The NBA finals is the exciting time of year where the best teams of National Basketball Association square off and compete for the championship title and off course bragging rights. This web site was created to honor this event and to help share information, news, photos and much more about this great event and the teams and players involved.

National Basketball Association (NBA) Playoffs

The NBA Playoffs consist of four rounds consisting of sixteen teams in the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference of the NBA. This was called divisions before the 1970s. The winners of the of the conference quarterfinals or, as we all know, the First Round. The winners of the First Round go on to the NBA Conference Finals. Eventually, the champions of each conference come face to face in the NBA finals.

The rounds are more like the best-of-seven series, although before it was only the best-of-five. The finals are played in 2-3-2 formats, and this simply means that the first two and the final two games [if it is a necessity] are played where the processing team has home court superiority. All games, excluding the first two and final two are played in a 2-2-1-1-1 format.

In 1947, first season of the National Basketball Association, which was called the BAA until the merge with NBL in 1949. The Eastern Conference and the Western Conferences top three teams received invitations to the playoffs. The two conference champions played a best-of-seven semifinal series to grant entry into the finals. Best-of-three playoffs were played be four other teams consisting of two rounds to enter the Semifinal match and face the winner.

That same year the Chicago Stags were defeated by the Philadelphia Warriors 4 to 1 in the first BAA Championship ever. In the playoffs of the 1949, one team from each Conference was added, getting rid of byes. The best-of-three series were played, consisting of two rounds followed by the championship of best-of-seven. The first champions of the new-given name, NBA, in the 1950s were the Minneapolis Lakers, defeating the Syracuse Nationals in just 6 games.

From 1951 to 1953 playoffs, the Conference Finals were changed into the best-of-five. In the year 1954 the Indianapolis Olympians folded, a Round Roman was used by the NBA for the first time and the only time in history. Evidentially, from 1955 to 1966 the league was returned to its original 6-team format. This expanded the Conference Finals to the best-of-seven in 1958, and in 1961 the best-of-five semifinals.