The era of parity in the NBA postseason will last at least another year. Over the weekend, two teams punched tickets to their respective meeting finals.
New York beat Boston in Game 6 on Friday, and Oklahoma City beat Denver in Game 7 on Sunday. It also guaranteed annual parity with the Thunder defeating the Nuggets and New York over Boston. In the seventh straight postseason, the NBA will win a new champion. There have been no repeat champions since the Warriors in 2017 and 2018.
Why has the NBA seen so much parity over the past seven seasons?
The seventh season will mark the crown with a new NBA champion.
2019: Toronto Raptors
2020: Los Angeles Lakers
2021: Milwaukee Bucks
2022: Golden State Warriors
2023: Denver Nuggets
2024: Boston Celtics
2025:??? pic.twitter.com/y98gxzh35z– Basketball forever (@bbalforever_) May 19, 2025
From 2015 to 2018, the Cavaliers and Warriors met in the NBA Finals. Fans around the league were furious at the same results every postseason. The league’s office also wanted to make changes. They wanted parity and unpredictability throughout the playoffs. Since the final Cavs vs. Warriors Finion of 2018, there have been 11 conference champions in seven seasons.
Plus, this will be the seventh straight postseason with the new NBA champion. Following the 2018 Golden State victory, new teams won each year in the league. Toronto was the first in 2019, followed by the Lakers in 2020, the Bucks in 2021, the Warrior in 2022, the Nuggets in 2023 and the Celtics in 2024.
This is the longest run in NBA history with a new champion each postseason. Two of the four teams remaining in the conference finals have never won a title. Indiana and Minnesota are looking to add their illustrious first NBA championships. The Timberwolves have never played the NBA Finals as a franchise. Oklahoma City has the title that has been Seattle Super Sonics since 1979. New York won its final championship in 1973. Regardless of who wins in the finals this season, it will be a historic moment for that franchise.