The era of parity in the NBA postseason will continue for at least another year. Over the weekend, two teams punched their ticket to their respective conference finals.
New York beat Boston in Game 6 on Friday, and Oklahoma City beat Denver in Game 7 on Sunday. With the Thunder beating the Nuggets and New York beating Boston, that guaranteed another year of parity. For the seventh consecutive postseason, the NBA will crown a new champion. There hasn’t been a repeat champion since the Warriors in 2017 & 2018.
Why has the NBA seen so much parity over the last seven seasons?
For the 7th-consecutive season, a new NBA champion will be crowned:
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 (@bballforever_) May 19, 2025
From 2015 through 2018, the Cavaliers and Warriors met in the NBA Finals. Fans around the league were outraged at the same outcome each postseason. The league’s offices wanted to make a change as well. They wanted parity and unpredictability throughout the playoffs. Since that last Cavs vs. Warriors Final in 2018, there have been 11 conference champions in seven seasons.
Additionally, this will be the seventh consecutive postseason with a new NBA champ. Following Golden State’s win in 2018, the league has seen a new team win each year. Toronto was the first in 2019, followed by the Lakers in 2020, Bucks in 2021, Warriors in 2022, Nuggets in 2023, and Celtics in 2024. Oklahoma City, New York, Minnesota, and Indiana eagerly want to add their name to that list.
This is the longest run in NBA history with a new champion in each postseason. Two of the four teams left in the Conference Finals have never won a title. Indiana and Minnesota look to add that illustrious first NBA championship. The Timberwolves have never made the NBA Finals as a franchise. Oklahoma City has a title from 1979 when they were the Seattle Supersonics. New York won their last championship in 1973. Regardless of who wins the Finals this season, it will be a historic moment for that franchise.
