Tapp-ing into the Numbers: 4 stats you may not know about NBA Finals

BY JERRY TAPP
This year’s NBA Finals begins on Thursday. Here are four stats you may not know about the NBA Finals.

• Cleveland and Golden State will meet for the third consecutive year in the finals, the first time that has happened in NBA history. There has now been 14 times when the same two teams faced off in the NBA Finals in consecutive years. They are:

1952, 53: Minneapolis Lakers vs. New York Knicks
1957, 58: Boston Celtics vs. St. Louis Hawks
1960, 61: Boston Celtics vs. St. Louis Hawks
1962, 63: Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers
1965, 66: Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers
1968, 69: Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers
1972, 73: Los Angeles Lakers vs. New York Knicks
1978, 79: Seattle Supersonics vs. Washington Bullets
1982, 83: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Philadelphia 76ers
1984, 85: Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers
1988, 89: Detroit Pistons vs. Los Angeles Lakers
1997, 98: Chicago Bulls vs. Utah Jazz
2013, 14: Miami Heat vs. San Antonio Spurs
2015, 16, 17: Cleveland Cavs vs. Golden State Warriors

• The Cavs and Warriors this year become the 14^th and 15^th teams to reach the NBA Finals in three consecutive seasons. The Boston Celtics of 1957-66 hold the NBA record by reaching the finals in 10 consecutive years. Following are the teams that have reached the NBA Finals in three consecutive years (or more):

New York Knicks, 1951-53
Minneapolis Lakers, 1952-54
Boston Celtics, 1957-66 (10 years)
Los Angeles Lakers, 1968-70
Los Angeles Lakers, 1982-85 (4 years)
Boston Celtics, 1984-87 (4 years)
Los Angeles Lakers, 1987-89
Detroit Pistons, 1988-90
Chicago Bulls, 1991-93
Chicago Bulls, 1996-98
Los Angeles Lakers, 2000-02
Los Angeles Lakers, 2008-10
Miami Heat, 2011-14 (4 years)
Golden State Warriors, 2015-17
Cleveland Cavs, 2015-17

• The Golden State Warriors this year will try to avoid becoming the tenth team in NBA history to lose in the NBA Finals in two consecutive years. The last team to lose consecutive NBA Finals was the New Jersey Nets in 2002 and 2003.

Here are the nine teams which have lost the NBA Finals in consecutive seasons.

New York Knicks, 1951-53
Ft. Wayne Pistons, 1955-56
St. Louis Hawks, 1960-61
Los Angeles Lakers, 1962-63
Los Angeles Lakers, 1965-66
Los Angeles Lakers, 1968-70
Los Angeles Lakers, 1983-84
Utah Jazz, 1997-98
New Jersey Nets, 2002-03

• The Cleveland Cavs, with a finals’ series win over the Warriors this year, would become the 13^th team to win back-to-back NBA titles. The last team to win back-to-back titles was the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013.

Below are the 12 teams to win back-to-back NBA titles in league’s history.

1949-50: Minneapolis Lakers
1952-54: Minneapolis Lakers
1959-66: Boston Celtics
1968-69: Boston Celtics
1987-88: Los Angeles Lakers
1989-90: Detroit Pistons
1991-93: Chicago Bulls
1994-95: Houston Rockets
1996-98: Chicago Bulls
2000-02: Los Angeles Lakers
2009-10: Los Angeles Lakers
2012-13: Miami Heat