In 1947, the Basketball Association of America, a union of eleven professional basketball teams including the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks, presented the primary professional basketball Finals, between its Western Division's Chicago Stags and its Eastern Division's Philadelphia Warriors. The Warriors won that foremost basketball Finals championship. In 1949, the Basketball Association of America officially merged by the National Basketball League to shape today's professional basketball league, the National Basketball Association of America, for this reason a league of seventeen teams succeeding the merger. However, the first NBA Finals had taken opportunity in 1947, with the Chicago Stags playing fronting the Philadelphia Warriors - the latter subsistence the winners that year.
Until 1949, the playoffs (at another time BAA Finals) took place as a three-theatre tournament involving the two winners of the semi-finals rounds would compete against undivided another in a finals round. In 1950, the champions of the champions of the Western Division and the champions of the Central Division played against one another, and the winner between the two would then play in preparation for the champions of the Eastern Division. As of 1951, reaped ground year, the NBA Finals has taken station as a best of seven championship course between the champions of the Eastern Conference against the champions of the Western Conference at the end of basketball's postseason, with the delightful team becoming the recipient of a Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy to ostentation the sports award prominently in its home field.
Between the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference, the Eastern Conference has won else play-off series in the narration of the competition, with thirty-five wins compered to the Western Conference's twenty-eight. (During its time, the Central Division won unit championship.)
As of 1985, the finals hold extended home court advantage to the team that enters the playoffs by a better season by having the primary two games hosted at its home stadium, in the same proportion that well as the final two grant that those games are played. Prior to that, chiefly years were played on the court of the team by the better season record at the disturb of the playoffs during the in the ~ place to games, then the fifth and seventh games whether or not needed. (The final playoff played through that hosting format was the legendary 1984 match-up between the rivaling Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers - the first time those teams had met ~ward the court for the finals ago 1969, with the Celtics emerging to the degree that the 1984 victors. And the 1985 Finals betwixt them, which was won by the Lakers that year, distinguished the first time the current multitude format was employed.)
Celtics coach Red Auerbach had made the hint for the new hosting format to NBA Commissioner David Stern, pointing extinguished that it would reduce the frequent occurrence of such lengthy travel between East and West Coast cities - notwithstanding, he later regretted making the allusion, realizing that the change actually meant ~ amount of a home court advantage on account of the team starting with the at the outset two home games, given that the format since causes them miss out on playing Game 5 at home, what one. is a crucial swing game in a series that carries out all seven games.
