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Becoming the NBA Champion is no easy task. It’s every NBA player’s dream to win the NBA Larry O’Brien Trophy, and since 1950, only a handful of teams have won the NBA Championship, with some failing to win at all and others winning multiple times to create their legacy.
In this article, we’ll highlight the five most recent NBA Finals winners, including which teams won it and when, how the final game/series concluded, any notable players on the team and which team is likely to win it this year!
During the unbeloved COVID year (2020), the LA Lakers took home all the glory as NBA Champions after a tough series against the Miami Heat. Funny enough, LeBron James would not only face off against his old team and win the series 4-2 but he was named the Finals MVP. The Lakers posted a 52-19 record this season, and in the postseason, they won Round 1, the Conference Semifinals and the Conference Finals all 4-1 in the series before taking the 4-2 series win over the Heat to claim their 17th championship ever.
The Milwaukee Bucks snatched the 2021 NBA Championship after finishing 3rd in the Eastern Conference during the regular season with a 46-26 record. Despite having a crushing 4-0 series start against the Heat in the 1st round, the Bucks would head to Game 7 in the Conference Semifinals against the Nets. After defeating the Hawks 4-2 in the Conference Finals, the Bucks took on the Phoenix Suns for a hectic NBA Finals, which ended in favor of the Bucks 4-2 after six games. The Bucks collected their second-ever NBA Championship trophy, and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo took home the MVP award after averaging 30.2 points per game postseason.
The 2022 season was a golden season for the Warriors, who finished third in the West with a 53-29 record. While they weren’t by any means at the top of the Western Conference that year, they scraped out a 4-1 series win against the Nuggets in Round 1, a 4-2 series win against the Grizzlies in the Conference Semifinals and a 4-1 series win against the Dallas Mavericks in the Conference Finals. The Warriors’ final challenge in the NBA Finals was the Boston Celtics, where Golden State dished out a 4-2 series win, earning their seventh NBA Championship for the franchise, as well as Steph Curry earning the Finals MVP award after averaging 27.4 points per game in the playoffs.
The Denver Nuggets were nothing less than impeccable during the 2023 season, finishing first in the West with a 53-29 record. In Round 1 of the Playoffs, the Nuggets easily walked over the Timberwolves with a 4-1 series victory to face off against the Suns for a 4-2 series win in the Conference Semis. The Conference Finals against the Lakers was a complete blowout, as they moved on in just four games to take on the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals, beating them after five games with a 4-1 series victory. This was an extremely memorable year for Denver as the Nuggets earned their first-ever NBA Championship win, with Nikola Jokic claiming the Finals MVP award with 30 points per game in the playoffs.
The most recent winners of the NBA Championship go to the Boston Celtics, the team with the most NBA Championship wins in history. The Celtics easily finished first in the Eastern Conference with a 64-18 record, beating the Heat in Round 1 of the Playoffs 4-1, the Cavaliers in the Conference SemiFinals 4-1, and the Pacers in the Conference Finals 4-0. There was hardly any real competition for the Celtics in regular and postseason, as they nearly swept the Dallas Mavericks 4-1 in the NBA Finals to collect their 18th NBA Championship title and push past the Lakers in all-time Finals wins with 18. Jaylen Brown took home the MVP Finals award after averaging 23.9 points per game, 5.9 rebounds per game, and 3.3 assists in the postseason.
The OKC Thunder have performed terrifically so far this season, finishing 1st in the West with an impressive 68-14 record. They blew out the Grizzlies 4-0 in Round 1 and overcame the Nuggets with a close 4-3 series win, and they now lead the Minnesota Timberwolves 3-1 in the Conference Finals.
While the New York Knicks knocked out the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, they are down in the series to the Pacers 2-1 in the ECF, giving the OKC Thunder the easiest path to the NBA Finals, where they will most likely take home the glory if they continue to perform well, especially with the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who averaged 32.7 points in the regular season.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.