How Well Do You Know NBA Finals History? 9 NBA Finals Interesting Facts

Game one of the 2026 NBA Finals featuring the Eastern Conference Champion New York Knicks and the Western Conference Champion San Antonio Spurs is scheduled for 3 June 2026. The 2026 NBA Playoffs kicked off on 18 April 2026 after the completion of the Eastern and Western Conference brackets via the Play-In Tournament. 

The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series, and the team that wins the series is announced as the league champion. The winner is awarded the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy.

In this article, we will look into a few interesting facts about the NBA Finals.

How Well Do You Know NBA Finals History? 9 NBA Finals Interesting Facts

1. The first NBA Finals was held in 1947. The NBA, earlier, was established as the Basketball Association of America (BAA) on 6 June 1946. Post-merger, the NBA was officially created on 3 August 1949.

2. The seven series in the NBA Finals were originally known as the BAA Finals prior to the merger of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL) to form the National Basketball Association (NBA) ahead of the 1949-50 season.

3. The Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy awarded to the team that wins the series of the NBA Finals was originally referred to as the "World Championship Trophy" when first introduced in 1977. It was renamed the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy in 1984. Before 1977, the trophy was referred to as the Walter A. Brown Trophy. 

4. Unlike the original trophy that was rotated every year, the new trophy is given permanently to the winning team, and a new one is made each season.

5. The NBA Finals was initially structured in a 2–2–1–1–1 format. In 1985, it was changed to a 2–3–2 format to ease the amount of cross-country travel. However, it was restored to the 2-2-1-1-1 format in 2014. 

6. The first NBA (then called the BAA Finals) was played in 1947 between the Philadelphia Warriors and the Chicago Stags. The Philapdelphia Warriors defeated the Chicago Stags to claim the inaugural championship.

7. The Boston Celtics hold the record for the most NBA championships, having won 18 titles. Followed by the Los Angeles Lakers with 17 titles.

8. Bill Russell holds the all-time record for the most NBA championships by a single player, having won 11 times with the Boston Celtics.

9. Michael Jordan holds the record for the most NBA Finals MVP (Most Valuable Player) awards in history, having won the title six times in his career.