NBA Finals

The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association, played under a best-of-seven playoff format. The team winning the Eastern Conference Finals earns one of the two berths in the championship round, with the other going to the team that wins the Western Conference Finals. This event has been played at the conclusion of every NBA and BAA season in history, the first being held in 1947.

Dynamics

The Boston Celtics won the championship in all but two of the years between 1957 and 1969, inclusive, and eight in a row from 1959 to 1966, forming one of the most celebrated dynasties in league history. Famous people of this dynasty include Bill Russell, Bill Sharman, John Havileck, and coach Red Auerbach. Larry Bird is also famous for having led the team to three championships in the 1980s decade. The Celtics have, in fact, won 16 championships, more than any other team in the league. Other powerful championship teams include the Minneapolis(later Los Angeles) Lakers and the Chicago Bulls.

History

Main article:NBA Finals History

As basketball is a major sport in the United States, the Final round has become a large-scale event on the sports calendar, with higher popularity than the concurrent Stanley Cup final in the National Hockey League.

Inevitably, many spectacular Finals series will occur. Among the most memorable were the episodes of 1957, 1969, 1970, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1987, and 1998.

The Early Years

During the 1940s and early 1950s decades, the NBA Finals were nothing but a minor highlight on the calendar. Franchises which had previously been in the National Basketball League tended to dominate, especially the Minneapolis Lakers.

However, with the arrival of Bill Russell in 1956, the popularity of the league multiplied immensely. Although, still considered a minor league, it was gaining support in sports fans' views. His games against Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors contributed massively, as they were the two players in the league who were widely considered the best.

The Celtics Dynasty

For most of the late 1950s and the 1960s, the Celtics always seemed to have the upper hand on Chamberlain's teams. With the establishment of the Celtics dynasty in 1957, Russell instantly became the star of the league. The seventh game of that year's championship was decided on a Celtics basket in the final seconds of the second overtime.

In 1964, Chamberlain, who had moved to California with his team, led the Warriors to a Western Conference championship, but again failed to conquer the Celtics. The following season, he was traded back to Philadelphia, to join the 76ers that had moved to cover the vacancy created with the departure of the Warriors.

The Collapse of the Great Dynasty

The year 1966 produced a clash between the two stars in the playoffs, and Boston won 4-1. However, Chamberlain's desire to score was so great that the coach made a famous statement to him to seek to play a team game, not an individual game, to avoid drawing double-teams. His newfound spirit brought his team to a new record of 68 wins the following season, and they defeated the Celtics and then advanced to, and won, the Finals.

In 1968, Boston overcame a 3-1 deficit against Philadelphia to once again arrive in the Finals. Playing against Jerry West's Lakers, they seemed doomed to defeat. Nevertheless, for the sixth consecutive time, they defeated L.A., winning by a four games to two margin. The following year was similarily frustrating, again with the Celtics winning the East and the Lakers winning the West. However, now that Chamberlain had been traded to the Lakers, early estimates had the probabilities going largely in favour of the Lakers. They easily won the first two games at the L.A. Forum. However, when the series shifted to Boston Garden, the Celtics won two close games, by margins of 110-105 and 88-87, respectively, in Games 3 and 4. The fifth game, played into the Forum, returned the advantage to the Lakers, but the sixth game was a massive Celtics win, Chamberlain scoring just two points in the entire duration. Game 7 was held on May 5, balloons being hung up in the arena in anticipation of a Lakers victory. Russell immediately used the balloons as an inspiration for his team, and they raced off to an early start and held off a furious Lakers comeback to win 108-106 and take the series, their eleventh championship in thirteen years. This game represented the final one in this first incarnation of the dynasty.

The Rise of the Knicks and Lakers

In 1970, a classic final featured the New York Knicks against the Lakers. In the waning moments of Game 3, with the series tied, Jerry West hit a basket from sixty feet away to tie the game, a shot which would become one of the most famous ever. Although the Knicks went on to win the game, and carried on their momentum for a 4-3 win, the Lakers were still far from defeated. Just two seasons later, the coach introduced a new plan, and it proved effective, as, after losing several games at the beginning, the team won thirty-three games consecutively, the longest such streak in history. By the season's end, they had broken the record for most wins in a season, taking 69 wins, one more than the 76ers of 1966-67. The Lakers finally, after a tough playoff season, took home the championship for the first time since the NBA since the Minneapolis days. The Knicks won the championship again in 1973, using much the same formula, for their second franchise victorious season. The 1974 championship went back to the Celtics as the remaining players demonstrated excellent teamwork and resilence in the Finals.

The Western Breakthrough

The late seventies were charactarized by a major breakthrough of the league's western franchises. The Golden State Warriors defeated the heavily-favoured Chicago Bulls in the conference final in 1975, then swept the Bullets 4-0 in a series where the odds favoured the eastern representative. This accomplishment has largely been overlooked, but the history books nevertheless betray this remarkable season, comparable to that of the New York Yankees three years later. The next year, 1976, saw the rise of the Phoenix Suns. Only eight years in existence, they overcame a losing record early in the season to build remarkable win streaks to finish 48-34. The events culminated in an upset victory over Golden State. In the final against Boston, the teams split the first four games. Game 5 became one of the most memorable games of all. It went into three overtimes but eventually went to Boston 128-126. Two days later the Celtics finished it off for their 13th championship.