NBA Finals Tickets

After a grueling regular season, comprising a massive 82 games each, the best teams left will seek to fight their way through the NBA playoffs in order to secure an NBA Finals berth.

By this point, a team's regular season record almost seems irrelevant, and teams that arrive in form stand the best chance of securing the NBA Championships; even if a team has had to go via the NBA play-in tournament, they will consider themselves a good solid shot at coming out as the winning team once the seven-game series is done and dusted.

The winning team then gets their collective hands on the prestigious Larry O'Brien Trophy and a place in history after what will have proven an exhausting run through the regular season and the NBA playoffs to be crowned the best team in the league.

Humble Beginnings

In 1950 the first NBA season came to a close, with the Minneapolis Lakers defeating the Syracuse Nationals 4-2 in what was then known as the NBA World Championship Series.

The Minneapolis Lakers, under successful head coach John Kundia, went on to win four of the first Championships, with the New York Knicks losing on three successive occasions between 1951 and 1953.

The late 50s and 60s were ruled by Red Auerbach's Boston Celtics, who clinched a stunning eight titles in a row as well as 11 Championships in 13 seasons.

Pat Riley's 'Showtime' Los Angeles Lakers were triumphant for much of the 80s, usually going head-to-head with the Boston Celtics.

Rebranding

In 1986 the NBA World Championship Series was rebranded, and the NBA Finals were born, with the Boston Celtics clinching the title thanks to the efforts of Larry Bird, defeating the Houston Rockets in six games.

Michael Jordan and The Last Dance

The all-conquering Chicago Bulls picked up six NBA Finals wins in eight seasons, with Michael Jordan working his magic under the guidance of Phil Jackson, their final two wins coming against the Utah Jazz.

Phil Jackson then repeated this success with three titles in charge of the Los Angeles Lakers between 2000 and 2002 and another two in 2009 and 2010, the final success proving to be his 11 as a coach, to follow the two he secured as a New York Knicks player.

LeBron James and Steph Curry

LeBron James secured four NBA Finals successes, two with the Miami Heat and one apiece with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Golden State Warriors played the Cleveland Cavaliers in four successive NBA Finals series games, with Steph Curry and Steve Kerr emerging triumphant on three occasions.

Indeed Curry and Kerr repeated the feat with a 4-2 win over the Boston Celtics in 2022.

NBA Finals - How it Works

The top eight teams in each conference enter the playoffs, albeit the team placed seven to ten in the Eastern and Western Conference will have to go via the play-in tournament.

The first round of the playoffs sees the 16 teams take each other on, split into seedings, with the top team gaining home-court advantage as they look to secure a place in the Conference Semifinals.

Final Four

The final four are split into Eastern and Western Conference Finals, and the winner of each then gets their place in the NBA Finals.

Home court advantage is then given to the team with the better regular season record and gets the first two games on their court, with their opponents then getting the next two, and then one a piece until the seventh game, if it goes that far.

NBA Finals Winners

• 2011 Dallas Mavericks 4-2 Miami Heat

• 2012 Miami Heat 4-1 Oklahoma City Thunder

• 2013 Miami Heat 4-3 San Antonio Spurs

• 2014 San Antonio Spurs 4-1 Miami Heat

• 2015 Golden State Warriors 4-2 Cleveland Cavaliers

• 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers 4-3 Golden State Warriors

• 2017 Golden State Warriors 4-1 Cleveland Cavaliers

• 2018 Golden State Warriors 4-0 Cleveland Cavaliers

• 2019 Toronto Raptors 4-2 Golden State Warriors

• 2020 Los Angeles Lakers 4-2 Miami Heat

• 2021 Milwaukee Bucks 4-2 Phoenix Suns

• 2022 Golden State Warriors 4-2 Boston Celtics

• 2023 Denver Nuggets 4-1 Miami Heat

NBA Finals Most Points

• Jerry West 1679

• LeBron James 1562

• Kareem Abdul Jabbar 1317

• Michael Jordan 1176

• Elgin Baylor 1161

• Bill Russell 1151

• Sam Jones 1143

• Tom Heinsohn 1037

• John Havlicek 1020

• Magic Johnson 971

NBA Finals Most Wins

• Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers 17

• Boston Celtics 17

• Philadelphia/San Francisco/Golden State Warriors 7

• Chicago Bulls 6

• San Antonio Spurs 5