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). The NBA adopted its current name at the start of the 1949–50 season when the BAA merged with the National Basketball League (NBL). The league 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. 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.
Overview Initially, the BAA teams were aligned into the Eastern and Western divisions. The division 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 returned to the two-division format in . The two divisions' format remained until when the NBA realigned itself into two conferences with two divisions each, which led to the creation of the conference finals.
The finals were a best-of-three series from 1949 to 1950, a best-of-five series from 1951 to 1956, and a best-of-seven series since 1957. The conference finals are played in a best-of-seven 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. 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 (NBPA). 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.
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 4–3 New York Knicks 1972 New York Knicks 4–1 Boston Celtics 1973 New York Knicks 4–3 Boston Celtics 1974 Boston Celtics 4–1 New York Knicks 1975 Washington Bullets 4–2 Boston Celtics 1976 Boston Celtics 4–2 Cleveland Cavaliers 1977 Philadelphia 76ers 4–2 Houston Rockets 1978 Washington Bullets 4–2 Philadelphia 76ers 1979 Washington Bullets 4–3 San Antonio Spurs 1980 Philadelphia 76ers 4–1 Boston Celtics 1981 Boston Celtics 4–3 Philadelphia 76ers 1982 Philadelphia 76ers 4–3 Boston Celtics 1983 Philadelphia 76ers 4–1 Milwaukee Bucks 1984 Boston Celtics 4–1 Milwaukee Bucks 1985 Boston Celtics 4–1 Philadelphia 76ers 1986 Boston Celtics 4–0 Milwaukee Bucks 1987 Boston Celtics 4–3 Detroit Pistons 1988 Detroit Pistons 4–2 Boston Celtics 1989 Detroit Pistons 4–2 Chicago Bulls 1990 Detroit Pistons 4–3 Chicago Bulls 1991 Chicago Bulls 4–0 Detroit Pistons 1992 Chicago Bulls 4–2 Cleveland Cavaliers 1993 Chicago Bulls 4–2 New York Knicks 1994 New York Knicks 4–3 Indiana Pacers 1995 Orlando Magic 4–3 Indiana Pacers 1996 Chicago Bulls 4–0 Orlando Magic 1997 Chicago Bulls 4–1 Miami Heat 1998 Chicago Bulls 4–3 Indiana Pacers 1999 New York Knicks 4–2 Indiana Pacers 2000 Indiana Pacers 4–2 New York Knicks 2001 Philadelphia 76ers 4–3 Milwaukee Bucks 2002 New Jersey Nets 4–2 Boston Celtics 2003 New Jersey Nets 4–0 Detroit Pistons 2004 Detroit Pistons 4–2 Indiana Pacers 2005 Detroit Pistons 4–3 Miami Heat 2006 Miami Heat 4–2 Detroit Pistons 2007 Cleveland Cavaliers 4–2 Detroit Pistons 2008 Boston Celtics 4–2 Detroit Pistons 2009 Orlando Magic 4–2 Cleveland Cavaliers 2010 Boston Celtics 4–2 Orlando Magic 2011 Miami Heat 4–1 Chicago Bulls 2012 Miami Heat 4–3 Boston Celtics 2013 Miami Heat 4–3 Indiana Pacers 2014 Miami Heat 4–2 Indiana Pacers 2015 Cleveland Cavaliers 4–0 Atlanta Hawks 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers 4–2 Toronto Raptors 2017 Cleveland Cavaliers 4–1 Boston Celtics 2018 Cleveland Cavaliers 4–3 Boston Celtics 2019 Toronto Raptors 4–2 Milwaukee Bucks 2020 Miami Heat 4–2 Boston Celtics 2021 Milwaukee Bucks 4–2 Atlanta Hawks 2022 Boston Celtics 4–3 Miami Heat 2023 Miami Heat 4–3 Boston Celtics 2024 Boston Celtics 4–0 Indiana Pacers 2025 Indiana Pacers 4–2 New York Knicks 2026 New York Knicks Mike Brown 4–0 Cleveland Cavaliers Kenny Atkinson
Western Conference finals Year Champion Coach Result Runner-up Coach 1971 Milwaukee Bucks 4–1 Los Angeles Lakers 1972 Los Angeles Lakers 4–2 Milwaukee Bucks 1973 Los Angeles Lakers 4–1 Golden State Warriors 1974 Milwaukee Bucks 4–0 Chicago Bulls 1975 Golden State Warriors 4–3 Chicago Bulls 1976 Phoenix Suns 4–3 Golden State Warriors 1977 Portland Trail Blazers 4–0 Los Angeles Lakers 1978 Seattle SuperSonics 4–2 Denver Nuggets 1979 Seattle SuperSonics 4–3 Phoenix Suns 1980 Los Angeles Lakers 4–1 Seattle SuperSonics 1981 Houston Rockets 4–1 Kansas City Kings 1982 Los Angeles Lakers 4–0 San Antonio Spurs 1983 Los Angeles Lakers 4–2 San Antonio Spurs 1984 Los Angeles Lakers 4–2 Phoenix Suns 1985 Los Angeles Lakers 4–1 Denver Nuggets 1986 Houston Rockets 4–1 Los Angeles Lakers 1987 Los Angeles Lakers 4–0 Seattle SuperSonics 1988 Los Angeles Lakers 4–3 Dallas Mavericks 1989 Los Angeles Lakers 4–0 Phoenix Suns 1990 Portland Trail Blazers 4–2 Phoenix Suns 1991 Los Angeles Lakers 4–2 Portland Trail Blazers 1992 Portland Trail Blazers 4–2 Utah Jazz 1993 Phoenix Suns 4–3 Seattle SuperSonics 1994 Houston Rockets 4–1 Utah Jazz 1995 Houston Rockets 4–2 San Antonio Spurs 1996 Seattle SuperSonics 4–3 Utah Jazz 1997 Utah Jazz 4–2 Houston Rockets 1998 Utah Jazz 4–0 Los Angeles Lakers 1999 San Antonio Spurs 4–0 Portland Trail Blazers 2000 Los Angeles Lakers 4–3 Portland Trail Blazers 2001 Los Angeles Lakers 4–0 San Antonio Spurs 2002 Los Angeles Lakers 4–3 Sacramento Kings 2003 San Antonio Spurs 4–2 Dallas Mavericks 2004 Los Angeles Lakers 4–2 Minnesota Timberwolves 2005 San Antonio Spurs 4–1 Phoenix Suns 2006 Dallas Mavericks 4–2 Phoenix Suns 2007 San Antonio Spurs 4–1 Utah Jazz 2008 Los Angeles Lakers 4–1 San Antonio Spurs 2009 Los Angeles Lakers 4–2 Denver Nuggets 2010 Los Angeles Lakers 4–2 Phoenix Suns 2011 Dallas Mavericks 4–1 Oklahoma City Thunder 2012 Oklahoma City Thunder 4–2 San Antonio Spurs 2013 San Antonio Spurs 4–0 Memphis Grizzlies 2014 San Antonio Spurs 4–2 Oklahoma City Thunder 2015 Golden State Warriors 4–1 Houston Rockets 2016 Golden State Warriors 4–3 Oklahoma City Thunder 2017 Golden State Warriors 4–0 San Antonio Spurs 2018 Golden State Warriors 4–3 Houston Rockets 2019 Golden State Warriors 4–0 Portland Trail Blazers 2020 Los Angeles Lakers 4–1 Denver Nuggets 2021 Phoenix Suns 4–2 Los Angeles Clippers 2022 Golden State Warriors 4–1 Dallas Mavericks 2023 Denver Nuggets 4–0 Los Angeles Lakers 2024 Dallas Mavericks 4–1 Minnesota Timberwolves 2025 Oklahoma City Thunder 4–1 Minnesota Timberwolves 2026 San Antonio Spurs 4–3 Oklahoma City Thunder
Results by team Note: statistics are correct as of the 2026 NBA playoffs.
Total number of appearances Team East West Total East West Total TotalappearancesChampions Runner-upLos Angeles Lakers 0 19 19 0 5 5 24Boston Celtics 11 0 11 12 0 12 23San Antonio Spurs 0 7 7 1 7 8 15Seattle SuperSonics / Oklahoma City Thunder 0 5 5 0 7 7 12Chicago Bulls 6 0 6 3 2 5 11Detroit Pistons 5 0 5 6 0 6 11Miami Heat 7 0 7 3 0 3 10Phoenix Suns 0 3 3 0 7 7 10New York Knicks 5 0 5 5 0 5 10Indiana Pacers 2 0 2 8 0 8 10San Francisco / Golden State Warriors 0 7 7 0 2 2 9Milwaukee Bucks 1 2 3 5 1 6 9Cleveland Cavaliers 5 0 5 4 0 4 9Philadelphia 76ers 5 0 5 3 0 3 8Houston Rockets 0 4 4 1 3 4 8Portland Trail Blazers 0 3 3 0 4 4 7Utah Jazz 0 2 2 0 4 4 6Dallas Mavericks 0 3 3 0 3 3 6Denver Nuggets 0 1 1 0 4 4 5Baltimore / Washington Bullets 4 0 4 0 0 0 4Orlando Magic 2 0 2 2 0 2 4Minnesota Timberwolves 0 0 0 0 3 3 3Toronto Raptors 1 0 1 1 0 1 2Atlanta Hawks 0 0 0 2 0 2 2New Jersey / Brooklyn Nets 2 0 2 0 0 0 2Kansas City / Sacramento Kings 0 0 0 0 2 2 2Memphis Grizzlies 0 0 0 0 1 1 1Los Angeles Clippers 0 0 0 0 1 1 1New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Charlotte 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.