boston celtics went to the most nba finals in a row.
boston celtics went to the most nba finals in a row.
who went to the most nba finals in a row?
boston celtics
both the pistons and lakers were considered to be the two best teams in the nba entering the 1989 nba finals. behind the no-nonsense leadership of head coach chuck daly, detroit finished with a franchise best 63–19 record, which was also the best record in the league. after sweeping both the boston celtics 3-0 in the first round, and the milwaukee bucks 4-0 in the second round, the pistons eliminated michael jordan and the chicago bulls in 6 games in the eastern conference finals. meanwhile, los angeles suffered slight slippage in the regular season, finishing with a 57–25 record. however, the lakers, who still finished first in the western conference, compiled an outstanding 11-0 record in the postseason, sweeping the portland trail blazers, seattle supersonics, and phoenix suns en route to the finals. magic johnson also earned his second nba mvp award (johnson, who had already won the award in 1987, would receive his third nba mvp title in 1990). as the finals began, l.a. was once again favored to eliminate detroit and successfully three-peat as champions. however, the pistons were determined to prove that they were ready to overcome the sting of coming up short the previous year, and win the nba title. l.a.'s hopes for another championship took a turn for the worse when byron scott and johnson both suffered season-ending hamstring injuries. the pistons' physical style of play and superior defense also proved to be too much for the lakers to overcome, as detroit swept los angeles in 4 games and captured their 1st ever nba championship. pistons shooting guard joe dumars was awarded nba finals mvp honors. after the series, abdul-jabbar retired. the series would also turn out to be the final time that pat riley would make an appearance in the nba finals as head coach of the lakers. this also marked the first time that the nba finals ended in a 4-game sweep since the finals went to the current 2–3–2 format back in 1985. the pistons successfully defended their crown the following season. they defeated the trail blazers in the 1990 nba finals 4–1 to repeat as nba champions.
lakers–pistons rivalry
bullet::::- the 1993 finals were jordan's last before his first retirement. the houston rockets would take the next two titles consecutively. the ratings for those next two finals decreased, but still had above-average views, and the 1995 finals even came to within .3 ratings points of the 1992 finals and featured superstar shaquille o'neal making the finals with the orlando magic, which were swept 4-0 by the rockets. after the two seasons, jordan returned. subsequently, and almost instantly, ratings greatly increased. jordan's first game back, a march 19, 1995 game between the bulls and the indiana pacers, scored a 10.9 rating for nbc, the highest rated regular-season nba game of all time. ratings for the finals (which the bulls played in the following three years) went up sharply as well. game 1 of the 1996 nba finals between the bulls and seattle supersonics, the bulls' 107-90 win at home in the united center earned a 16.8 rating and a 31 share on nbc. in addition, game 1 was viewed in a then record 16,111,200 homes. on june 16, 1996, game 6 of the nba finals (where the bulls clinched their fourth nba championship in six years) drew an 18.8 rating and a 35 share. the six games of the 1996 nba finals averaged a 16.7 rating which ranks second all-time behind the 1993 nba finals. the six games of the 1993 nba finals between the bulls and suns averaged a 17.9 rating. the next year, ratings for the bulls–utah jazz series were slightly better, before the 1998 finals blew away the 1993 record, averaging an 18.7 rating—one which will likely not be matched by the nba finals for the foreseeable future. the deciding game 6 (and michael jordan's final game with the bulls) registered an nba record 22.3 rating with a 38 share. the game was viewed by 72 million people, breaking the record set earlier that postseason by game 7 of the 1998 eastern conference finals between the pacers and bulls (that same game set a record for highest-rated non-finals nba game with a 19.1/33). the 1998 finals managed to best the ratings for that year's world series, the first of only three nba finals ever to do so.
list of nba finals broadcasters