The Larry O'Brien Trophy, with the updated design introduced in 2022.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals is the championship series for the NBA held at the conclusion of its postseason. All 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.
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, 1950–1952, 1957–1970, 1972–1974, 1976–1977, 1979–1984, and 2014–present. 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, 1953–1955, and 1985–2013, in a 1–1–1–1–1–1–1 format during 1956 and 1971, and in a 1–2–2–1–1 format during 1975 and 1978.
Champions[]
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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 | St. Louis Hawks (Atlanta Hawks) vs Boston Celtics | Celtics, 3–1 | 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961 |
| 4 | Cleveland Cavaliers vs Golden State Warriors | 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 |