NBA champions: all the winners in history

From the first to the last. This article serves to remember all the champions and runners-up that make up the NBA golden list, as well as the historical details essential to understanding the data. In this article we detail everything necessary to know the NBA champions in the context of the history of the competition and here you have direct links to the main sections.

The last NBA champions

The Denver Nuggets won the first title in their history on the eve of the summer of 2023. After more than five decades as a franchise and 47 years in the NBA, the Colorado team beat Miami Heat 4-1 after an overwhelming playoffs in which they finished with one of the best balances in two decades - 16-4 - and an incontestable final 10-1 to eliminate the Suns, Lakers y Heat.

The Golden State Warriors won their seventh NBA title in June 2022 – fourth in eight years – after beating another historic franchise in the league, the Boston Celtics. Led by Stephen Curry, the Warriors became the first team in history to win the trophy two years after being the worst team of the season.

The Milwaukee Bucks won their second NBA championship in July 2021 after the most complicated season in the history of the league due to the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, beating a surprising Phoenix Suns in the Finals who had not qualified for the playoffs in ten years.

Los Angeles Lakers He won his seventeenth NBA championship in October 2020 in the middle of the so-called NBA bubble, the place that the league prepared to be able to finish the campaign that had to be paralyzed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Toronto Raptors won their first NBA title in the 2018-19 season, the 24th of the Canadian franchise's existence. The team of the We The North and his locker room motto AMJ He thus became the first not located in the United States to win the big prize of the NBA campaign thanks to the effectiveness of his team led by Kawhi Leonard on the court and Nick Nurse in the offices.

NBA history and champion franchises

Of the 20 franchises that have ever won an NBA title, 19 are still active, with the sole exception of the first Baltimore Bullets, dissolved in 1954. From their ashes, a franchise of the same name would rise 10 years later, currently converted into the Washington Wizards, although without direct relationship with those Bullets. City and name changes have been common for almost all teams in the League. The most notable exceptions are the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks, the only ones of the 10 original franchises of the BAA (precursor of the NBA) that survive keeping their name intact since 1946, the year in which the League was created shortly after. conclude World War II.

In fact, three current teams only knew the honeys of the championship by playing in another city: the Atlanta Hawks (then as St. Louis Hawks), the Oklahoma City Thunder (as Seattle SuperSonics) or the Sacramento Kings (as Rochester Royals). But historical continuity allows these franchises to be considered champions. Of course, none of them come close to the two most successful franchises in history. Celtics and LakersIn addition to forming one of the most legendary rivalries in the world of sports, they combine for 34 of the 75 championships shared in the NBA record so far.

NBA champions

History of the NBA Finals

Since before the 50s, the NBA Finals have pitted the two greatest basketball powers on the planet at the sports club level. The series for the championship title has always been played in the best of seven games, facing the winner of each conference in the NBA. However, before 1949 the playoffs only had three rounds, in which teams from the BAA participated. (Basketball Association of America).

In 1950, after the merger of the BAA and the NBL, there was a rearrangement of the NBA into three Divisions, so the team with the best record in the regular season after the Division Finals automatically advanced to the NBA Finals, while that the other two teams met in the league semifinals to determine the other finalist. The following year the system of facing the champions of the Western Division and Eastern Division was established. Until 1970 the Conferences were called Divisions.

The current match format, 2-2-1-1-1, It was established again in 2014; It was previously used in the periods 1947-1948, 1950-1952, 1957-1970, 1972-1974, 1976-1977, and 1979-1984. The 2-3-2 format was used in the periods 1949, 1953-1955 and 1985-2013. The 1-2-2-1-1 format was imposed between 1975 and 1978. The 1–1–1–1–1–1–1 format is the least used, being only valid in 1956 and 1971.

At the beginning of the new decade, the BAA merged with the NBL (National Basketball League) to create the NBA. The winner receives the trophy now called Larry O'Brien (in honor of the late former commissioner of the league) and previously known as the Walter A. Brown trophy and the precious championship ring, a detail that each franchise grants to whoever it deems appropriate. .

Traditionally, Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers (17 titles each) have been the two great dominators par excellence in the history of the competition with their historic NBA record, but the Finals have seen many great teams duel.

Champions: NBA Finals results played

If you want to consult all the information about NBA Finals MVP winners click on this link to meet the most important players in each series.

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