NBA Conference Finals
The National Basketball Association Conference Finals are the Eastern and Western championship series of the National Basketball Association, a major professional basketball league in North America. The NBA was founded in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America. The NBA adopted its current name at the start of the 1949–50 season when the BAA merged with the National Basketball League. 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. 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.
Overview
Initially, the BAA teams were aligned into two divisions, the Eastern Division and the Western Division. The Divisional Finals were first played in, 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, 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 went back into two divisions format in. The two divisions format remained until, when the NBA realigned itself into two conferences with two divisions each, which led to the renaming to Conference Finals. The finals was a best-of-3 series from 1949 to 1950 to; a best-of-5 series from 1951–56, and a best-of-7 series since 1957. Currently, the Conference Finals are 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. At the conclusion of 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 31, which consists of 30 Western Conference titles and one title in the now-defunct Central Division. They have also made 40 appearances in the Conference Finals, more than any other team. The Boston Celtics have won 21 Eastern Conference titles, the second most of any team. The Celtics also hold the record for consecutive titles; they won 10 consecutive Eastern Division titles from 1957–66. The Golden State Warriors and the Detroit Pistons hold the distinction of being the only teams to have won both East and West titles. Twenty-four of the 30 active franchises have won at least one conference title. The Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Memphis Grizzlies have each played in at least one Conference Finals, but they have each failed to win their respective conference title. Three other franchises, the Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers, and New Orleans Pelicans have never appeared in the Conference Finals. Of the 143 conference and divisional champions, 46 were won by the team who had or tied for the best regular season record for that season.
Key
Eastern Division/Conference
NBA history officially begins with three Basketball Association of America seasons. In its first two postseason tournaments, BAA Eastern and Western Division champions were matched in a long first-round series while four runners-up played off to determine the other finalist.- 1946–1947: Washington Capitols, lost to the Western champion
- 1947–1948: Philadelphia Warriors, defeated the Western champion, lost the BAA Finals
Eastern Division Finals
| Year | Champion | Coach | Result | Runner-up | Coach |
| 1949 | Washington Capitols | 2–1 | New York Knicks | ||
| 1950 | Syracuse Nationals† | 2–1 | New York Knicks | ||
| 1951 | New York Knicks | 3–2 | Syracuse Nationals | ||
| 1952 | New York Knicks | 3–1 | Syracuse Nationals | ||
| 1953 | New York Knicks | 3–1 | Boston Celtics | ||
| 1954 | Syracuse Nationals | 2–0 | Boston Celtics | ||
| 1955 | Syracuse Nationals† | 3–1 | Boston Celtics | ||
| 1956 | Philadelphia Warriors† | 3–2 | Syracuse Nationals | ||
| 1957 | Boston Celtics† | 3–0 | Syracuse Nationals | ||
| 1958 | Boston Celtics† | 4–1 | Philadelphia Warriors | ||
| 1959 | Boston Celtics† | 4–3 | Syracuse Nationals | ||
| 1960 | Boston Celtics† | 4–2 | Philadelphia Warriors | ||
| 1961 | Boston Celtics† | 4–1 | Syracuse Nationals | ||
| 1962 | Boston Celtics† | 4–3 | Philadelphia Warriors | ||
| 1963 | Boston Celtics† | 4–3 | Cincinnati Royals | ||
| 1964 | Boston Celtics† | 4–1 | Cincinnati Royals | ||
| 1965 | Boston Celtics† | 4–3 | Philadelphia 76ers | ||
| 1966 | Boston Celtics | 4–1 | Philadelphia 76ers† | ||
| 1967 | Philadelphia 76ers† | 4–1 | Boston Celtics | ||
| 1968 | Boston Celtics | 4–3 | Philadelphia 76ers† | ||
| 1969 | Boston Celtics | 4–2 | New York Knicks | ||
| 1970 | New York Knicks† | 4–1 | Milwaukee Bucks |
Eastern Conference Finals
Western Division/Conference
NBA history officially begins with three Basketball Association of America seasons. In its first two postseason tournaments, BAA Eastern and Western Division champions were matched in a long first-round series while four runners-up played off to determine the other finalist.- 1946–1947: Chicago Stags, defeated the Eastern champion, lost the BAA Finals
- 1947–1948: St. Louis Bombers, lost to the Eastern champion
Western Division Finals
| Year | Champion | Coach | Result | Runner-up | Coach |
| 1949 | Minneapolis Lakers | 2–0 | Rochester Royals† | ||
| 1950 | Anderson Packers | 2–1 | Indianapolis Olympians | ||
| 1951 | Rochester Royals | 3–1 | Minneapolis Lakers† | ||
| 1952 | Minneapolis Lakers | 3–1 | Rochester Royals† | ||
| 1953 | Minneapolis Lakers† | 3–2 | Fort Wayne Pistons | ||
| 1954 | Minneapolis Lakers† | 2–1 | Rochester Royals | ||
| 1955 | Fort Wayne Pistons | 3–1 | Minneapolis Lakers | ||
| 1956 | Fort Wayne Pistons | 3–2 | St. Louis Hawks | ||
| 1957 | St. Louis Hawks | 3–0 | Minneapolis Lakers | ||
| 1958 | St. Louis Hawks | 4–1 | Detroit Pistons | ||
| 1959 | Minneapolis Lakers | 4–2 | St. Louis Hawks | ||
| 1960 | St. Louis Hawks | 4–3 | Minneapolis Lakers | ||
| 1961 | St. Louis Hawks | 4–3 | Los Angeles Lakers | ||
| 1962 | Los Angeles Lakers | 4–2 | Detroit Pistons | ||
| 1963 | Los Angeles Lakers | 4–3 | St. Louis Hawks | ||
| 1964 | San Francisco Warriors | 4–3 | St. Louis Hawks | ||
| 1965 | Los Angeles Lakers | 4–2 | Baltimore Bullets | ||
| 1966 | Los Angeles Lakers | 4–3 | St. Louis Hawks | ||
| 1967 | San Francisco Warriors | 4–2 | St. Louis Hawks | ||
| 1968 | Los Angeles Lakers | 4–0 | San Francisco Warriors | ||
| 1969 | Los Angeles Lakers | 4–1 | Atlanta Hawks | ||
| 1970 | Los Angeles Lakers | 4–0 | Atlanta Hawks |
Western Conference Finals
Central Division
Before the, the BAA merged with the NBL and became the NBA. The number of teams competed increased to 17 and the league realigned itself to three divisions, creating the Central Division. In that season, 4 teams with the best win–loss records from each division advanced to the divisional playoffs. Then, the winner of the Western and Central Division Finals met in the NBA Semifinals in order to determine who would face the Eastern Division champion Syracuse Nationals in the NBA Finals. The Minneapolis Lakers defeated the Western Division champion Anderson Packers in the best-of-3 series 2–0 to advance to the Finals. The Lakers eventually won the Finals against the Nationals. It disbanded before the, after 6 teams folded and the league realigned itself back into two divisions. It returned in as one of the divisions in the newly formed Eastern Conference.Division Finals
Results by team
Stats updated through May 26, 2019;Total number of appearances
;Consecutive appearances
- 13 Boston Celtics:
- 8 Los Angeles Lakers:
- 6 St. Louis Hawks:
- 6 Los Angeles Lakers:
- 6 New York Knicks:
- 6 Detroit Pistons:
- 5 New York Knicks:
- 5 Minneapolis Lakers:
- 5 Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers:
- 5 Boston Celtics:
- 5 Chicago Bulls:
- 5 Detroit Pistons:
- 5 Golden State Warriors: