Who Won the NBA Championship in 2014?

The 2014 NBA Finals were the championship series of the 2013–14 season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Western Conference champions, the San Antonio Spurs, defeated the Eastern Conference champions, the Miami Heat, four games to one in a best-of-seven series. This was the fifth NBA Finals appearance for the Spurs since 1999, and the fourth for the Heat since 2006. For the Spurs, it was their fifth NBA championship, tying them with the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers

The 2014 NBA Finals

The 2014 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2013–14 season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs defeated the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat in five games (4–1) for the Spurs’ fifth NBA championship in franchise history. The series was played between June 5 and June 15, 2014, and was broadcast on ABC.

The teams

The 2014 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2013–14 season of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the conclusion of the season’s playoffs. The Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs defeated the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat 4 games to 1. The Spurs outscored the Heat in the series by an average of 15.2 points per game, becoming just the sixth team in NBA Finals history to win a championship despite being outscored by their opponent in the series.

The Spurs took home court advantage in the series by virtue of having a better regular season record than the Heat. This was San Antonio’s fifth NBA championship, and marked Miami’s fourth consecutive appearance in the NBA Finals. ForLeBron James, it was his fifth trip to the NBA Finals in his ten-year career, but his first without former teammate Dwyane Wade. In addition, both teams had previously met four times in NBA Finals games, with Miami winning in 2006 and 2007, while San Antonio won championships in 1999 and 2003; needless to say, each team was very familiar with their opponent.

The 2014 NBA Finals were televised on ABC for a 17th consecutive year. Joe Buck and Mike Breen called the action for Games 1–5; Jeff Van Gundy served as a courtside analyst and Doris Burke as sideline reporter through Game 4, when she took over as lead sideline reporter for Game 5 due to Erin Andrews being assigned to Major League Baseball coverage at Fox Sports. Mark Jackson and Mike Fratello served as commentators for Games 3–5; during Games 1 and 2 Jackson filled in for Van Gundy as courtside analyst due to Van Gundy attending his daughter’s high school graduation.[9] Chris Mullin joined Jackson and Fratello as commentators for Game 3,[10][11] while Hubie Brown joined Mullin on Game 4.[12][13] Craig Sager served as sideline reporter for all five games; he died on December 15, 2016 after battling acute myeloid leukemia since April 2014.

The series

The 2014 NBA Finals were the championship series of the 2013–14 season of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the conclusion of the season’s playoffs. The Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs defeated the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat in five games (4–1) for the Spurs’ fifth NBA championship in franchise history. This marked the second time that these two teams met in the NBA Finals, after their matchup in 2005. Despite losing, Heat star LeBron James was named as MVP for a record-tying fourth time.

The Spurs outscored the Heat in three of their four victories, with only Game 3 being decided by less than ten points. TV ratings on ABC hit a 6-year low, due to lopsided games and LeBron James’ early exit from Game 1 with cramps, but rebounded as the series went on. The Finals were played using a 2–3–2 site format, meaning that Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 were played at AT&T Center in San Antonio while Games 3, 4 and 6 were played at American Airlines Arena in Miami. It was only necessary for American Airlines Arena to host a Finals game in odd numbered years due to NBA scheduling rules requiring that all arenas used during an NBA Finals be vacant for at least 30 days before hoisting Championship banners; because American Airlines Arena had just hosted WrestleMania XXX on April 6th, 2014 (which was 29 days before Game 3), it necessitated that South Florida host no more than three games this season.

This was also notable as it was San Antonio’s firsttitle since 1999 when Tim Duncan and David Robinson won their 2nd and final championship together; this would also prove to be Duncan’s final title before his eventual retirement in 2016.

The 2014 NBA Playoffs

The teams

In the 2014 NBA Playoffs, a total of 16 teams competed in the postseason tournament. The teams were:

Eastern Conference:
-Atlanta Hawks
-Boston Celtics
-Brooklyn Nets
-Charlotte Hornets
-Chicago Bulls
-Cleveland Cavaliers
-Dallas Mavericks
-Denver Nuggets
-Detroit Pistons
-Golden State Warriors
-Houston Rockets
-Indiana Pacers
-Los Angeles Clippers
-Los Angeles Lakers Memphis Grizzlies Miami Heat Milwaukee Bucks Minnesota Timberwolves New Orleans Pelicans New York Knicks Oklahoma City Thunder Orlando Magic Philadelphia 76ers Phoenix Suns Portland Trail Blazers Sacramento Kings San Antonio Spurs Toronto Raptors Utah Jazz Washington Wizards

The series

The 2014 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association’s 2013-14 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs defeating the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals. Kawhi Leonard was named as the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.

The 2014 NBA Finals MVP

The 2014 NBA Finals were the championship series of the 2013–14 season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs defeated the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat in five games for the Spurs’ fifth NBA championship in franchise history.

The finalists

The three finalists for the 2014 NBA Finals MVP were San Antonio Spurs’ small forward Kawhi Leonard, Miami Heat’s shooting guard Dwyane Wade, and LeBron James. All three players had great performances throughout the series, but only one could be crowned the MVP.

Kawhi Leonard was named the 2014 NBA Finals MVP. He averaged 17.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game throughout the series. His outstanding defense was a big reason why the Spurs were able to win the championship.

Dwyane Wade averaged 19.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game in the finals. He shot 50% from the field and was a big part of the Heat’s offense.

LeBron James averaged 28.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game in the finals. He shot 56% from the field and was a force on both ends of the court.

The winner

The 2014 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2013–14 season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs defeated the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat in five games (4–1) for the Spurs’ fifth NBA championship in franchise history. The series was played between June 5 and June 15, 2014, and was televised on ABC.

San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard was named the Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP), becoming the third Spur to be named MVP after Tim Duncan in 1999 and 2003.