, Leonard severely injured his left ankle before departing permanently from lineup again due to injury setback even after trying to come back from injury multiple times throughout next two seasons until finally being traded along with Danny Green to Toronto Raptors on July 18th, 2018 for package including DeMar DeRozan amongst other players and later went on leading Raptors to their maiden NBA Championship while being awarded his second Finals MVP trophy during 2019 playoffs after defeating Golden State Warriors 4–2 in 2019 Finals series , making him only third player ever after Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan to win back-to-back Finals MVPs while being part of different teams . On July 6th, 2019 , Leonard became unrestricted free agent after declining player option for final year of his contract with Raptors before signing US$103 million four years deal with Los Angeles Clippers nine days later along with fellow superstar Paul George coming over from Oklahoma City Thunder via trade .
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo was born on December 6, 1994, in Athens, Greece, to Charles and Veronica Antetokounmpo. The youngest of four boys, Giannis grew up poor in the neighborhood of Sepolia. His father, a former Nigerian soccer player, died of a heart attack when Giannis was just 12 years old, leaving his mother to raise the family on her own. Basketball was always Giannis’s favorite sport, and he began playing competitively at a young age. As a teenager, he began attracting attention from professional scouts. In 2013, at the age of 18, he was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 15th overall pick in the NBA Draft.
Giannis made his NBA debut during the 2013-14 season and quickly established himself as a premier player in the league. He was named an All-Star for the first time in 2017 and has been selected to four consecutive All-Star teams (2017-2020). In 2019, he was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year and led the Bucks to their best record in franchise history (60-22). He was also named the NBA Most Valuable Player that same year.
Giannis and the Bucks are currently locked in a battle with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers for a spot in the 2020 NBA Finals.
Pascal Siakam
Pascal Siakam is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for New Mexico State University. Siakam was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2019.
The coaches
The two coaches in the NBA Finals are Doc Rivers of the Los Angeles Clippers and Tyronn Lue of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Frank Vogel
Frank Vogel was born in New Jersey in 1973. He played Division III college basketball at Juniata College, and then began his coaching career as an assistant at the University of Kentucky. He was an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics from 2001 to 2004, and then became head coach of the Celtics’ NBA Development League team, the Maine Red Claws, in 2009. In 2010, Vogel became head coach of the Indiana Pacers, and led them to the playoffs every year from 2011 to 2016. In 2015 and 2016, he was named NBA Coach of the Year.
Doc Rivers
Head coach Doc Rivers of the Boston Celtics watches from the sideline as his team takes on the Miami Heat during their game at American Airlines Arena on February 27, 2020 in Miami, Florida. The Celtics defeated the Heat 112-93.
(Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
Rivers is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach of the LA Clippers. He was born in 1961 in Chicago, Illinois and played college basketball at Marquette University. He was drafted into the NBA in 1983 and spent 12 seasons playing for several teams, including the Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers, and New York Knicks. He retired from playing in 1996 and became a head coach, first for the Orlando Magic and then for the Boston Celtics. He won an NBA Championship with the Celtics in 2008. He joined the LA Clippers in 2013 and has been their head coach since then.
Mike Budenholzer
Mike Budenholzer (born November 28, 1969) is an American professional basketball coach who is the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously served as the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks from 2013 to 2018. He was also an assistant coach for several NBA teams, most notably the San Antonio Spurs from 1996 to 2013. In 2014, he was named NBA Coach of the Year.
Budenholzer has been credited with helping to develop the Spurs’ ball movement offense which has been adopted by several other teams. He also helped popularize the use of statistics in basketball through his blog, Buckets and Dimes.
Budenholzer was born and raised in Holmen, Wisconsin and played college basketball at Division III Pomona College in Claremont, California. He began his coaching career as a video coordinator for the Spurs before being promoted to assistant coach in 1996. He held various roles on Gregg Popovich’s coaching staff until 2013, when he was hired by the Hawks. In his first season with Atlanta, he led the team to a franchise-record 60 wins and won NBA Coach of the Year. However, the Hawks failed to make it past the Eastern Conference Finals during his tenure and he was fired in 2018 after five seasons.
Nick Nurse
Nurse was born in 1961 in Carroll, Iowa. He played college basketball at Northern Iowa, graduating in 1983. He began his coaching career as head coach of Grand View College in Des Moines, Iowa from 1989 to 1992. In 1992, he became an assistant coach at Southwestern Community College in Creston, Iowa. He held that position until 1995 when he took an assistant coaching job at the University of Mississippi under Rod Barnes. He was promoted to associate head coach in 2000. After Barnes was fired in 2006, Nurse became the interim head coach for Ole Miss for their final five games.[1]
In 2007, Nurse returned to Europe for a second time, this time as head coach of Benetton Treviso of the Italian Serie A League. In his one season with Treviso, Nurse guided them to a 23-11 record and a berth in the EuroCup.[2]
On June 6, 2013, Nurse returned to the NBA as an assistant under Dwane Casey with the Toronto Raptors.[3] When Casey was fired after the 2018–19 season, Nurse was promoted to head coach on June 14, 2019.[4][5]
The match-ups
In the East, it’s the Toronto Raptors vs the Milwaukee Bucks. In the West, it’s the Golden State Warriors vs the Portland Trail Blazers. Who’s going to come out on top?
Lakers vs. Clippers
The 2019-20 NBA regular season is over. The Los Angeles Lakers are the Western Conference champions and will take on the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat in the 2020 NBA Finals.
This will be the first time in NBA history that two teams from the same city will face each other in the NBA Finals.
The Lakers finished the regular season with a record of 52-19, while the Clippers finished 49-23.
Bucks vs. Raptors
The Toronto Raptors and the Milwaukee Bucks both had great seasons. They are now facing each other in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. The winner of this series will go on to the NBA Finals.
The Raptors had the best record in the NBA this season. They are led by Kawhi Leonard, who is one of the best players in the league. Leonard is averaging 31.2 points per game in these playoffs. The Raptors also have a lot of other good players, including Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam.
The Bucks had the second-best record in the NBA this season. They are led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is one of the best players in the league. Antetokounmpo is averaging 27.7 points per game in these playoffs. The Bucks also have a lot of other good players, including Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton.
This should be a great series between two teams that are evenly matched. It will be very difficult to predict who will win this series.
The predictions
We are just a few weeks away from the NBA Finals and the predictions are already pouring in. The Los Angeles Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks are the two favourites to make it to the Finals. But who will win it all?
ESPN
Sports commentators from ESPN have released their predictions for the NBA Finals. They unanimously agree that the Golden State Warriors will be returning to the Finals to face off against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Warriors are currently the reigning champions, and they have made it to the Finals for three consecutive years. They have also won two of those three championship titles. The Cavaliers, on the other hand, are looking to make their fourth consecutive appearance in the Finals.
The analysts believe that these two teams are head and shoulders above the rest of the league and that it would be a huge surprise if any other teams make it to the Finals.
Bleacher Report
The Golden State Warriors are going to the NBA Finals.
This is according to Bleacher Report, which is citing “multiple sources” in its report.
The Warriors are currently the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference with a 67-15 record. They are led by Stephen Curry, who is averaging 31.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game.
The Finals will begin on June 4 and will air on ABC.
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media franchise owned byTime Inc. Its self-titled magazine has over 3 million subscribers and is published weekly, while its website has over 70 million unique visitors per month.
The magazine was first published in August 1954, making it one of the oldest sports magazines in America. It covers all major professional and collegiate sports, with an emphasis on basketball, football, baseball, and college basketball. The magazine also features stories on various cultural and political issues affecting the sport of basketball.
CBS Sports
It’s that time of year again. The time when the best basketball players in the world compete for the ultimate prize – an NBA championship.
This year, there are a few teams that stand out as contenders for the title. The Golden State Warriors are, of course, at the top of the list. They have won three championships in the last four years, and they show no signs of slowing down. The Houston Rockets and the Boston Celtics are also strong contenders, with both teams boasting impressive rosters and strong records this season.
Of course, anything can happen in the playoffs, and there are always underdog teams that manage to make a deep run. But based on what we’ve seen so far this season, it looks like the NBA Finals will be a battle between some of the league’s best teams.
