Basketball is the newest of all professional sports in North America. This exciting sport began in 1946 when the National Basketball Association was formed. It now contains some of the best-known athletes in history. The NBA was originally known as the Basketball Association of America. This association was founded by owners of various hockey arenas located in the northeastern and midwestern parts of the United States, as well as those located in Canada. The first league game was held on November 1, 1946, and consisted of the New York Knickerbockers and the Toronto Huskies. A merger in 1949 combined the Basketball Association of America with the National Basketball League to form the NBA. During its initial start, the NBA contained seventeen teams. This number was reduced in 1953 to eight due to financial concerns. The original eight teams still exist today.
The history of the NBA Championship begins in the year 1947. It was then that the first championship game was held. Since then, the event has been held every year. In 1986, it was named as the NBA World Championship Series. This particular championship is played every June to conclude the season. The winners of the Eastern and Western Conference Finals meet for the championship title. A best-of-seven playoff match between teams is used to determine who will play. The team with the best record in the season gets home court advantage for the first two games. Home play for the three middle games is determined by who won the previous game. The final two are then played on the home court of the best team of record no matter who is ahead.
There have been many dynasties in NBA Championship history, including the Lakers and Celtics dynasties of the early years of the championship. The Minneapolis Lakers were the first team to have a dynasty of basketball championships. This significant streak lasted about a decade and consisted of five championships won in a six-year period. The Celtics did the same and dominated the finals for a total of thirteen seasons. Then, in the 1970s, these dynasties died out. Eight teams in total won the championship during this time period. Rivalries started again in the 1980s and included the two original teams. During that time, the Lakers and Celtics battled for the NBA Championship title against other teams or each other in every championship game from 1980 to 1990. The most well-known dynasty began in the early 1990s. The Chicago Bulls players dominated the league and made this dynasty one of the most significant in NBA championship history.
The current championships are mainly dominated by the Lakers and the Spurs. These teams have won eleven of the twelve Western Conference titles and a total of nine NBA championships. Key players like Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal have highlighted these games with their incredible skills and athletic talent. History has a way of repeating itself and dynasties are common in the sport of basketball. It will be interesting to see what new teams take over the sport in the coming years.