Andrew Pace
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The NBA was established in 1949, but the first postseason recognised by the league was held in 1947 when it was still called the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The NBA finals feature the Eastern and Western Conference champions playing a best-of-seven series to determine the league champion. The NBA Playoffs is an annual postseason tournament held after the league's regular season to determine the champion. The tournament features four rounds, with the first round, conference semi-finals, conference finals, and the NBA Finals.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of teams in the league | 30 |
| Number of conferences | 2 (East and West) |
| Number of games in the regular season | 82 |
| Number of rounds in the NBA playoffs | 4 |
| Number of teams in the NBA playoffs | 16 |
| Number of games in the NBA Finals | Best-of-seven |
| Date of the 2024 NBA Finals | 4 June to 17 June |
| Winner of the 2024 NBA Finals | Boston Celtics |
| Date of the 2025 NBA Finals | 5 June to 22 June |
Explore related products
What You'll Learn
The NBA playoffs structure
The current structure, in place since 1984, features 16 teams competing across four rounds. The first round sees the 1st seed in each conference play the 8th seed, while 2 plays 7, 3 plays 6, and 4 plays 5. The winners of each series progress to the Conference Semi-finals, and the winners of those games meet in the Conference Finals. The NBA Finals then take place between the winners of the Conference Finals from each conference, with the winner being crowned league champion.
Each round is a best-of-seven series, meaning a team needs to win four games to progress to the next round or be crowned champions in the case of the NBA Finals. The NBA does not count the Play-In Tournament as an official round of the playoffs. This tournament features teams ranked 7th to 10th in each conference and determines the final two playoff spots in each conference.
The NBA playoffs usually begin in April, with the NBA Finals typically taking place in June.
Badminton's Point System Evolution: Why the Change?
You may want to see also
Explore related products
Tiebreakers
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league champion. The NBA playoffs is the annual postseason tournament of the NBA held after the league's regular season to determine the league champion. The playoffs feature four rounds: the First Round, Conference Semi-finals, Conference Finals, and the NBA Finals. Each round is a best-of-seven series, meaning a team needs four victories to win the round.
If two or more teams within the same conference are tied in overall winning percentage, tiebreaker criteria are used to determine final rankings. The criteria are as follows:
- Head-to-head record: Better record in games with the tied teams.
- Division record: Better record in games against teams in its own division (only if the teams are in the same division).
- Conference record: Better record in games against teams in its own conference.
- Winning percentage against playoff teams in its own conference.
- Winning percentage against playoff teams in the opposing conference.
- Point differential in all games.
If three or more teams tie, any division leaders are given higher seeds regardless of any other criteria. In addition, once any team is eliminated from a tiebreaker, the evaluation goes back to the first step for the remaining teams.
Badminton Setting: Master the Art of Deception
You may want to see also
Explore related products
![Lenny Wilkens Legacy Basketball Clinic Series - The Basics [DVD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51i1koaE17L._AC_UY218_.jpg)
The NBA finals prize
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league champion. The NBA Finals culminates the NBA playoffs, which is the annual postseason tournament of the NBA held after the league's regular season.
The winner of the NBA Finals series is awarded the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. The trophy was previously known as the Walter A. Brown Trophy until 1976-77, though the original name was used until 1984. The series was initially known as the BAA Finals before the 1949-50 season when the Basketball Association of America (BAA) merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) to form the NBA.
The NBA Finals champions earn a substantial amount of money in addition to the glory of lifting the trophy. While there is no set amount of prize money, there is a Player Playoff Pool of funds made up of ticket sales to incentivize regular-season success and playoff wins. Every team that makes the playoffs receives a portion of this pool, with the amount increasing the further they advance in the postseason. The team with the best overall record in the regular season is given the largest share. For instance, each player on the 2025 NBA Champions Oklahoma City Thunder will receive around $828,000, totaling $12.4 million for the team.
The NBA leads when it comes to postseason payouts amongst major sports. For example, the maximum amount per player during the playoffs in the NFL is $357,000, while in the MLB, it is $477,000.
Basketball Shoes: Suitable Swimwear or a Soggy Mess?
You may want to see also
Explore related products
The history of the NBA finals
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league champion. The winning team of the series receives the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, which has been awarded since the 1976-77 season. The series was initially known as the BAA Finals before the 1949-50 season when the Basketball Association of America (BAA) merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) to form the NBA.
From 1946 through 1949, when the league was known as the BAA, the playoffs were a three-stage tournament where the two semifinal winners played each other in the finals. In 1950, the Eastern Division champion faced the winner between the Western and Central Division champions. Since then, the NBA Finals have been played between the winners of the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. The NBA has experimented with various formats for home and away games over the years, with the current format being 2–2–1–1–1.
The Boston Celtics have won the most NBA championships of any team in the league, with 18 titles. They reached the 1981 NBA Finals led by the "Big Three" of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish, and won the Finals in 6 games. The Lakers returned to the Finals in 1982, this time led by new coach Pat Riley, in a rematch against the 76ers. The 76ers defeated the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals but were then defeated by the Lakers in 6 games. The 76ers responded by trading for Moses Malone, the league's reigning MVP, and won the 1983 NBA Finals, sweeping the Lakers.
The 1990s saw the dominance of the Bulls, led by Michael Jordan. In 1993, the Bulls were matched against the Phoenix Suns, led by the league's reigning MVP Charles Barkley. After dropping the first two games at home, the Bulls won the next four games, with Jordan scoring 55 points in Game 4. The Houston Rockets, led by Hakeem Olajuwon, won the 1994 and 1995 NBA titles. The Bulls returned to form in the 1995-96 season, finishing the regular season with a record of 72-10. They faced the Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA Finals and won their fourth title. The Bulls met the Utah Jazz in the Finals in 1997 and 1998, winning both series and achieving their second three-peat.
The 2000s were largely dominated by the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers, who appeared in a combined eleven Finals and won nine championships. The Spurs won four championships in 1999, 2003, 2005, and 2007. In 2025, the Oklahoma City Thunder secured their first NBA title.
Shaq's Impact: A Game-Changing Force in Basketball
You may want to see also
Explore related products
The NBA play-in tournament
Since the 2021 season, the NBA has split the tournament rights for the play-in games between TNT and ESPN. Amazon Prime Video will acquire the rights to broadcast all NBA play-in tournament games beginning in the 2026-27 season.
Maintain Your Badminton Racket: A Cleaning Guide
You may want to see also
Frequently asked questions
The NBA Finals is the annual postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association (NBA) held after the league's regular season to determine the league champion.
Two teams participate in the NBA Finals. They are the winners of the Eastern and Western Conference Finals.
The NBA Finals is a best-of-seven series, meaning a team needs four victories to win the championship.
The team with the better regular season record hosts the first two games and the other team hosts the next two games. If needed, the remaining three are played at each team's home arena alternately, starting with the team with the better regular season record.
The NBA Finals usually take place in June, after the regular season and the Conference Finals.
