NBA Finals: Most consecutive NBA Finals appearances by a franchise

Author Photo
Left to Right - Lakers' Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Warriors' Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, and the Heat's Dwyane Wade and LeBron James.

Winning an NBA championship is not easy. That's why even after 70+ seasons, nearly one-third of the league does not have a title to show for. 

In fact, making the NBA Finals is not easy.

Prior to the 2019 championships series, one-fifth of the league had never made it to the Finals stage. 

On the other hand, there are teams that have dominated the league over multiple years by winning championships and making it to consecutive NBA Finals. 

Here is the list of the teams that made the NBA Finals for four or more years in a row:

Streak NBA franchise NBA Finals appearances streak Championships won during the streak
10 Boston Celtics 1957-66 9 (1957, 1959-66)
5 Golden State Warriors 2015-19 3 (2015, 2017-18)
4 Los Angeles Lakers 1982-85 2 (1982, 1985)
4 Boston Celtics 1984-87 2 (1984, 1986)
4 Miami Heat 2011-2014 2 (2012-13)
4 Cleveland Cavaliers 2015-18 1 (2016)

Once again, it is the Boston Celtics of the 1960s that dominate this chart. 

During their 10-year streak of making the Finals, that dynasty lost just the once - 1958.

In the 1958 Finals, the Celtics lost to the St. Louis Hawks with Bob Petit averaging 29.3 points, 17.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists for the series including a 50-point performance in the championship-clinching 1-point Game 6 victory. 

Author(s)