So
the NBA Finals are set. Warriors vs.
Cavs. Again. Game 1 tips off
Thursday night in Oakland. Once the
Bulls are eliminated, I generally don't pay too much attention to the playoffs,
but I'll watch the Finals. And you know
I love sports statistics, so let me drop some knowledge on you.
1.
This is the third year in a row that the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland
Cavaliers will be meeting in the finals.
This is the first time in NBA history that the same two franchises will
meet in the finals for more than two years in a row. In the three other major sports, the same
teams have met in the finals only four times total, and the most recent time
this happened was 1954 to 1956. Here is
when it has happened in the other major sports:
MLB
-New
York Giants and New York Yankees (1921-1923)
NFL
-Canton/Cleveland
Bulldogs and Chicago Bears (1922-1925)
-Cleveland
Browns and Detroit Lions (1952-1954)
NHL
-Detroit
Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens (1954-1956)
2. Of course, if the Warriors and Cavs are
meeting for the third year in a row, that means that both teams have played for
the championship three years in a row. Here
is a list of all the teams in the major sports leagues (counting the ABA and
AFL, too) that have played in at least three championship games/series in a row:
AFL
3
years in a row
-Houston
Oilers (1960-1962)
-San
Diego Chargers (1963-1965)
MLB
5
years in a row
-New
York Yankees (1949-1953, 1960-1964)
4
years in a row
-New
York Giants (1921-1924)
-New
York Yankees (1936-1939, 1955-1958, 1998-2001)
3
years in a row
-Baltimore
Orioles (1969-1971)
-Chicago
Cubs (1906-1908)
-Detroit
Tigers (1907-1909)
-New
York Giants (1911-1913)
-New
York Yankees (1926-1928, 1941-1943, 1976-1978)
-Philadelphia/Oakland
Athletics (1929-1931, 1972-1974, 1988-1990)
NBA
10
years in a row
-Boston
Celtics (1957-1966)
4
years in a row
-Boston
Celtics (1984-1987)
-Los
Angeles Lakers (1982-1985)
-Miami
Heat (2011-2014)
3
years in a row
-Chicago
Bulls (1991-1993, 1996-1998)
-Cleveland
Cavaliers (2015-2017)
-Detroit
Pistons (1988-1990)
-Golden
State Warriors (2015-2017)
-Los
Angeles/Minneapolis Lakers (1952-1954, 1968-1970, 1987-1989, 2000-2002,
2008-2010)
-New
York Knicks (1951-1953)
NFL
6
years in a row
-Cleveland
Browns (1950-1955)
4
years in a row
-Buffalo
Bills (1991-1994)
-Chicago
Bears/Staleys (1921-1924, 1940-1943)
-Green
Bay Packers (1929-1932)
3
years in a row
-Canton/Cleveland
Bulldogs (1922-1924)
-Chicago
Bears (1932-1934)
-Detroit
Lions (1952-1954)
-Green
Bay Packers (1960-1962, 1965-1968)
-Los
Angeles Rams (1949-1951)
-Miami
Dolphins (1972-1974)
-New
York Giants (1933-1935, 1961-1963)
-Philadelphia
Eagles (1947-1949)
NHL
10
years in a row
-Montreal
Canadiens (1951-1960)
5
years in a row
-Montreal
Canadiens (1965-1969)
-New
York Islanders (1980-1984)
4
years in a row
-Montreal
Canadiens (1976-1979)
3
years in a row
-Detroit
Red Wings (1941-1943, 1954-1956)
-Edmonton
Oilers (1983-1985)
-Philadelphia
Flyers (1974-1976)
-St.
Louis Blues (1968-1970)
-Toronto
Maple Leafs (1938-1940, 1947-1949, 1962-1964)
3. The Warriors have set the NBA record by going
12-0 in their first three playoff series this year. The Cavs are pretty close behind, going 12-1
thus far. That means that both teams
technically have the chance to equal or break the record for fewest losses in
the playoffs since the NBA playoffs expanded to 16 teams in 1984. Even if the series goes to 7 games, the most
losses the winning team will have is four.
Here are the teams since 1984 that have lost four or fewer games in the
playoffs, starting with the best record (note that the first round was changed
from a best-of-5 to a best-of-7 format in 2003):
15-1
(.938): 2001 Los Angeles Lakers
15-2
(.882): 1989 Detroit Pistons; 1991 Chicago
Bulls; 1999 San Antonio Spurs
15-3
(.833): 1986 Boston Celtics; 1987 Los
Angeles Lakers; 1996 Chicago Bulls
16-4
(.800): 2007 San Antonio Spurs
15-4
(.789): 1985 Los Angeles Lakers; 1997
Chicago Bulls; 2002 Los Angeles Lakers
11-4
(.733): 1989 Los Angeles Lakers*
*Swept
first three rounds before being swept in the Finals
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