The NBA Finals. Just saying those words gets basketball fans excited. It is the biggest stage in pro basketball. Two teams fight for one trophy. One title. One legacy. Let’s break it all down.
What Are the NBA Finals?
The NBA Finals is the last round of the NBA playoffs. It happens every year in June. The best team from the East plays the best team from the West. They play a best-of-seven series. The first team to win four games takes the title.
The winner gets the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. It is named after a former NBA commissioner. Every player on the winning team dreams of holding that trophy above their head.
The Finals also hands out a Finals MVP award. This goes to the best player of the whole series. The award started in 1969. Players like LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Shaquille O’Neal have all won it.
How the Road to the Finals Works
Teams do not just show up at the Finals. They earn it. The regular season runs from October to April. Then the playoffs begin in April. Sixteen teams make the playoffs. Eight from the East. Eight from the West.
Each round is a best-of-seven. The teams go through the first round, the conference semifinals, and the conference finals. Only two teams survive that whole run. Those two teams meet in the NBA Finals.
It is a long, tough road. Players get hurt. Stars rise. Underdogs shock everyone. That is why the journey makes the Finals feel so special.
The 2026 NBA Finals
Right now, the 2026 playoffs are still going. The 2026 NBA Finals are set to tip off on June 3 on ABC. All games start at 8:30 PM Eastern time.
The New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder have already punched their tickets to the Conference Finals. On the other side of the bracket, the San Antonio Spurs lead the Minnesota Timberwolves 3-2 in the Western Conference, and the Cleveland Cavaliers lead the Detroit Pistons by the same margin in the East.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, and New York Knicks currently hold the top odds to win the NBA championship this season.
OKC has been on fire. The Thunder ran their postseason record to 8-0 by completing a sweep against the Lakers, punching their ticket to the Western Conference Finals.
The Knicks have some injury concerns. Forward OG Anunoby is still recovering from a hamstring injury, but the Knicks have time before the Eastern Conference Finals begins.
This is shaping up to be one exciting Finals. Both OKC and New York play with serious energy. Fans on both coasts are already hyped.
The Greatest Teams in NBA Finals History
Some teams show up at the Finals once. Other teams keep coming back. A few teams just kept winning.
The Boston Celtics have won the most NBA titles with 18, one more than the Lakers. The Golden State Warriors rank third with seven championships. The Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs have won six and five NBA crowns, respectively.
The Celtics built their dynasty in the late 1950s and 1960s. They won eight straight titles from 1959 to 1966. That kind of run will probably never happen again. The league was smaller back then, but winning eight in a row is still wild.
The Lakers built their own dynasty twice. First with Magic Johnson in the 1980s. Then again with Shaq and Kobe in the early 2000s. The Lakers won five championships in the same period, including a three-peat from 2000 to 2002.
The Bulls owned the 1990s. Michael Jordan led them to six titles in eight years. He never lost in the Finals. Six trips, six wins. That is a level of Finals perfection nobody else has matched.
Then came the Warriors. Steph Curry changed the game. Golden State won titles in 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2022. They brought a new style of basketball to the biggest stage.
The Most Iconic NBA Finals Moments
The Finals have given us so many unforgettable moments.
Michael Jordan’s last shot as a Bull is one of the most replayed clips in sports history. In 1998, Jordan scored on a layup to cut Chicago’s deficit to one point, stole the ball from Karl Malone, then crossed over Bryon Russell to bury the go-ahead basket with 5.2 seconds left. He walked away after that. Six rings. No losses. Perfect.
Then there was LeBron James in 2016. His Cleveland Cavaliers trailed the Warriors 3-1 in the series. Nobody had ever come back from that deficit in the Finals. LeBron did it anyway. He finished with a famous chase-down block in Game 7 to help seal the win. Cleveland finally got its title.
Magic Johnson’s 1980 performance is another one people still talk about. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar could not play in Game 6 due to injury. Johnson, a natural point guard, was shifted to center and played every position on the court, scoring 42 points with 15 rebounds and 7 assists to win his first championship. He was a rookie. That night still feels impossible.
Recent NBA Finals Champions (2015-2025)
Here is a quick look at who has won the Finals over the last ten years. This stretch had some of the best basketball in league history.
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | Series | Finals MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Golden State Warriors | Cleveland Cavaliers | 4-2 | Andre Iguodala |
| 2016 | Cleveland Cavaliers | Golden State Warriors | 4-3 | LeBron James |
| 2017 | Golden State Warriors | Cleveland Cavaliers | 4-1 | Kevin Durant |
| 2018 | Golden State Warriors | Cleveland Cavaliers | 4-0 | Kevin Durant |
| 2019 | Toronto Raptors | Golden State Warriors | 4-2 | Kawhi Leonard |
| 2020 | Los Angeles Lakers | Miami Heat | 4-2 | LeBron James |
| 2021 | Milwaukee Bucks | Phoenix Suns | 4-2 | Giannis Antetokounmpo |
| 2022 | Golden State Warriors | Boston Celtics | 4-2 | Stephen Curry |
| 2023 | Denver Nuggets | Miami Heat | 4-1 | Nikola Jokic |
| 2024 | Boston Celtics | Dallas Mavericks | 4-1 | Jaylen Brown |
| 2025 | Oklahoma City Thunder | Indiana Pacers | 4-3 | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander |
The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers in seven games to win the 2025 NBA Finals and take home the Larry O’Brien Trophy. It was a big moment for OKC. Their young core finally got that ring.
All-Time Teams With the Most NBA Finals Titles
Some franchises just keep showing up. Here is a look at the teams with the most championships in NBA history.
| Team | Championships | Last Title |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Celtics | 18 | 2024 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 17 | 2020 |
| Golden State Warriors | 7 | 2022 |
| Chicago Bulls | 6 | 1998 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 5 | 2014 |
| Miami Heat | 3 | 2013 |
| Detroit Pistons | 3 | 2004 |
| New York Knicks | 2 | 1973 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | 3 | 1983 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | 2 | 2025 |
Why the NBA Finals Still Hits Different
Some people ask why the NBA Finals feels so special compared to other sports. Here is the honest answer. Basketball is personal.
In most sports, a helmet or a uniform hides the player. Not in basketball. You see every emotion on a player’s face. You see the sweat. You see the tears. You see the celebrations up close.
The NBA Finals also carry individual storylines. One superstar against another. LeBron vs. the Warriors. Kobe vs. the East. Giannis proving himself on the biggest stage. These stories pull people in even if they do not follow the regular season.
And the pressure shows. Stars play great or fall short. Either way, the NBA Finals tells you something real about a player.
What to Watch For in the 2026 Finals
Heading into June, here are the things worth paying attention to.
Can OKC stay perfect? The Thunder have not lost a single playoff game so far. That is rare. They play fast, they shoot well, and their defense is serious. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looks unstoppable.
Can the Knicks win a title they have been chasing for over 50 years? New York’s last championship was in 1973. Their fans have waited a long, long time. The city would go absolutely wild.
Watch for injuries too. Playoff basketball is brutal. The team that stays healthy usually wins.
The 2026 NBA Finals tip off June 3. Mark your calendar. This one looks like it will be really good.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if the teams tie in the NBA Finals?
Teams cannot tie in a basketball game. If the score is even when the clock runs out, they play extra time. This is called overtime. Overtime lasts for five minutes. If they are still tied after that, they play another five minutes. They keep playing until one team has more points. It gets super exciting.
How long does the entire series last?
The series can last anywhere from four to seven games. It depends on how fast one team can win four games. If one team is much better, they might win the first four games straight. That is called a sweep. If the teams are very close, they will play all seven games. The whole thing usually takes about two to three weeks because teams need rest days to travel.
Where do they play the games?
They play the games in the home stadiums of the two teams. The team with the better record in the regular season gets a small advantage. They get to host four games at home if the series goes all the way to Game 7. The other team hosts three games. This is called home-court advantage. Fans love it because they get to see their team play live.
Who decides who wins the Finals MVP?
A special group of media members and sportswriters votes for the winner. These are people who watch the games closely for their jobs. They cast their votes right at the end of the very last game. They look at who helped the team the most during the whole series, not just in one game. The player with the most votes gets the trophy.
Can a player win the trophy if their team loses?
Yes, it is possible, but it almost never happens. It only happened once a long time ago. Jerry West won it in 1969 even though his team lost the series. Usually, the award goes to someone on the winning team. It is hard to give the biggest award to a player who did not win the ultimate prize with their team.
