A brief history of the NBA Finals

The NBA Finals or the National Basketball Association championship series has been played since 1950. The NBA Finals is a best of 7 series that has the NBA Western Conference Champion playing the NBAs Eastern Conference Champion. The first NBA was champion actually crowned in 1947 but at that time the league was known as the BAA. The NBA was not formed until 1949. The very first BAA (NBA) Championship series occurred in 1947 and pitted the Eastern Champion Philadelphia Warriors versus the Western Champion Chicago Stags. The Philadelphia Warriors won the first every BAA (NBA) Championship Finals 4 games to 1. Fittingly, the Minneapolis Lakers, one of the most storied NBA Franchises, won the very first official NBA Finals Title in 1950 when they beat the Syracuse Nationals 4 games to 2.

The Lakers won 5 NBA Finals in the 1950s but had to take a back seat to the Boston Celtics in the 1960s. Led by legendary coach, Red Auerbach, the Boston Celtics dominated the NBA in the late 1950s and the entire 1960s like no professional team prior to or since. The Boston Celtics won the Eastern Conference Championship 12 out of 13 times from 1957 through 1969. They won 11 of the 12 NBA Finals they played in during that span including 8 in a row. The Boston Celtics run of Championships during the 1960s is unprecedented in American Professional Sports and the 1960s Boston Celtics stand alone as the single greatest dynasty in all of sports. The Lakers were on the loosing end of 7 of the Celtics Titles during this reign.

The 1970s brought a balance the NBA as 8 different teams would win the NBA Finals. The Celtics and Kicks each won 2 Titles as the Bucks, Lakers, Warriors, Trail Blazers, Bullets and Supersonics each won 1 Title. The 1980s can be summed up in 2 words, Bird and Magic. Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers and Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics each led their respective clubs to multiple NBA Finals Championships during the 1980s. Magic Johnson and the Lakers won 5 NBA Finals in the 1980s, 2 at the expense of the Celtics. Larry Bird and the Celtics won 3 NBA Finals in the 1980s, 1 at the expense of the Lakers. The Lakers and or the Celtics appeared in every NBA finals from 1980 through 1989 and either the Lakers or Celtics won every NBA Finals title with the exception of the 1983 NBA Finals which was won by the Philadelphia 76ers.

The 1990s was dominated by 1 team and by 1 player, Michael Jordan. The Chicago Bulls won 6 NBA Finals Championships from 1991 through 1998. The only seasons, in which they did not win a title, 1994 and 1995, Michael Jordan was enjoying a brief retirement from the game. The Houston Rockets won the NBA Finals in 1994 and 1995, the 2 seasons that Michael Jordan was retired. The early part of the 2000s were once again dominated by the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers won 3 straight NBA Finals from 2000 through 2002. Since the Lakers 3-peat in the early 2000s, no NBA Finals Champion has been able to repeat as Champion. The San Antonio Spurs have won 3 NBA Finals Championships over the past few years but failed to defend the title the following season. The Detroit Pistons ended the Lakers dominance with a shocking 4 games to 1 defeat in 2004. The most recent NBA Finals, 2006, featured 2 teams that had never played in the Finals much less won one. The Miami Heat, led by All Stars Dwayne Wade and Shaquille ONeal upset the Dallas Mavericks in 6 games to win their first NBA Finals Crown. The 2006/2007 NBA season is wide open. The previous years have shown NBA fans that any team can sneak up and win the Finals. NBA Finals Tickets will be hot items come this spring, the only question is, which teams will meet in the 2007 NBA Finals.