NBA conference finals

Template:Short description Template:Redirect The NBA conference finals are the Eastern and Western Conference championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA), a professional basketball league in North America. The NBA was founded in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The NBA adopted its current name at the start of the 1949–50 season when the BAA merged with the National Basketball League (NBL).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The league currently consists of 30 teams, of which 29 are located in the United States and 1 in Canada. Each team plays 82 games in the regular season.Template:Efn-ua After the regular season, eight teams from each of the league's two conferences qualify for the playoffs. At the end of the playoffs, the top two teams play each other in the conference finals, to determine the conference champions from each side, who then proceed to play in the NBA Finals. Trophies were given to each conference winner starting in 2001. In 2022, the league started naming a conference finals most valuable player (MVP) for each conference.<ref name=feldman_05122022>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Overview

Initially, the BAA teams were aligned into the Eastern Division and the Western Division. The Divisional Finals were first played in Template:Nbay, the league's third season. The first two seasons used a playoffs format where Eastern and Western Division teams would face each other before the BAA Finals. Hence, there were no divisional finals. In the Template:Nbay, the league realigned itself to three divisions, with the addition of the Central Division. However, the arrangement was only used for one season, and the league returned to the two-division format in Template:Nbay. The two divisions' format remained until Template:Nbay when the NBA realigned itself into two conferences with two divisions each, which led to the renaming to conference finals.

The finals were a best-of-3 series from 1949 to 1950, a best-of-5 series from 1951 to 1956, and a best-of-7 series since 1957. The conference finals are currently played in a best-of-7 series like the NBA playoffs and Finals. The two series are played in late May each year after the first and second rounds of the Playoffs and before the Finals. After the conference finals, winners are presented with a silver trophy, caps, and T-shirts and advance to the NBA Finals.

The Los Angeles Lakers have won the most conference titles with 19. They have also made 24 appearances in the conference finals, more than any other team, which included eight consecutive appearances in the Western Conference finals from 1982 to 1989. The Boston Celtics have won 11 conference championships, the second most of any team. 23 of the 30 active franchises have won at least one conference title. The Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Sacramento Kings, Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers have each played in at least one conference finals, but have failed to win their respective conference title. Two other franchises, the Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans, have never appeared in the conference finals.

Conference trophies

The NBA first awarded conference championship trophies in 2001.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2022, both were redesigned, and named the Bob Cousy Trophy for the Eastern Conference and the Oscar Robertson Trophy for the Western Conference, in honor of two men who were instrumental in developing and advancing the players' labor union, the National Basketball Players Association. The two redesigned trophies each feature a silver basketball with its respective conference finals logo on the underside. The trophies also have a slightly different base for each conference to help distinguish one from the other; the silver basketball on the Eastern Conference trophy sits on three pegs, while the Western Conference trophy has the basketball on intercrossing circular rings. The silver basketball is quartered into four sections, representing the winning team first qualifying for the playoffs and then advancing through the three playoff rounds. In that same year, the NBA began awarding conference finals MVPs to the best-performing player of each conference finals.<ref name="NBAconferencetrophy">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Key

	NBA champion, winner of the NBA Finals
†	Team with the best regular season record, or tie for best

Conference

Eastern Conference Finals

Year	Champion	Coach	Result	Runner-up	Coach
1971	Baltimore Bullets	Template:Sortname	4–3	New York Knicks	Template:Sortname
1972	New York Knicks	Template:Sortname	4–1	Boston Celtics	Template:Sortname
1973	New York Knicks	Template:Sortname	4–3	Boston Celtics†	Template:Sortname
1974	Boston Celtics	Template:Sortname	4–1	New York Knicks	Template:Sortname
1975	Washington Bullets†	Template:Sortname	4–2	Boston Celtics†	Template:Sortname
1976	Boston Celtics	Template:Sortname	4–2	Cleveland Cavaliers	Template:Sortname
1977	Philadelphia 76ers	Template:Sortname	4–2	Houston Rockets	Template:Sortname
1978	Washington Bullets	Template:Sortname	4–2	Philadelphia 76ers	Template:Sortname
1979	Washington Bullets†	Template:Sortname	4–3	San Antonio Spurs	Template:Sortname
1980	Philadelphia 76ers	Template:Sortname	4–1	Boston Celtics†	Template:Sortname
1981	Boston Celtics†	Template:Sortname	4–3	Philadelphia 76ers†	Template:Sortname
1982	Philadelphia 76ers	Template:Sortname	4–3	Boston Celtics†	Template:Sortname
1983	Philadelphia 76ers†	Template:Sortname	4–1	Milwaukee Bucks	Template:Sortname
1984	Boston Celtics†	Template:Sortname	4–1	Milwaukee Bucks	Template:Sortname
1985	Boston Celtics†	Template:Sortname	4–1	Philadelphia 76ers	Template:Sortname
1986	Boston Celtics†	Template:Sortname	4–0	Milwaukee Bucks	Template:Sortname
1987	Boston Celtics	Template:Sortname	4–3	Detroit Pistons	Template:Sortname
1988	Detroit Pistons	Template:Sortname	4–2	Boston Celtics	Template:Sortname
1989	Detroit Pistons†	Template:Sortname	4–2	Chicago Bulls	Template:Sortname
1990	Detroit Pistons	Template:Sortname	4–3	Chicago Bulls	Template:Sortname
1991	Chicago Bulls	Template:Sortname	4–0	Detroit Pistons	Template:Sortname
1992	Chicago Bulls†	Template:Sortname	4–2	Cleveland Cavaliers	Template:Sortname
1993	Chicago Bulls	Template:Sortname	4–2	New York Knicks	Template:Sortname
1994	New York Knicks	Template:Sortname	4–3	Indiana Pacers	Template:Sortname
1995	Orlando Magic	Template:Sortname	4–3	Indiana Pacers	Template:Sortname
1996	Chicago Bulls†	Template:Sortname	4–0	Orlando Magic	Template:Sortname
1997	Chicago Bulls†	Template:Sortname	4–1	Miami Heat	Template:Sortname
1998	Chicago Bulls†	Template:Sortname	4–3	Indiana Pacers	Template:Sortname
1999	New York Knicks	Template:Sortname	4–2	Indiana Pacers	Template:Sortname
2000	Indiana Pacers	Template:Sortname	4–2	New York Knicks	Template:Sortname
2001	Philadelphia 76ers	Template:Sortname	4–3	Milwaukee Bucks	Template:Sortname
2002	New Jersey Nets	Template:Sortname	4–2	Boston Celtics	Template:Sortname
2003	New Jersey Nets	Template:Sortname	4–0	Detroit Pistons	Template:Sortname
2004	Detroit Pistons	Template:Sortname	4–2	Indiana Pacers†	Template:Sortname
2005	Detroit Pistons	Template:Sortname	4–3	Miami Heat	Template:Sortname
2006	Miami Heat	Template:Sortname	4–2	Detroit Pistons†	Template:Sortname
2007	Cleveland Cavaliers	Template:Sortname	4–2	Detroit Pistons	Template:Sortname
2008	Boston Celtics†	Template:Sortname	4–2	Detroit Pistons	Template:Sortname
2009	Orlando Magic	Template:Sortname	4–2	Cleveland Cavaliers†	Template:Sortname
2010	Boston Celtics	Template:Sortname	4–2	Orlando Magic	Template:Sortname
2011	Miami Heat	Template:Sortname	4–1	Chicago Bulls†	Template:Sortname
2012	Miami Heat	Template:Sortname	4–3	Boston Celtics	Template:Sortname
2013	Miami Heat†	Template:Sortname	4–3	Indiana Pacers	Template:Sortname
2014	Miami Heat	Template:Sortname	4–2	Indiana Pacers	Template:Sortname
2015	Cleveland Cavaliers	Template:Sortname	4–0	Atlanta Hawks	Template:Sortname
2016	Cleveland Cavaliers	Template:Sortname	4–2	Toronto Raptors	Template:Sortname
2017	Cleveland Cavaliers	Template:Sortname	4–1	Boston Celtics	Template:Sortname
2018	Cleveland Cavaliers	Template:Sortname	4–3	Boston Celtics	Template:Sortname
2019	Toronto Raptors	Template:Sortname	4–2	Milwaukee Bucks†	Template:Sortname
2020	Miami Heat	Template:Sortname	4–2	Boston Celtics	Template:Sortname
2021	Milwaukee Bucks	Template:Sortname	4–2	Atlanta Hawks	Template:Sortname
2022	Boston Celtics	Template:Sortname	4–3	Miami Heat	Template:Sortname
2023	Miami Heat	Template:Sortname	4–3	Boston Celtics	Template:Sortname
2024	Boston Celtics†	Template:Sortname	4–0	Indiana Pacers	Template:Sortname
2025	Indiana Pacers	Template:Sortname	4–2	New York Knicks	Template:Sortname

Western Conference Finals

Year	Champion	Coach	Result	Runner-up	Coach
1971	Milwaukee Bucks†	Template:Sortname	4–1	Los Angeles Lakers	Template:Sortname
1972	Los Angeles Lakers†	Template:Sortname	4–2	Milwaukee Bucks	Template:Sortname
1973	Los Angeles Lakers	Template:Sortname	4–1	Golden State Warriors	Template:Sortname
1974	Milwaukee Bucks†	Template:Sortname	4–0	Chicago Bulls	Template:Sortname
1975	Golden State Warriors	Template:Sortname	4–3	Chicago Bulls	Template:Sortname
1976	Phoenix Suns	Template:Sortname	4–3	Golden State Warriors†	Template:Sortname
1977	Portland Trail Blazers	Template:Sortname	4–0	Los Angeles Lakers†	Template:Sortname
1978	Seattle SuperSonics	Template:Sortname	4–2	Denver Nuggets	Template:Sortname
1979	Seattle SuperSonics	Template:Sortname	4–3	Phoenix Suns	Template:Sortname
1980	Los Angeles Lakers	Template:Sortname	4–1	Seattle SuperSonics	Template:Sortname
1981	Houston Rockets	Template:Sortname	4–1	Kansas City Kings	Template:Sortname
1982	Los Angeles Lakers	Template:Sortname	4–0	San Antonio Spurs	Template:Sortname
1983	Los Angeles Lakers	Template:Sortname	4–2	San Antonio Spurs	Template:Sortname
1984	Los Angeles Lakers	Template:Sortname	4–2	Phoenix Suns	Template:Sortname
1985	Los Angeles Lakers	Template:Sortname	4–1	Denver Nuggets	Template:Sortname
1986	Houston Rockets	Template:Sortname	4–1	Los Angeles Lakers	Template:Sortname
1987	Los Angeles Lakers†	Template:Sortname	4–0	Seattle SuperSonics	Template:Sortname
1988	Los Angeles Lakers†	Template:Sortname	4–3	Dallas Mavericks	Template:Sortname
1989	Los Angeles Lakers	Template:Sortname	4–0	Phoenix Suns	Template:Sortname
1990	Portland Trail Blazers	Template:Sortname	4–2	Phoenix Suns	Template:Sortname
1991	Los Angeles Lakers	Template:Sortname	4–2	Portland Trail Blazers†	Template:Sortname
1992	Portland Trail Blazers	Template:Sortname	4–2	Utah Jazz	Template:Sortname
1993	Phoenix Suns†	Template:Sortname	4–3	Seattle SuperSonics	Template:Sortname
1994	Houston Rockets	Template:Sortname	4–1	Utah Jazz	Template:Sortname
1995	Houston Rockets	Template:Sortname	4–2	San Antonio Spurs†	Template:Sortname
1996	Seattle SuperSonics	Template:Sortname	4–3	Utah Jazz	Template:Sortname
1997	Utah Jazz	Template:Sortname	4–2	Houston Rockets	Template:Sortname
1998	Utah Jazz†	Template:Sortname	4–0	Los Angeles Lakers	Template:Sortname
1999	San Antonio Spurs†	Template:Sortname	4–0	Portland Trail Blazers	Template:Sortname
2000	Los Angeles Lakers†	Template:Sortname	4–3	Portland Trail Blazers	Template:Sortname
2001	Los Angeles Lakers	Template:Sortname	4–0	San Antonio Spurs†	Template:Sortname
2002	Los Angeles Lakers	Template:Sortname	4–3	Sacramento Kings†	Template:Sortname
2003	San Antonio Spurs†	Template:Sortname	4–2	Dallas Mavericks†	Template:Sortname
2004	Los Angeles Lakers	Template:Sortname	4–2	Minnesota Timberwolves	Template:Sortname
2005	San Antonio Spurs	Template:Sortname	4–1	Phoenix Suns†	Template:Sortname
2006	Dallas Mavericks	Template:Sortname	4–2	Phoenix Suns	Template:Sortname
2007	San Antonio Spurs	Template:Sortname	4–1	Utah Jazz	Template:Sortname
2008	Los Angeles Lakers	Template:Sortname	4–1	San Antonio Spurs	Template:Sortname
2009	Los Angeles Lakers	Template:Sortname	4–2	Denver Nuggets	Template:Sortname
2010	Los Angeles Lakers	Template:Sortname	4–2	Phoenix Suns	Template:Sortname
2011	Dallas Mavericks	Template:Sortname	4–1	Oklahoma City Thunder	Template:Sortname
2012	Oklahoma City Thunder	Template:Sortname	4–2	San Antonio Spurs†	Template:Sortname
2013	San Antonio Spurs	Template:Sortname	4–0	Memphis Grizzlies	Template:Sortname
2014	San Antonio Spurs†	Template:Sortname	4–2	Oklahoma City Thunder	Template:Sortname
2015	Golden State Warriors†	Template:Sortname	4–1	Houston Rockets	Template:Sortname
2016	Golden State Warriors†	Template:Sortname	4–3	Oklahoma City Thunder	Template:Sortname
2017	Golden State Warriors†	Template:Sortname	4–0	San Antonio Spurs	Template:Sortname
2018	Golden State Warriors	Template:Sortname	4–3	Houston Rockets†	Template:Sortname
2019	Golden State Warriors	Template:Sortname	4–0	Portland Trail Blazers	Template:Sortname
2020	Los Angeles Lakers	Template:Sortname	4–1	Denver Nuggets	Template:Sortname
2021	Phoenix Suns	Template:Sortname	4–2	Los Angeles Clippers	Template:Sortname
2022	Golden State Warriors	Template:Sortname	4–1	Dallas Mavericks	Template:Sortname
2023	Denver Nuggets	Template:Sortname	4–0	Los Angeles Lakers	Template:Sortname
2024	Dallas Mavericks	Template:Sortname	4–1	Minnesota Timberwolves	Template:Sortname
2025	Oklahoma City Thunder	Template:Sortname	4–1	Minnesota Timberwolves	Template:Sortname

Results by team

Stats updated through June 1, 2025

Total number of appearances

Team	East	West	Total	East	West	Total	Total appearances
	Champions			Runner-up
Los Angeles Lakers	0	19	19	0	5	5	24
Boston Celtics	11	0	11	12	0	12	23
San Antonio Spurs	0	6	6	1	7	8	14
Chicago Bulls	6	0	6	3	2	5	11
Detroit Pistons	5	0	5	6	0	6	11
Seattle SuperSonics / Oklahoma City Thunder	0	5	5	0	6	6	11
Miami Heat	7	0	7	3	0	3	10
Phoenix Suns	0	3	3	0	7	7	10
Indiana Pacers	2	0	2	8	0	8	10
San Francisco / Golden State Warriors	0	7	7	0	2	2	9
New York Knicks	4	0	4	5	0	5	9
Milwaukee Bucks	1	2	3	5	1	6	9
Cleveland Cavaliers	5	0	5	3	0	3	8
Philadelphia 76ers	5	0	5	3	0	3	8
Houston Rockets	0	4	4	1	3	4	8
Portland Trail Blazers	0	3	3	0	4	4	7
Utah Jazz	0	2	2	0	4	4	6
Dallas Mavericks	0	3	3	0	3	3	6
Denver Nuggets	0	1	1	0	4	4	5
Baltimore / Washington Bullets	4	0	4	0	0	0	4
Orlando Magic	2	0	2	2	0	2	4
Minnesota Timberwolves	0	0	0	0	3	3	3
Toronto Raptors	1	0	1	1	0	1	2
Atlanta Hawks	0	0	0	2	0	2	2
New Jersey / Brooklyn Nets	2	0	2	0	0	0	2
Kansas City / Sacramento Kings	0	0	0	0	2	2	2
Memphis Grizzlies	0	0	0	0	1	1	1
Los Angeles Clippers	0	0	0	0	1	1	1
New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Years of appearance

In the sortable table below, teams are ordered first by number of appearances, then by number of wins, and finally by year of first appearance. In the "Season(s)" column, bold years indicate winning conference finals appearances.

Template:Abbr	Team	Wins	Losses	Win %	Season(s)
24	Los Angeles Lakers	19	5	Template:Winpct	1971, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2020, 2023
23	Boston Celtics	11	12	Template:Winpct	1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 2002, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024
14	San Antonio Spurs	6	8	Template:Winpct	1979, 1982, 1983, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017
11	Chicago Bulls	6	5	Template:Winpct	1974, 1975, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2011
11	Detroit Pistons	5	6	Template:Winpct	1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
11	Oklahoma City Thunder	5	6	Template:Winpct	1978, 1979, 1980, 1987, 1993, 1996, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2025
10	Miami Heat	7	3	Template:Winpct	1997, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2020, 2022, 2023
10	Phoenix Suns	3	7	Template:Winpct	1976, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1990, 1993, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2021
10	Indiana Pacers	2	8	Template:Winpct	1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2024, 2025
9	Golden State Warriors	7	2	Template:Winpct	1973, 1975, 1976, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022
9	New York Knicks	4	5	Template:Winpct	1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2000, 2025
9	Milwaukee Bucks	3	6	Template:Winpct	1971, 1972, 1974, 1983, 1984, 1986, 2001, 2019, 2021
8	Philadelphia 76ers	5	3	Template:Winpct	1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 2001
8	Cleveland Cavaliers	5	3	Template:Winpct	1976, 1992, 2007, 2009, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
8	Houston Rockets	4	4	Template:Winpct	1977, 1981, 1986, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2015, 2018
7	Portland Trail Blazers	3	4	Template:Winpct	1977, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1999, 2000, 2019
6	Dallas Mavericks	3	3	Template:Winpct	1988, 2003, 2006, 2011, 2022, 2024
6	Utah Jazz	2	4	Template:Winpct	1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2007
5	Denver Nuggets	1	4	Template:Winpct	1978, 1985, 2009, 2020, 2023
4	Washington Wizards	4	0	Template:Winpct	1971, 1975, 1978, 1979
4	Orlando Magic	2	2	Template:Winpct	1995, 1996, 2009, 2010
3	Minnesota Timberwolves	0	3	Template:Winpct	2004, 2024, 2025
2	Brooklyn Nets	2	0	Template:Winpct	2002, 2003
2	Toronto Raptors	1	1	Template:Winpct	2016, 2019
2	Sacramento Kings	0	2	.000	1981, 2002
2	Atlanta Hawks	0	2	.000	2015, 2021
1	Memphis Grizzlies	0	1	Template:Winpct	2013
1	Los Angeles Clippers	0	1	Template:Winpct	2021
0	Charlotte Hornets	0	0	Template:Winpct
0	New Orleans Pelicans	0	0	Template:Winpct

See also

• List of NBA champions
• List of NBA seasons

External links

• NBA History at NBA.com
• NBA and ABA Playoff Index (includes BAA) at Basketball-Reference.com