NBA Finals Parking Tickets

The NBA Playoffs feature round after round of challenges, with all roads leading to the NBA Finals. After surviving all of the adversity to get to the Finals, that one final series represents the toughest test yet, as conference champions square off for the right to lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy. This series has turned players into legends, and legends into immortals, making the NBA Finals the pinnacle of the basketball universe.

NBA Finals Format

Originally contested in 1947, the NBA Finals has been around for a long time. At first, the Finals took the winner of a series between the top teams in the Eastern and Western divisions of the league and the winner of a bracket featuring the third place through sixth place teams in the sport. That format did not last long, as the Finals eventually became a battle between the teams that won the Eastern and Western division playoff brackets.

That East versus West format is still in play today, with the winners of the Eastern and Western Conference Finals squaring off for the title. Once the finalists are determined, they play in a best-of-seven game series, with four wins being required to claim the championship.

NBA Finals Location

Where the NBA Finals are located depends on which two teams make it to the championship series. The team with the better record heading into the Finals is given home court advantage for the series. This is important, as the team with home court advantage gets to host the first two games of the series, as well as games five and seven.

Memorable NBA Finals Moments

NBA Finals history is filled with memorable moments, which is part of what makes the series such a legacy-defining event. Of course, it is difficult to mention greatness in the NBA Finals without mentioning Michael Jordan, thought by many to be the greatest player in league history. Jordan averaged over 33 points per game in his Finals career, in which he won six titles in six Finals appearances with the Chicago Bulls. Over that span, his teams never even had to play an elimination game.

Los Angeles saw a similar run of dominance in the early 2000s, as the Lakers ran off three straight titles from 2000 to 2002, with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal combining to make the Lakers a near-unstoppable force in their prime. Bryant and O'Neal were an ideal combination, as Bryant's ability to score from the perimeter and get to the basket forced defenders out of the paint, giving O'Neal more room to physically dominate his opponents inside.

Of course, the ability for role players to become legends is also a trademark of the NBA Finals, as the shot-making ability of players like Derek Fisher and Robert Horry has turned journeymen into historical figures in the NBA.