Who Won the NBA Title Last Year?

We take a look at who won the NBA title last year and what it means for this year’s competition.

The NBA Finals

The NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)’s 2019–20 season. The Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat four games to two in a best-of-seven format.

The teams

In the NBA Finals, the two remaining teams face off in a best-of-seven series. The team with the better record in the regular season gets home-court advantage, meaning that if the series goes to seven games, four of them will be played at their home arena.

The Finals used to be played in June, but since 1985, they have been played in July. The reason for this is that the NBA wants to avoid competing with the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament, which is held in March and April.

The current format of the Finals was introduced in 2014. Prior to that, there were three rounds of best-of-seven series: the first round was between the conference finalists who did not have a bye; the second round was between the conference finalists who did have a bye and the winner of the first round; and the NBA Finals were between the winners of those two rounds.

The players

Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson, dubbed the “Big Three” led the Warriors to their fifth NBA Finals appearance in franchise history in 2017. Their opponent were the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers. This matchup was the third consecutive Finals meeting between the two teams, with each winning one series apiece.

The Warriors came into the 2017 Finals averaging 115.2 points per game during the playoffs (the second most in NBA history), while surrendering 102.3 points per game (sixth fewest). They entered Game 1 seeking to become the first team since the 2001 Los Angeles Lakers to average more than 115 points per game in the playoffs and win the NBA championship.

The Cavaliers averaged 109.8 points per game during their playoff run (ninth in NBA history), while allowing 99.4 points per game (third fewest). They also sought to become just the sixth team ever to average less than 110 points per game in a playoff run and win an NBA championship, and just the second since 1955–56 (joining the 2005–06 Miami Heat).

In total, four Warriors players (Green, Durant, Curry, and Thompson) and three Cavaliers players (James, Irving, and Love) were named as All-Stars for their respective conference teams prior to these Finals.

The Championship

The championship is the highlight of the NBA season. The best teams from each conference go head-to-head in a best-of-seven series. The team that wins four games is crowned the NBA champion. Last year, the Golden State Warriors won the title.

The game

The championship is the annual game that decides who wins the NBA title. The title has been held by a different team every year since the league was founded in 1946. The championship is a best-of-seven series played between the two teams with the best regular-season record in each conference, with the winner of each series advancing to the finals.

The celebration

The championship is the pinnacle of any basketball season. The best teams battle it out over a seven-game series to decide who will be crowned the NBA champion.

The team that wins the championship receives a gold-plated trophy, which is presented to them by the Commissioner of the NBA. They also receive championship rings, which are given to every player and staff member on the team.

The winning team’s name is engraved on the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, which is kept at the NBA office in New York City. A replica of the trophy is given to the winning team to keep permanently.

The Aftermath

The Golden State Warriors have won the NBA title for the third time in four years. This was an amazing feat, but it came at a cost. The Warriors were injury-plagued throughout the playoffs and lost two key players, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, to serious injuries.

The trade

In a surprise move, the Golden State Warriors traded superstar guard Stephen Curry to the Dallas Mavericks. The two-time NBA MVP was the face of the Warriors franchise, but with his contract up at the end of the season and Golden State rebuilding, they decided to move on from him. In return for Curry, the Mavericks gave up a package of young players and future draft picks.

The retirement

Kobe Bryant, who won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, announced his retirement from professional basketball on November 29, 2015.

“This season is all I have left to give,” he wrote in a letter published on The Players’ Tribune website. “My heart can take the pounding. My mind can handle the grind but my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.”

Bryant, who was drafted out of high school by the Charlotte Hornets in 1996 and traded to the Lakers on draft night, spent his entire 20-year career with Los Angeles. He was a 18-time All-Star and 12-time member of the All-NBA first team.

In May 2016, after a highly publicized court case, Bryant settled a sexual assault case that had been pending against him for more than a decade.