| ||||||||||
| Dates: | May 27–June 9 | |||||||||
| MVP: | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers) | |||||||||
| Hall of Famers | Lakers: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1995) Bob McAdoo (2000) Magic Johnson (2002) James Worthy (2003) Jamaal Wilkes (2012) Celtics: Larry Bird (1998) Kevin McHale (1999) Robert Parish (2003) Dennis Johnson (2010) Coaches: K.C. Jones (1989, player) Pat Riley (2008) Officials: Earl Strom (1995) Darell Garretson (2016) Hugh Evans (2022) | |||||||||
| Eastern Finals: | Celtics defeated 76ers, 4–1 | |||||||||
| Western Finals: | Lakers defeated Nuggets, 4–1 | |||||||||
| NBA Finals | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ← 1984 | ||||||||||
| 1986 → | ||||||||||
The 1985 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1984–85 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs.
It featured the defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics against the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers.
The Celtics were looking to repeat as NBA champions for the first time since the 1968–69 season. The Celtics had home court advantage for the second year in a row as they finished the regular season with a 63–19 record while the Lakers compiled a 62–20 record. The Lakers looked to bounce back from the previous year's painful loss to the Celtics in the championship series, and were still seeking to beat Boston for the first time ever in NBA Finals history. Also for the first time, the Finals went to a 2-3-2 format with Games 1 and 2 in Boston while the next three games were in Los Angeles. The final two games of the series would be played in Boston, if required. This change of format came after David Stern had a conversation with Celtics legend Red Auerbach in 1984, who didn't like the frequent traveling between games. The 2-3-2 format would be used until the 2013 NBA Finals, after which the 2-2-1-1-1 format returned in 2014.
The Los Angeles Lakers, with the help of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, defeated the Celtics four games to two to defeat the Celtics for the first time in Laker history in the NBA Finals.
It would mark the last time the NBA World Championship Series branding would be in use as the NBA Finals branding would replace it the next season.
The video documentary Return to Glory recaps the 1985 NBA Playoff action.
1985 NBA Playoffs[]
| Los Angeles Lakers (Western Conference Champion) | Boston Celtics (Eastern Conference Champion) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 62–20 (.756)
1st Pacific, 1st West, 2nd Overall |
Regular season | 63–19 (.768)
1st Atlantic, 1st East, 1st Overall | ||
| Defeated the (8) Phoenix Suns, 3–0 | First Round | Defeated the (8) Cleveland Cavaliers, 3–1 | ||
| Defeated the (5) Portland Trail Blazers, 4–1 | Conference Semifinals | Defeated the (4) Detroit Pistons, 4–2 | ||
| Defeated the (2) Denver Nuggets, 4–1 | Conference Finals | Defeated the (3) Philadelphia 76ers, 4–1 | ||
Series summary[]
| Game | Date | Home Team | Result | Road Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | May 27 | Boston | 148–114 | Los Angeles |
| Game 2 | May 30 | Boston | 102–109 | Los Angeles |
| Game 3 | June 2 | Los Angeles | 136–111 | Boston |
| Game 4 | June 5 | Los Angeles | 105–107 | Boston |
| Game 5 | June 7 | Los Angeles | 120–111 | Boston |
| Game 6 | June 9 | Boston | 100–111 | Los Angeles |
| Preceded by 1984 |
NBA Finals 1985 |
Succeeded by 1986 |