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List of NBA champions

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The Boston Celtics have won the most championships of any NBA team. Shown are the championship banners hanging in their home arena, TD Garden.

The NBA Finals is the championship series for the National Basketball Association (NBA) held at the conclusion of its postseason. All NBA Finals have been played in a best-of-seven format, and are contested between the winners of the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference (formerly Divisions before 1970), except in 1950 when the Eastern Division champion faced the winner between the Western and Central Division champions. From 1946 through 1949, when the league was known as the Basketball Association of America (BAA), the playoffs were a three-stage tournament where the two semifinal winners played each other in the finals. The winning team of the series receives the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, which is awarded since 1977 (between 1947 and 1976 the winning team received the Walter A. Brown Trophy).

The current home-and-away format in the NBA Finals is 2–2–1–1–1 (the team with the better regular season record plays on its home court in games 1, 2, 5, and 7), which has been used in 1947, 1948, 19501952, 19571970, 19721974, 1976, 1977, 19791984, and since 2014. It was previously in a 2–3–2 format (the team with the better regular season record plays on its home court in games 1, 2, 6, and 7) during 1949, 19531955, and 19852013, in a 1–1–1–1–1–1–1 format in 1956 and 1971, and in a 1–2–2–1–1 format in 1975 and 1978.

As of 2024, the Eastern champions have a 41–36 advantage in NBA titles over the Western champions, with their most recent being the Boston Celtics who have won 18 titles, the most of any team in the league. The 1949–50 Minneapolis Lakers, who won the NBA Finals, are not counted in the Eastern versus Western champions record above as they played in the Central Division.

List of NBA champions is located in the United StatesTrail BlazersTrail BlazersBulletsBulletsBullets*Bullets*KnicksKnicks76ers76ersWarriorsWarriorsRaptorsRaptorsCelticsCelticsSpursSpursHeatHeatNatsNatsBullsBullsBucksBucksMavericksMavericksRocketsRocketsPistonsPistonsLakersLakersHawksHawksRoyalsRoyalsCavaliersCavaliersSuperSonicsSuperSonicsWarriorsWarriorsNuggetsNuggetsLakersLakersclass=notpageimage| Location of NBA champions by number of titles: 1 – white, 2 – blue, 3 – green, 4 – yellow, 5 – orange, 6 – red, 7 or more – purple, * – denotes defunct

Champions

  • The first parentheses in the Western champions and Eastern champions columns indicate the teams' playoff seed. The second parentheses indicate the number of times that teams have appeared in an NBA Finals as well as each respective team's NBA Finals record to date.
Bold Winning team of the BAA/NBA Finals
Italics Team with home-court advantage
Italics Finals MVP was on losing team
Only defunct team to win championship
Year Western champion Coach Result Eastern champion Coach Finals MVP Ref
Basketball Association of America (BAA)
1947 Chicago Stags (1) (1, 0–1) Harold Olsen 1–4 Philadelphia Warriors (2) (1, 1–0) Eddie Gottlieb n/a
1948 Baltimore Bullets† (2) (1, 1–0) Buddy Jeannette 4–2 Philadelphia Warriors (1) (2, 1–1) Eddie Gottlieb
1949 Minneapolis Lakers (2) (1, 1–0) John Kundla 4–2 Washington Capitols (1) (1, 0–1) Red Auerbach
National Basketball Association (NBA)
1950 Minneapolis Lakers (1) (2, 2–0) John Kundla 4–2 Syracuse Nationals (1) (1, 0–1) Al Cervi n/a
1951 Rochester Royals (2) (1, 1–0) Les Harrison 4–3 New York Knicks (3) (1, 0–1) Joe Lapchick
1952 Minneapolis Lakers (2) (3, 3–0) John Kundla 4–3 New York Knicks (3) (2, 0–2) Joe Lapchick
1953 Minneapolis Lakers (1) (4, 4–0) John Kundla 4–1 New York Knicks (1) (3, 0–3) Joe Lapchick
1954 Minneapolis Lakers (1) (5, 5–0) John Kundla 4–3 Syracuse Nationals (1) (2, 0–2) Al Cervi
1955 Fort Wayne Pistons (1) (1, 0–1) Charles Eckman 3–4 Syracuse Nationals (1) (3, 1–2) Al Cervi
1956 Fort Wayne Pistons (1) (2, 0–2) Charles Eckman 1–4 Philadelphia Warriors (1) (3, 2–1) George Senesky
1957 St. Louis Hawks (1) (1, 0–1) Alex Hannum 3–4 Boston Celtics (1) (1, 1–0) Red Auerbach
1958 St. Louis Hawks (1) (2, 1–1) Alex Hannum 4–2 Boston Celtics (1) (2, 1–1) Red Auerbach
1959 Minneapolis Lakers (2) (6, 5–1) John Kundla 0–4 Boston Celtics (1) (3, 2–1) Red Auerbach
1960 St. Louis Hawks (1) (3, 1–2) Ed Macauley 3–4 Boston Celtics (1) (4, 3–1) Red Auerbach
1961 St. Louis Hawks (1) (4, 1–3) Paul Seymour 1–4 Boston Celtics (1) (5, 4–1) Red Auerbach
1962 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (7, 5–2) Fred Schaus 3–4 Boston Celtics (1) (6, 5–1) Red Auerbach
1963 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (8, 5–3) Fred Schaus 2–4 Boston Celtics (1) (7, 6–1) Red Auerbach
1964 San Francisco Warriors (1) (4, 2–2) Alex Hannum 1–4 Boston Celtics (1) (8, 7–1) Red Auerbach
1965 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (9, 5–4) Fred Schaus 1–4 Boston Celtics (1) (9, 8–1) Red Auerbach
1966 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (10, 5–5) Fred Schaus 3–4 Boston Celtics (2) (10, 9–1) Red Auerbach
1967 San Francisco Warriors (1) (5, 2–3) Bill Sharman 2–4 Philadelphia 76ers (1) (4, 2–2) Alex Hannum
1968 Los Angeles Lakers (2) (11, 5–6) Butch van Breda Kolff 2–4 Boston Celtics (2) (11, 10–1) Bill Russell
1969 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (12, 5–7) Butch van Breda Kolff 3–4 Boston Celtics (4) (12, 11–1) Bill Russell Jerry West
1970 Los Angeles Lakers (2) (13, 5–8) Joe Mullaney 3–4 New York Knicks (1) (4, 1–3) Red Holzman Willis Reed
1971 Milwaukee Bucks (1) (1, 1–0) Larry Costello 4–0 Baltimore Bullets (1) (1, 0–1) Gene Shue Lew Alcindor
1972 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (14, 6–8) Bill Sharman 4–1 New York Knicks (2) (5, 1–4) Red Holzman Wilt Chamberlain
1973 Los Angeles Lakers (2) (15, 6–9) Bill Sharman 1–4 New York Knicks (2) (6, 2–4) Red Holzman Willis Reed
1974 Milwaukee Bucks (1) (2, 1–1) Larry Costello 3–4 Boston Celtics (1) (13, 12–1) Tom Heinsohn John Havlicek
1975 Golden State Warriors (1) (6, 3–3) Al Attles 4–0 Washington Bullets (2) (2, 0–2) K. C. Jones Rick Barry
1976 Phoenix Suns (3) (1, 0–1) John MacLeod 2–4 Boston Celtics (1) (14, 13–1) Tom Heinsohn Jo Jo White
1977 Portland Trail Blazers (3) (1, 1–0) Jack Ramsay 4–2 Philadelphia 76ers (1) (5, 2–3) Gene Shue Bill Walton
1978 Seattle SuperSonics (4) (1, 0–1) Lenny Wilkens 3–4 Washington Bullets (3) (3, 1–2) Dick Motta Wes Unseld
1979 Seattle SuperSonics (1) (2, 1–1) Lenny Wilkens 4–1 Washington Bullets (1) (4, 1–3) Dick Motta Dennis Johnson
1980 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (16, 7–9) Paul Westhead 4–2 Philadelphia 76ers (3) (6, 2–4) Billy Cunningham Magic Johnson
1981 Houston Rockets (6) (1, 0–1) Del Harris 2–4 Boston Celtics (1) (15, 14–1) Bill Fitch Cedric Maxwell
1982 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (17, 8–9) Pat Riley 4–2 Philadelphia 76ers (3) (7, 2–5) Billy Cunningham Magic Johnson
1983 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (18, 8–10) Pat Riley 0–4 Philadelphia 76ers (1) (8, 3–5) Billy Cunningham Moses Malone
1984 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (19, 8–11) Pat Riley 3–4 Boston Celtics (1) (16, 15–1) K. C. Jones Larry Bird
1985 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (20, 9–11) Pat Riley 4–2 Boston Celtics (1) (17, 15–2) K. C. Jones Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
1986 Houston Rockets (2) (2, 0–2) Bill Fitch 2–4 Boston Celtics (1) (18, 16–2) K. C. Jones Larry Bird
1987 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (21, 10–11) Pat Riley 4–2 Boston Celtics (1) (19, 16–3) K. C. Jones Magic Johnson
1988 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (22, 11–11) Pat Riley 4–3 Detroit Pistons (2) (3, 0–3) Chuck Daly James Worthy
1989 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (23, 11–12) Pat Riley 0–4 Detroit Pistons (1) (4, 1–3) Chuck Daly Joe Dumars
1990 Portland Trail Blazers (3) (2, 1–1) Rick Adelman 1–4 Detroit Pistons (1) (5, 2–3) Chuck Daly Isiah Thomas
1991 Los Angeles Lakers (3) (24, 11–13) Mike Dunleavy 1–4 Chicago Bulls (1) (1, 1–0) Phil Jackson Michael Jordan
1992 Portland Trail Blazers (1) (3, 1–2) Rick Adelman 2–4 Chicago Bulls (1) (2, 2–0) Phil Jackson Michael Jordan
1993 Phoenix Suns (1) (2, 0–2) Paul Westphal 2–4 Chicago Bulls (2) (3, 3–0) Phil Jackson Michael Jordan
1994 Houston Rockets (2) (3, 1–2) Rudy Tomjanovich 4–3 New York Knicks (2) (7, 2–5) Pat Riley Hakeem Olajuwon
1995 Houston Rockets (6) (4, 2–2) Rudy Tomjanovich 4–0 Orlando Magic (1) (1, 0–1) Brian Hill Hakeem Olajuwon
1996 Seattle SuperSonics (1) (3, 1–2) George Karl 2–4 Chicago Bulls (1) (4, 4–0) Phil Jackson Michael Jordan
1997 Utah Jazz (1) (1, 0–1) Jerry Sloan 2–4 Chicago Bulls (1) (5, 5–0) Phil Jackson Michael Jordan
1998 Utah Jazz (1) (2, 0–2) Jerry Sloan 2–4 Chicago Bulls (1) (6, 6–0) Phil Jackson Michael Jordan
1999 San Antonio Spurs (1) (1, 1–0) Gregg Popovich 4–1 New York Knicks (8) (8, 2–6) Jeff Van Gundy Tim Duncan
2000 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (25, 12–13) Phil Jackson 4–2 Indiana Pacers (1) (1, 0–1) Larry Bird Shaquille O'Neal
2001 Los Angeles Lakers (2) (26, 13–13) Phil Jackson 4–1 Philadelphia 76ers (1) (9, 3–6) Larry Brown Shaquille O'Neal
2002 Los Angeles Lakers (3) (27, 14–13) Phil Jackson 4–0 New Jersey Nets (1) (1, 0–1) Byron Scott Shaquille O'Neal
2003 San Antonio Spurs (1) (2, 2–0) Gregg Popovich 4–2 New Jersey Nets (2) (2, 0–2) Byron Scott Tim Duncan
2004 Los Angeles Lakers (2) (28, 14–14) Phil Jackson 1–4 Detroit Pistons (3) (6, 3–3) Larry Brown Chauncey Billups
2005 San Antonio Spurs (2) (3, 3–0) Gregg Popovich 4–3 Detroit Pistons (2) (7, 3–4) Larry Brown Tim Duncan
2006 Dallas Mavericks (4) (1, 0–1) Avery Johnson 2–4 Miami Heat (2) (1, 1–0) Pat Riley Dwyane Wade
2007 San Antonio Spurs (3) (4, 4–0) Gregg Popovich 4–0 Cleveland Cavaliers (2) (1, 0–1) Mike Brown Tony Parker
2008 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (29, 14–15) Phil Jackson 2–4 Boston Celtics (1) (20, 17–3) Doc Rivers Paul Pierce
2009 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (30, 15–15) Phil Jackson 4–1 Orlando Magic (3) (2, 0–2) Stan Van Gundy Kobe Bryant
2010 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (31, 16–15) Phil Jackson 4–3 Boston Celtics (4) (21, 17–4) Doc Rivers Kobe Bryant
2011 Dallas Mavericks (3) (2, 1–1) Rick Carlisle 4–2 Miami Heat (2) (2, 1–1) Erik Spoelstra Dirk Nowitzki
2012 Oklahoma City Thunder (2) (4, 1–3) Scott Brooks 1–4 Miami Heat (2) (3, 2–1) Erik Spoelstra LeBron James
2013 San Antonio Spurs (2) (5, 4–1) Gregg Popovich 3–4 Miami Heat (1) (4, 3–1) Erik Spoelstra LeBron James
2014 San Antonio Spurs (1) (6, 5–1) Gregg Popovich 4–1 Miami Heat (2) (5, 3–2) Erik Spoelstra Kawhi Leonard
2015 Golden State Warriors (1) (7, 4–3) Steve Kerr 4–2 Cleveland Cavaliers (2) (2, 0–2) David Blatt Andre Iguodala
2016 Golden State Warriors (1) (8, 4–4) Steve Kerr 3–4 Cleveland Cavaliers (1) (3, 1–2) Tyronn Lue LeBron James
2017 Golden State Warriors (1) (9, 5–4) Steve Kerr 4–1 Cleveland Cavaliers (2) (4, 1–3) Tyronn Lue Kevin Durant
2018 Golden State Warriors (2) (10, 6–4) Steve Kerr 4–0 Cleveland Cavaliers (4) (5, 1–4) Tyronn Lue Kevin Durant
2019 Golden State Warriors (1) (11, 6–5) Steve Kerr 2–4 Toronto Raptors (2) (1, 1–0) Nick Nurse Kawhi Leonard
2020 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (32, 17–15) Frank Vogel 4–2 Miami Heat (5) (6, 3–3) Erik Spoelstra LeBron James
2021 Phoenix Suns (2) (3, 0–3) Monty Williams 2–4 Milwaukee Bucks (3) (3, 2–1) Mike Budenholzer Giannis Antetokounmpo
2022 Golden State Warriors (3) (12, 7–5) Steve Kerr 4–2 Boston Celtics (2) (22, 17–5) Ime Udoka Stephen Curry
2023 Denver Nuggets (1) (1, 1–0) Michael Malone 4–1 Miami Heat (8) (7, 3–4) Erik Spoelstra Nikola Jokić
2024 Dallas Mavericks (5) (3, 1–2) Jason Kidd 1–4 Boston Celtics (1) (23, 18–5) Joe Mazzulla Jaylen Brown

Results by team

Team Win Loss Apps Pct Year(s) won Year(s) lost
Boston Celtics 18 5 23 .783 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1984, 1986, 2008, 2024 1958, 1985, 1987, 2010, 2022
Los Angeles Lakers 17 15 32 .531 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2020 1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1991, 2004, 2008
Golden State Warriors 7 5 12 .583 1947, 1956, 1975, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022 1948, 1964, 1967, 2016, 2019
Chicago Bulls 6 0 6 1.000 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998
San Antonio Spurs 5 1 6 .833 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014 2013
Philadelphia 76ers 3 6 9 .333 1955, 1967, 1983 1950, 1954, 1977, 1980, 1982, 2001
Detroit Pistons 3 4 7 .429 1989, 1990, 2004 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
Miami Heat 3 4 7 .429 2006, 2012, 2013 2011, 2014, 2020, 2023
New York Knicks 2 6 8 .250 1970, 1973 1951, 1952, 1953, 1972, 1994, 1999
Houston Rockets 2 2 4 .500 1994, 1995 1981, 1986
Milwaukee Bucks 2 1 3 .667 1971, 2021 1974
Cleveland Cavaliers 1 4 5 .200 2016 2007, 2015, 2017, 2018
Atlanta Hawks 1 3 4 .250 1958 1957, 1960, 1961
Washington Wizards 1 3 4 .250 1978 1971, 1975, 1979
Oklahoma City Thunder 1 3 4 .250 1979 1978, 1996, 2012
Portland Trail Blazers 1 2 3 .333 1977 1990, 1992
Dallas Mavericks 1 2 3 .333 2011 2006, 2024
Baltimore Bullets (original) (folded in 1954) 1 0 1 1.000 1948
Sacramento Kings 1 0 1 1.000 1951
Toronto Raptors 1 0 1 1.000 2019
Denver Nuggets 1 0 1 1.000 2023
Phoenix Suns 0 3 3 .000 1976, 1993, 2021
Utah Jazz 0 2 2 .000 1997, 1998
Brooklyn Nets 0 2 2 .000 2002, 2003
Orlando Magic 0 2 2 .000 1995, 2009
Chicago Stags (folded in 1950) 0 1 1 .000 1947
Washington Capitols (folded in 1951) 0 1 1 .000 1949
Indiana Pacers 0 1 1 .000 2000
Charlotte Hornets
Los Angeles Clippers
Memphis Grizzlies
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
  1. Includes record as Minneapolis Lakers
  2. Includes record as Philadelphia and San Francisco Warriors
  3. Includes record as Syracuse Nationals
  4. Includes record as Fort Wayne Pistons
  5. Includes record as St. Louis Hawks
  6. Includes record as Baltimore and Washington Bullets
  7. Includes record as Seattle SuperSonics
  8. Not affiliated with the present-day Washington Wizards, known as the Baltimore Bullets from 1963 to 1973.
  9. Includes record as Rochester Royals
  10. Includes record as New York and New Jersey Nets

Consecutive championships

Eight consecutive

Three consecutive

Two consecutive

Frequent matchups

Count Matchup Record Years
12 Boston Celtics vs Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers Celtics, 9–3 1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1984, 1985, 1987, 2008, 2010
6 Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers vs Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers Lakers, 5–1 1950, 1954, 1980, 1982, 1983, 2001
5 Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers vs New York Knicks Lakers, 3–2 1952, 1953, 1970, 1972, 1973
4 Boston Celtics vs St. Louis Hawks (Atlanta Hawks) Celtics, 3–1 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961
4 Golden State Warriors vs Cleveland Cavaliers Warriors, 3–1 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
3 Detroit Pistons vs Los Angeles Lakers Pistons, 2–1 1988, 1989, 2004
2 Seattle SuperSonics (Oklahoma City Thunder) vs Washington Bullets (Washington Wizards) Tied, 1–1 1978, 1979
2 Boston Celtics vs Houston Rockets Celtics, 2–0 1981, 1986
2 Chicago Bulls vs Utah Jazz Bulls, 2–0 1997, 1998
2 Dallas Mavericks vs Miami Heat Tied, 1–1 2006, 2011
2 Miami Heat vs San Antonio Spurs Tied, 1–1 2013, 2014
2 Boston Celtics vs San Francisco/Golden State Warriors Tied, 1–1 1964, 2022

See also

Notes

  1. The Finals MVP Award was first awarded in 1969.
  2. Minneapolis was the Central Division (now defunct, no relation to the current Central Division) playoff champion, while the Anderson Packers were the Western Division playoff champion. Due to the NBA's realignment into three divisions, the team with the best regular season record after the Divisional Finals advanced automatically to the NBA Finals, while the other two teams faced off in the NBA Semifinals to determine the other finalist. Eastern Division playoff champion Syracuse had the best regular season record among the division playoff champions, causing Minneapolis to face Anderson in the NBA Semifinals.
  3. The trophy was renamed for Walter A. Brown.
  4. The trophy was replaced by a new design.
  5. The trophy was renamed for Larry O'Brien.
  6. After a lockout, the season started on February 5, 1999, and all 29 teams played a shortened 50-game regular season schedule.
  7. After a lockout, the season started on December 25, 2011, and all 30 teams played a shortened 66-game regular season schedule.
  8. The 2019–20 NBA season was delayed and shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic and finished in October 2020 with a bubble tournament.

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