The NBA Playoffs are arguably the most exciting part of the NBA season. It’s a privilege to be able to watch the best NBA teams go head to head against each other, and see who comes out on top as the NBA champion. A part of what makes the NBA playoffs so special and exciting is the playoffs format that ensures the best matchups.
What is the difference between the NBA Finals and the NBA Conference Finals? The NBA Conference Finals consist of 2 NBA playoff series, each played by the two remaining teams from the same conference. The NBA Finals is the NBA playoff series played by the winners of the East and West Conference Finals. The NBA Finals is the only time a team from East and West meet in the postseason.
What is the NBA Conference Finals?
The NBA Conference Finals is the 3rd round of the NBA Playoffs, which occur after the end of the regular season. The NBA Conference Finals consist of two best-of-seven series, one played in the Eastern Conference and one in the Western Conference. The participants of the NBA Conference Finals consist of the winners of the 2nd round, leaving only two same-conference teams to participate in the Conference Finals. To clarify, the two remaining Eastern Conference teams play each other in the Eastern Conference Finals, and the two remaining Western Conference teams play each other in the Western Conference Finals.
In terms of the tournament-style playoff format, the NBA Conference Finals can be considered the semi-finals.
What do winners of the NBA Conference Finals receive?
The NBA began awarding NBA Conference Finals trophies in 2001. The Eastern Conference Finals winners receive the Bob Cousy Eastern Conference Finals trophy, and the Western Conference Finals winners receive the Oscar Robertson Western Conference Finals Trophy. The winners of each Conference Finals series receive a berth to the NBA Finals.
In 2022, in celebration of the NBA’s 75th anniversary, the NBA added the Conference Finals MVP award: the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals will receive the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP Award, and the MVP of the Western Conference Finals will receive the Magic Johnson Western Conference MVP Award.
All teams who make an appearance in the NBA Conference Finals receive a portion of the prize money from the NBA’s playoff pool: the reported figure for 2022 NBA Conference Finals teams was $586,898 each.
What is the NBA Finals?
The NBA Finals is the 4th round of the NBA Playoffs, which occur after the end of the regular season. The NBA Finals is a singular best-of-seven series. The participants of the NBA Finals consist of the winners of the NBA Conference Finals (the 3rd round), leaving just one team from each conference to participate in the NBA Finals. To clarify, the winners of the Eastern Conference Finals match up against the winners of the Western Conference Finals.
What do winners of the NBA Finals receive?
The winners of the NBA Finals receive the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. Members of the winning team also receive championship rings during a ceremony at the start of the next season, even if those players have moved on to a different team. One player also wins the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP award.
The winners of the NBA Finals also receive the biggest share of the prize money from the NBA’s playoff pool: the reported figure for the 2022 NBA Finals winner was $3,541,896. The runners-up received $2,346,947 in comparison.
Which team has won the most NBA Eastern Conference Finals?
The Boston Celtics have won the most NBA Eastern Conference Finals, with 10 wins. The Celtics also hold the record for the most appearances in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, with 21 appearances, giving them a 10-11 record. Every Eastern Conference team has won or at least made an appearance in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, except for the New Orleans Pelicans and the Charlotte Hornets.
Which team has won the most NBA Western Conference Finals?
The Los Angeles Lakers have won the most NBA Western Conference Finals, with 23 wins. They also hold the record for the most appearances in the NBA Western Conference Finals, with 23 appearances, with a strong 19-4 record. The Lakers also hold the record for the most wins, as well as the most appearances in the NBA Conference Finals.
Every Western Conference team has won or at least made an appearance in the NBA Western Conference Finals.
Which team has won the most NBA Finals?
The Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics are tied for the most NBA Finals wins in NBA history, with 17 championships each. The Lakers hold the record for the most NBA Finals appearances, with 32 appearances.
Note: to address the discrepancy between the Boston Celtics’ Conference Finals wins (10) and NBA Finals wins (17), the Celtics won 11 titles before the implementation of the new playoff format in 1971, which added the Conference Finals. Since the 1971 playoff format change, the Celtics have won 6 NBA Finals series.
Which conference has more NBA Finals winners?
While the Western Conference’s Los Angeles Lakers might hold the record for the most NBA Finals wins, it is Eastern Conference teams who have won more NBA titles. 10 of the Eastern Conference teams have won a combined 38 NBA Finals series, while 9 Western Conference teams have won a combined 35 NBA Finals series.
The NBA Finals playoff format is set to have the best team from each conference play each other for the championship. While seeding is favorable to teams with stronger regular season records, quite often the best team isn’t the one that holds the best records. While some may grumble the fact that conference play doesn’t always pit the best teams against each other (referring to the occasional “imbalance” in terms of conference strength), the facts are that the NBA Finals are quite balanced: the Eastern Conference and Western Conference are nearly neck-and-neck when it comes to NBA Finals wins. As long as the current playoff format keeps its competitive parity as well as the excitement and buzz, the NBA Playoffs, especially the NBA Conference Finals and the NBA Finals, will remain a must-watch for basketball fans and sports fans around the world.