| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Dates: | May 26–June 8 | |||||||||
| MVP: | Larry Bird (Boston Celtics) | |||||||||
| Hall of Famers | Celtics: Bill Walton (1993) Larry Bird (1998) Kevin McHale (1999) Robert Parish (2003) Dennis Johnson (2010) Rockets: Hakeem Olajuwon (2008) Ralph Sampson (2012) Coaches: K.C. Jones (1989, player) Bill Fitch (2019) Rudy Tomjanovich (2020) Officials: Earl Strom (1995) Darell Garretson (2016) Hugh Evans (2022) | |||||||||
| Eastern Finals: | Celtics defeated Bucks, 4–0 | |||||||||
| Western Finals: | Rockets defeated Lakers, 4–1 | |||||||||
| NBA Finals | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ← 1985 | ||||||||||
| 1987 → | ||||||||||
The 1986 NBA Finals was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1985–86 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs.
It pitted the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics against the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets, in a rematch of the 1981 NBA Finals (only Allen Leavell and Robert Reid remained from the Rockets' 1981 team). It was the second and last NBA Championship Series of the 1980s not to feature the Los Angeles Lakers, as the Rockets had defeated them in the Western Conference Finals in five games in an upset.
The Celtics defeated the Rockets four games to two to win their 16th NBA championship. The championship would be the Celtics' last until 2008. Larry Bird was named the Finals MVP for the second time in his career.
On another note, this series marked the first time the "NBA Finals" branding was officially used, as they dropped the "NBA World Championship Series" branding which had been in use since the beginning of the league, though it had been unofficially called the "NBA Finals" for years.
Until the 2011 series, this was the last time the NBA Finals had started before June. Since game three, all NBA Finals games have been played in June. Starting with the following year, the NBA Finals would be held exclusively in the month of June. It was also the last NBA Finals series to schedule a game on a Monday until 1999 and also the last NBA Finals game to be played on Memorial Day. Until the 2018 series, it was the last to conclude before June 10.
CBS Sports used Dick Stockton and Tom Heinsohn as the play-by-play man and color commentator respectively. Meanwhile, Brent Musburger was the host and Pat O'Brien (the Rockets' sideline) and Lesley Visser (the Celtics' sideline) were the sideline reporters.
1986 NBA Playoffs[]
| Houston Rockets (Western Conference Champion) | Boston Celtics (Eastern Conference Champion) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51–31 (.622)
1st Midwest, 2nd West, 5th Overall |
Regular season | 67–15 (.817)
1st Atlantic, 1st East, 1st Overall | ||
| Defeated the (7) Sacramento Kings, 3–0 | First Round | Defeated the (8) Chicago Bulls, 3–0 | ||
| Defeated the (3) Denver Nuggets, 4–2 | Conference Semifinals | Defeated the (4) Atlanta Hawks, 4–1 | ||
| Defeated the (1) Los Angeles Lakers, 4–1 | Conference Finals | Defeated the (2) Milwaukee Bucks, 4–0 | ||
Series summary[]
| Game | Date | Home Team | Result | Road Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | May 26 | Boston | 112–100 | Houston |
| Game 2 | May 29 | Boston | 117–95 | Houston |
| Game 3 | June 1 | Houston | 106–104 | Boston |
| Game 4 | June 3 | Houston | 103–106 | Boston |
| Game 5 | June 5 | Houston | 111–96 | Boston |
| Game 6 | June 8 | Boston | 114–97 | Houston |
| Preceded by 1985 |
NBA Finals 1986 |
Succeeded by 1987 |