Throughout history, a total of 19 franchises have won the NBA Championship. We’ve witnessed 73 NBA Finals matchups featuring nothing but the greatest players to ever set foot on a basketball hardwood.
The league features nothing but the most outstanding talents on the planet. That’s why it’s so hard to win an NBA Championship and why so many legends of the game had to retire without winning a ring.
Playing in the wrong era, having a subpar supporting cast, injuries, poor officiating, or just bad luck are some of the reasons why so many Hall of Famerscould never lift the Larry O’Brien trophy.
Other players such as Bill Russell, Michael Jordan, and Magic Johnson; on the other hand, dominated their time like not many others, leading their team to the ultimate glory on several occasions.
So, now that the 74th edition of the NBA Finals is just around the corner, we’ll go ahead and list every single one of the NBA Champions per year, including the losing team, coach, and Finals MVP winner.
Larry O’Brien trophy. (Getty)
All NBA Champions Per Year
| Year | Winner | Loser | Coach | Finals MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Philadelphia Warriors | Chicago Stags | Eddie Gotlieb |
NA |
| 1948 | Baltimore Bullets | Philadelphia Warriors | Buddy Jeannette |
NA |
| 1949 | Minneapolis Lakers | Washington Capitols | John Kundla |
NA |
| 1950 |
Minneapolis Lakers |
Syracuse Nationals |
John Kundla |
NA |
| 1951 | Rochester Royals | New York Knicks | Les Harrison |
NA |
| 1952 |
Minneapolis Lakers |
New York Knicks |
John Kundla |
NA |
| 1953 |
Minneapolis Lakers |
New York Knicks |
John Kundla |
NA |
| 1954 |
Minneapolis Lakers |
Syracuse Nationals |
John Kundla |
NA |
| 1955 |
Syracuse Nationals |
Fort Wayne Pistons | Al Cervi |
NA |
| 1956 |
Philadelphia Warriors |
Fort Wayne Pistons |
George Senesky |
NA |
| 1957 | Boston Celtics | St. Louis Hawks | Red Auerbach |
NA |
| 1958 |
St. Louis Hawks |
Boston Celtics |
NA |
|
| 1959 |
Boston Celtics |
Minneapolis Lakers |
Red Auerbach |
NA |
| 1960 |
Boston Celtics |
St. Louis Hawks |
Red Auerbach |
NA |
| 1961 |
Boston Celtics |
St. Louis Hawks |
Red Auerbach |
NA |
| 1962 |
Boston Celtics |
Los Angeles Lakers |
Red Auerbach |
NA |
| 1963 |
Boston Celtics |
Los Angeles Lakers |
Red Auerbach |
NA |
| 1964 |
Boston Celtics |
San Francisco Warriors |
Red Auerbach |
NA |
| 1965 |
Boston Celtics |
Los Angeles Lakers |
Red Auerbach |
NA |
| 1966 |
Boston Celtics |
Los Angeles Lakers |
Red Auerbach |
NA |
| 1967 | Philadelphia 76ers |
San Francisco Warriors |
Alex Hannum |
NA |
| 1968 |
Boston Celtics |
Los Angeles Lakers |
Bill Russell | NA |
| 1969 |
Boston Celtics |
Los Angeles Lakers |
Bill Russell |
Jerry West |
| 1970 |
New York Knicks |
Los Angeles Lakers |
Red Holzman | Willis Reed |
| 1971 | Milwaukee Bucks | Baltimore Bullets | Larry Costello | Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) |
| 1972 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
New York Knicks |
Bill Sharman | Wilt Chamberlain |
| 1973 |
New York Knicks |
Los Angeles Lakers |
Red Holzman |
Willis Reed |
| 1974 |
Boston Celtics |
Milwaukee Bucks |
Tom Heinsohn | John Havliceck |
| 1975 | Golden State Warriors | Washington Bullets | Al Attles | Rick Barry |
| 1976 |
Boston Celtics |
Phoenix Suns |
Tom Heinsohn |
Jo Jo White |
| 1977 | Portland Trail Blazers |
Philadelphia 76ers |
Jack Ramsay | Bill Walton |
| 1978 | Washington Bullets | Seattle Supersonics | Dick Motta | Wes Unseld |
| 1979 |
Seattle Supersonics |
Washington Bullets |
Lenny Wilkens | Dennis Johnson |
| 1980 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
Philadelphia 76ers |
Paul Westhead | Magic Johnson |
| 1981 |
Boston Celtics |
Houston Rockets | Bill Fitch | Cedric Maxwell |
| 1982 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
Philadelphia 76ers |
Pat Riley |
Magic Johnson |
| 1983 |
Philadelphia 76ers |
Los Angeles Lakers |
Billy Cunningham | Moses Malone |
| 1984 |
Boston Celtics |
Los Angeles Lakers |
K.C. Jones |
Larry Bird |
| 1985 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
Boston Celtics |
Pat Riley |
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar |
| 1986 |
Boston Celtics |
Houston Rockets |
K.C. Jones | Larry Bird |
| 1987 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
Boston Celtics |
Pat Riley |
Magic Johnson |
| 1988 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
Detroit Pistons |
Pat Riley |
James Worthy |
| 1989 |
Detroit Pistons |
Los Angeles Lakers |
Chuck Daly | Joe Dumars |
| 1990 |
Detroit Pistons |
Portland Trail Blazers |
Chuck Daly |
Isiah Thomas |
| 1991 |
Chicago Bulls |
Los Angeles Lakers |
Phil Jackson |
Michael Jordan |
| 1992 |
Chicago Bulls |
Portland Trail Blazers |
Phil Jackson |
Michael Jordan |
| 1993 |
Chicago Bulls |
Phoenix Suns |
Phil Jackson |
Michael Jordan |
| 1994 | Houston Rockets | New York Knicks | Rudy Tomjanovich | Hakeem Olajuwon |
| 1995 |
Houston Rockets |
Orlando Magic | Rudy Tomjanovich |
Hakeem Olajuwon |
| 1996 | Chicago Bulls | Seattle Supersonics |
Phil Jackson |
Michael Jordan |
| 1997 |
Chicago Bulls |
Utah Jazz |
Phil Jackson |
Michael Jordan |
| 1998 |
Chicago Bulls |
Utah Jazz |
Phil Jackson |
Michael Jordan |
| 1999 | San Antonio Spurs |
New York Knicks |
Gregg Popovich | Tim Duncan |
| 2000 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
Indiana Pacers |
Phil Jackson |
Shaquille O’Neal |
| 2001 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
Philadelphia 76ers |
Phil Jackson |
Shaquille O’Neal |
| 2002 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
New Jersey Nets |
Phil Jackson |
Shaquille O’Neal |
| 2003 |
San Antonio Spurs |
New Jersey Nets |
Gregg Popovich |
Tim Duncan |
| 2004 |
Detroit Pistons |
Los Angeles Lakers |
Larry Brown | Chauncey Billups |
| 2005 |
San Antonio Spurs |
Detroit Pistons |
Gregg Popovich |
Tim Duncan |
| 2006 |
Miami Heat |
Dallas Mavericks | Pat Riley | Dwyane Wade |
| 2007 |
San Antonio Spurs |
Cleveland Cavaliers |
Gregg Popovich |
Tony Parker |
| 2008 |
Boston Celtics |
Los Angeles Lakers | Doc Rivers | Paul Pierce |
| 2009 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
Orlando Magic |
Phil Jackson |
Kobe Bryant |
| 2010 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
Boston Celtics |
Phil Jackson |
Kobe Bryant |
| 2011 | Dallas Mavericks |
Miami Heat |
Rick Carlisle | Dirk Nowitzki |
| 2012 |
Miami Heat |
Oklahoma City Thunder |
Erik Spoelstra |
LeBron James |
| 2013 |
Miami Heat |
San Antonio Spurs |
Erik Spoelstra |
LeBron James |
| 2014 |
San Antonio Spurs |
Miami Heat |
Gregg Popovich |
Kawhi Leonard |
| 2015 |
Golden State Warriors |
Cleveland Cavaliers |
Steve Kerr |
Andre Iguodala |
| 2016 |
Cleveland Cavaliers |
Golden State Warriors |
Tyronn Lue |
LeBron James |
| 2017 |
Golden State Warriors |
Cleveland Cavaliers |
Steve Kerr |
Kevin Durant |
| 2018 |
Golden State Warriors |
Cleveland Cavaliers | Steve Kerr |
Kevin Durant |
| 2019 | Toronto Raptors |
Golden State Warriors |
Nick Nurse | Kawhi Leonard |
| 2020 | Los Angeles Lakers | Miami Heat | Frank Vogel |
LeBron James |
The Milwaukee Bucks won the 2021 NBA Championship after beating the Phoenix Suns 4-2 in the Finals, withGiannis Antetokounmpo winning theFinals MVP.
