17) 1951: Royals over Knicks

If you’re an NBA history junkie (and if you’re not and you’re reading this site, what’s the deal with that?), this series offers plenty to note. It was the first and only NBA Finals appearance and title in Sacramento Kings history, coming three re-locations and nearly 70 years ago, as well as the first NBA Finals appearances of the Knicks. It was also the first Finals series to go the full seven games and the only to ever do so after one team opened up a 3-0 series lead. But wait, there’s more. It was the first and only series to match up two teams from the same state and, perhaps most importantly, it marked the first appearance of a Black player in the Finals, New York’s Nat Clifton (who was also one of the first Black players to sign an NBA contract). If you’re wondering how the series still made this list, then just check the box scores. With a possible exception of game seven, which at least came down to the final minute, the games were low scoring, dull, and mostly lopsided affairs. They also lacked star power, as this was the only NBA Finals between 1948 and 1954 not to feature George Mikan, who suffered a broken leg during a Division Finals loss to the Royals, rendering this series even more suspect. One last interesting fact about this series which further proves its irrelevance: The three Knicks home games were all played at the 69th Regiment Armory due to Madison Square Garden being booked for a traveling circus.

16) 2009: Lakers over Magic

The wish casting for this series was obvious: We all (most of us, anyway) wanted to see ’07-’08 MVP Kobe Bryant attempt to win his first title without former star teammate Shaquille O’Neal against the reigning MVP LeBron James and the Cavaliers, or in a 2008 Finals re-match against the rival Celtics. But Dwight Howard and the Magic had other ideas, defeating Boston (who was missing Kevin Garnett due to a knee injury) in the Conference Semifinals, then stunning LeBron James and top-seeded Cleveland in the Conference Finals. Thus, we were left with an obvious mismatch and it mostly played out that way, with the Lakers winning in five games. The series started and ended with predictable Lakers blowout wins though it did peak in game four, when Los Angeles prevailed in overtime despite Howard finishing with 16 points, 21 rebounds, and an NBA Finals record nine blocks. Bryant averaged 32.4 points, 7.4 assists, and 5.6 rebounds per game in the series and earned his first of two Finals MVP awards, while star teammate Pau Gasol became the first Spaniard to win an NBA title (his brother, Marc, would eventually become the second in 2019).

15) 2005: Spurs over Pistons

Only twice in NBA history has a Finals series featured the last two champions matching up and going the full seven games. The first time was a thriller, with the Celtics outlasting the Hawks in 1960 to truly kickstart their dynasty. The second time? Not so much, as Tim Duncan and the Spurs won their third title and America collectively yawned. We hate to give in to the stereotype that these two teams were boring but it’s undeniable in this case, especially by way of considering alternatives. San Antonio seemed downright somniferous compared to the high octane Mavericks (eliminated in the Conference Semifinals) and dynamic Suns (knocked out by the Spurs in Conference Finals). Meanwhile, Detroit’s road here was paved by the Pacers imploding after the Malice at the Palace went down and the Heat falling apart in the Conference Finals when Dwyane Wade suffered a rib injury. The Pistons and Spurs then just seemed to bring out the worst of each other in the Finals. The first four games of the series were all decided by 15 points or more, the losing team was held under 75 points in five of the seven contests, and both teams shot under 44% from the field overall. The only moment worth rehashing in the series was game five, which the Spurs won thanks to the heroics of Robert Horry, who hit the game winner in the final seconds of overtime.

14) 1961: Celtics over Hawks

This was the fourth NBA Finals match-up in a five year stretch between the Celtics and Hawks, and was by far the most dull of the quadrilogy. Despite an injection of youthful exuberance from rookie Lenny Wilkens, this Hawks team was quite obviously on its last legs and no match for a burgeoning Celtics dynasty. It didn’t help that St. Louis needed the full seven games to eliminate the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. Just 24 hours removed from the end of that series, the Hawks stepped into the lion’s den at the Boston Garden against the well-rested Celtics and dropped game one 129-95. Things improved only slightly from there, with Boston additionally winning games two, four, and five by an average margin of 10.7 points. Game three was the lone bright spot for the Hawks and for the viewing public, a 124-120 St. Louis win at home that only delayed the inevitable. This was the fourth title of Boston’s dynasty and their final one with the legendary Bill Sharman, who had announced his retirement before the season started.

13) 2001: Lakers over 76ers

This series was a decidedly one-sided affair in favor of the Lakers but what most fans think of first is the lone 76ers win. That 107-101 upset victory in game one was a true all-timer, featuring a 48-point performance from Iverson, who punctuated his game-clinching shot by defiantly stepping over helpless defender Tyronn Lue. Not only was it Los Angeles’ only loss in this series, it was their only loss in the entire postseason, as they had previously swept the Trail Blazers, Kings, and Spurs. Iverson was incredible overall in the series, his one and only NBA Finals appearance, averaging 35.6 points per game in an essentially unstoppable offensive performance. But the rest of the roster was lacking and the Lakers took advantage, especially Shaquille O’Neal, who was named Finals MVP for averaging 33.0 points, 15.8 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks per game, while shooting 57.3% from the field. The star power in the series kept fans engaged but the product on the court in games two, three, four, and five felt dull and inevitable, with the Lakers winning those four contests by an average of 10 points.

12) 1953: Lakers over Knicks

After a thrilling 1952 Finals that reached the full seven games, a Lakers-Knicks re-match in 1953 was a bit of a letdown. Things started promisingly, with the Knicks stealing game one in Minneapolis then pushing the Lakers to the limit in game two, ultimately coming up just short in a 73-71 loss. But George Mikan and Minneapolis cruised from there, eventually putting away the series in five games for their fourth title in five years. This was a third straight NBA Finals loss for New York and an especially bitter one, as the Lakers seemed tired and theoretically vulnerable heading into the series. It would take them 17 years to return to the ultimate series and finally win it. As for the Lakers, the emotional roller coaster of this postseason led many of their players to call it their favorite of the team’s five title runs in this era. They repeated as champions one more time in 1954 before Mikan retired.

11) 2000: Lakers over Pacers

The dawn of a new millennium brought the perceived onset of a new NBA dynasty, as the Lakers came out firing on all cylinders in ’99-’00, dominating from start to finish. That included 16-game and 19-game winning streaks during the regular season en route to 67 total wins and the #1 overall seed. The postseason proved much more difficult, as the Lakers needed the full five games to fend off Sacramento in the opening round, and later a miraculous comeback to take game seven of the Conference Finals against Portland. The NBA Finals felt like a bit of a letdown in comparison, taking on a talented and seasoned but overmatched Pacers team who had outlasted the competition in a weak Eastern Conference. If Kobe Bryant had stayed fully healthy, this series likely would have ended in a sweep. He missed a game three loss, then made a heroic game four return, taking over in the waning minutes with several clutch shots as the Lakers prevailed despite Shaquille O’Neal fouling out.

10) 1947: Warriors over Stags

It was the first but far from the best. In what was still called the Basketball Association of American (BAA), the inaugural season ended with the Philadelphia Warriors defeating the Chicago Stags in five games. This brought an end to a chaotic regular season and a needlessly complex playoff structure, which included the Stags stunning the regular season front runners, the Washington Capitols. Joe Fulks was the hero for Philadelphia and assuredly would have won Finals MVP if it existed at the time, averaging 26.2 points per game (no other player on either team averaged 15+). The deciding game five was at least somewhat suspenseful, with Howie Dallmar hitting the game winner and series clincher in the final minute of an 83-80 Warriors victory. Other than that contest, arguably the most dramatic moment of this series came 30,000 feet in the air, when the Warriors’ flight to Chicago for game three was grounded when the plan began billowing smoke in the air. While the Warriors returned to the NBA Finals in 1948, won another title in 1956, and play on to this day based out of San Francisco, the Stags lasted just four more seasons as a franchise before folding in 1950.

9) 2007: Spurs over Cavaliers

Even at the time, the ’06-’07 season felt like it was being decided in the Conference Semifinals. After the heavily favored Mavericks and defending champion Heat fell by the wayside in first round stunners, the second round match-up between San Antonio and Phoenix was seen as a virtual NBA Finals. The Spurs prevailed in six over Phoenix, thanks in large part to controversial suspensions, then easily defeated the Jazz in the Conference Finals. In the East, the Cavs vanquished the Pistons in the Conference Finals on the back of otherworldly performances from LeBron James and offensive bursts from unlikely heroes like Daniel Gibson. This set up James’ NBA Finals debut and it landed with a thud, as Cleveland’s lack of secondary offensive options allowed the Spurs to essentially triple-team the young superstar. James finished game one with 14 points, seven rebounds, and six turnovers as the Cavs managed just 76 points as a team. Game three was even uglier, with James dropping 25 points but on 9-of-23 shooting, and the 75-72 Spurs win was the lowest scoring NBA Finals game since 1955. Speaking of superlative lows, this series set the record for worst NBA Finals television ratings, with approximately only 6.2% of U.S. households tuning in for the Spurs’ sweep.

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By the numbers: Lowest and highest television ratings for NBA Finals since Nielsen began tracking in 1974 (as expressed by percentage of U.S. households tuned in)

Lowest rated	Highest rated
2007: Spurs over Cavaliers (6.2%)	1998: Bulls over Jazz (18.7%)
2003: Spurs over Nets (6.5%)	1993: Bulls over Suns (17.9%)
1981: Celtics over Rockets (6.6%)	1997: Bulls over Jazz (16.8%)
1979: SuperSonics over Bullets (6.7%)	1996: Bulls over SuperSonics (16.7%)
1980: Lakers over 76ers (7.2%)	1987: Lakers over Celtics (15.9%)
2005: Spurs over Pistons (8.0%)	1991: Bulls over Lakers (15.8%)
2009: Lakers over Magic (8.2%)	1988: Lakers over Pistons (15.4%)

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8) 1959: Celtics over Lakers

With the young core of Bill Russell, Sam Jones and Tom Heinsohn now fully gelled with veterans Bob Cousy and Bill Sharman, the Celtics’ second title of the Russell era was a relatively easy-going sweep over rookie sensation Elgin Baylor and the Minneapolis Lakers. It was likely a relief for Boston, who was coming off consecutive knock-down, drag-out Finals battles with the Hawks. Game one of this series was a tight one, with the Celtics prevailing 118-115 despite 34 points from Baylor, but games two and three were cakewalks, leaving the sweep inevitable in game four. The four wins in this series actually extended the Celtics’ winning streak over the Lakers to an incredible 22 consecutive games, which would finally be broken early in the ’59-’60 season. Baylor had plenty more incredible NBA Finals appearances left against the Celtics but ultimately they were all in vain, as his eight NBA Finals appearances stands as the all-time record for a player without a championship.

7) 2003: Spurs over Nets

What if I told you the two best players in the NBA were facing off in a Finals that was also the swan song for a beloved, all-time legend? Sounds great, right? Careful what you wish for because 2003 proves that narratives are always relative. Those opposing MVP rivals were Tim Duncan and Jason Kidd, two of the most dully efficient superstars in league history. While Duncan was surrounded by some star power, most notably the retiring David Robinson and a young Manu Ginobili, Kidd. had little else to work with on a Nets team that took full advantage of an incredibly weak Eastern Conference lineup to reach the NBA Finals. It’s telling that in the three games of this series that could be considered at all “exciting,” the teams combined to score less than 175 points in each. Game four was the nadir, with the Nets and Spurs shooting a combined 32.1% from the field in a 77-75 San Antonio win. In addition to Robinson calling it a career after this series, Steve Kerr also went out as a champion, specifically as one of just four players in NBA history (along with Robert Horry, Dennis Rodman, and Ron Harper) to win multiple titles with multiple teams.

6) 1948: Bullets over Warriors

This was the most unlikely title run in NBA history, arguably the basketball equivalent of the Jets upsetting the Colts in Super Bowl III. But just like that overrated football game, this NBA Finals made for a dull match-up resulting in a historical finish. The Bullets had just joined the BAA for the ’47-’48 season (from the ABL) and shocked everyone by winning a championship in their maiden season. Most stunned were their Finals opponents, the defending champion Warriors, who surely waltzed into this series assuming they would exit as the league’s first dynasty. Instead, Baltimore’s player-coach Buddy Jeannette led the way in the six game upset. Game three did feature an incredible Bullets comeback from a 21-point halftime deficit (in the pre-shot clock era, no less) but it was only made possible by some irresponsible shooting by Warriors star Joe Fulks, essentially gift wrapping the game and series. Despite this championship, the Bullets spent their time in the BAA and NBA in near constant financial insolvency and in 1954 they were forced to fold mid-season.

5) 1999: Spurs over Knicks

It was a merciful end to one of the worst seasons in NBA history, one tainted by an acrimonious lockout, followed by mostly out-of-shape players laboring through an abbreviated schedule. A dull NBA Finals at the end was a cherry on top of a shit sundae. For years, it even left the Spurs labelled as an overrated and potentially spurious championship team, though they obviously dispelled that reputation with four more championships. It’s a sad fate both for a likable San Antonio team that won its first title in franchise history and a Cinderella Knicks squad that became the first (and thus far only) team to reach the NBA Finals as a #8 seed, and did so without injured franchise legend Patrick Ewing. Perhaps the series can be best summed up by noting that it peaked in a game with a final score of 78-77. That was game five, which the Spurs won to finish the series, punctuated by a game winner by veteran point guard Avery Johnson (and a missed response by New York’s Latrell Sprewell, who finished the game with 35 of New York’s 77 points).

4) 1979: SuperSonics over Bullets

After staging a thrilling seven-game event in 1978, Washington and Seattle decided to have at it again a year later. This time, Dennis Johnson and the Sonics cruised to a five-game series victory, and seemingly every NBA fan outside the city of Seattle collectively shrugged. This was rendered even more apparent by both teams coming off much more exciting seven game Conference Finals series, especially in the case of the Bullets, who made an incredible 3-1 series comeback against the Spurs. That left the aging Washington roster drained for this series and it showed. They held off the feisty Sonics at home in game one but offered little resistance in losses in games two and three. Game four was a thriller, with the Bullets forcing overtime with a late comeback, and a buzzer beater attempt by Kevin Grevey getting blocked by Johnson to secure the win. The most damning indictment of this series was its being overshadowed completely by the NCAA Tournament, which had wrapped up two months prior with Magic Johnson’s Michigan State defeating Larry Bird’s Indiana State.

3) 2002: Lakers over Nets

This series certainly wasn’t short on interpersonal drama, as the Shaquille O’Neal-Kobe Bryant feud was starting to reach a fever pitch. They set aside whatever differences existed long enough to win a third consecutive title, ending with a relatively easy sweep of the Nets in the NBA Finals. It was certainly child’s play compared to what the Lakers dealt with in the Conference Finals, where they needed some serious grit, luck (and maybe help from the refs) to slip past the Kings. Any hope of this being a competitive series were dispelled immediately, with the Lakers opening up a 42-19 lead halfway through the second quarter of game one. To be fair, Jason Kidd did spark a Nets comeback to make that game competitive (he finished with the first NBA Finals triple-double since Charles Barkley in 1993) but the Lakers otherwise cruised to the sweep. O’Neal put together one of the best Finals MVP stat lines in history, averaging 36.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game, shooting a relatively miraculous 66.2% from the free throw line, and making life miserable for overmatched Nets center Todd MacCulloch. Aside from O’Neal’s performance and the Lakers’ three-peat, this series was historically notable for being the final NBA games broadcast on NBC, as the league’s rights were picked up by ABC/ESPN starting in ’02-’03.

2) 1971: Bucks over Bullets

The 1971 postseason was a magical one for the Bullets, who pulled off consecutive upsets of the 76ers and Knicks to make their first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history. Their reward? A match-up with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at the height of his powers and one of the most dominant teams of all time. To make matters even worse, the Bullets were bloody and beaten heading into this series, with Wes Unseld, Gus Johnson, and Earl Monroe all hobbling from injuries suffered during their seven game rock fight against New York. Milwaukee took full advantage, winning game one by 10 points, game two by 19 points, then cruising from there to a sweep. Abdul-Jabbar was named Finals MVP after averaging 27.0 points and 18.5 rebounds per game, while Oscar Robertson finally won an elusive title and did so in impressive fashion, with 30 points in the closing game four.

1) 1949: Lakers over Capitols

Slowing down George Mikan was a Sisyphean task for opponents but Capitols coach Red Auerbach arguably came closest to cracking the code in this series. Unfortunately, that style of play deployed didn’t make for a pleasing experience, either for Mikan himself or for fans. It was also borderline dirty, as Capitols defenders hammered the star center, eventually breaking his wrist late in game four. But even with Mikan playing with a bulky cast over his injured hand, the Lakers still put the series away in six games, and three of their four wins were by double digits. It was certainly notable as the first of five championships for Mikan and the Lakers over a six year stretch, and the first Finals appearance for Auerbach, who left the Capitols in the ensuing offseason and was hired by the Celtics a year later.