Two of the NBA’s underdog franchises are back in the Finals.
The Oklahoma City Thunder punched their ticket to the 2025 NBA Finals with a gentleman's sweep of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals. The franchise is now four wins away from its first title in OKC, but it will have to get through a strong contender to claim it.
The Indiana Pacers put together a magical run through the Eastern Conference, defeating Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, the No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers and the favored New York Knicks. Now, they'll make their first Finals appearance in 25 years.
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SIGN UP HERE Where do the Thunder and Pacers rank among the teams with the most NBA Finals appearances? Let’s take a look ahead of their championship matchup.
1. Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers – 32 appearances
The Lakers’ extensive championship pedigree stretches over 70 years. They won their first title in Minneapolis in 1949 and won their most recent title in the Orlando bubble during the 2020 season. Overall, the Lakers have the second-most championships in NBA history and are 17-15 in their Finals appearances.
2. Boston Celtics – 23 appearances
NBA
The Celtics one more ring than the Lakers in nine fewer Finals appearances. Boston is 18-5 in their Finals series, including a run of eight straight triumphs from 1959 to 1966. Their most recent championship came in 2024 against the Mavericks, when they reached the Finals for the second time in three seasons.
3. Philadelphia/San Francisco/Golden State Warriors – 12 appearances
The Warriors won the first ever Finals as part of the Basketball Association of America in 1947. After winning in 1956 and 1975, the Warriors broke a 40-year title drought in 2015 and have been a consistent Western Conference representative in the Finals ever since.
4. Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers – 9 appearances
The Nationals won one of their three Finals appearances before becoming the Sixers in 1963. They are 2-4 in their six Finals series since making the switch, with their most recent championship coming in 1983. They’ve made it to the Finals just once since then, falling to the Lakers in 2001.
5. New York Knicks – 8 appearances
The Knicks reached a pair of Finals in the 1990s, but their last championship dates back to 1973. They had two stretches in franchise history where they made three Finals appearances in quick succession, making three straight from 1951 to 1953 and three more between 1970 and 1973. In all, the Knicks are 2-6 in the eight Finals they’ve played.
T-6. Fort Wayne/Detroit Pistons – 7 appearances
The Pistons have made their seven Finals appearances in bunches. They lost consecutive Finals in 1955 and 1956, made three straight appearances from 1988 to 1990 and made back-to-back trips in 2004 and 2005. They are 3-4 in Finals with their championships coming in 1989, 1990 and 2004.
T-6. Miami Heat – 7 appearances
All seven of the Heat’s Finals appearances have come since the turn of the century, giving them the most of any Eastern Conference team in that span. The stretch began with a championship run in 2006 before moving into the Big Three era, which included four appearances and two wins. With their losses to the Lakers in 2020 and Denver Nuggets in 2024, the Heat are 3-4 all-time in the Finals.
T-8. Chicago Bulls – 6 appearances
All six of the Bulls’ Finals appearances came in an eight-year stretch thanks to No. 23. Michael Jordan’s squads not only reached the Finals – they won them. Chicago put together a pair of three-peats by winning titles each year from 1991 to 1993 and again from 1996 to 1998.
T-8. San Antonio Spurs – 6 appearances
The Spurs’ dynasty included six Finals appearances. Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan were centerpieces for the entire run, beginning with a 1999 championship in Duncan’s second season and concluding with a 2014 championship, which came two years before Duncan retired. The team won five Finals compared to its one loss, an epic seven-game series against the Heat in 2013.
T-10. Cleveland Cavaliers – 5 appearances
The Cavs’ Finals appearances came thanks to a different No. 23. The team had never advanced past the Eastern Conference finals until LeBron James arrived. In 11 years with James in town, Cleveland reached the Finals five times and won its only championship in 2016.
T-10. Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder – 5 appearances
Oklahoma City is headed to its fifth Finals as a franchise, but just two of those appearances have come since moving out of Seattle (2012 and 2025). The Sonics made the Finals in 1978, 1979 and 1996 before relocating to Oklahoma City in 2008 -- with one victory in 1979. The Thunder will now look to claim their first title for the Sooner State.
Teams with four NBA Finals appearances
- Houston Rockets
- Atlanta Hawks
- Washington Wizards
Teams with three NBA Finals appearances
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Dallas Mavericks
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Phoenix Suns
Teams with two NBA Finals appearances
- Brooklyn Nets
- Indiana Pacers
- Orlando Magic
- Utah Jazz
Teams with one NBA Finals appearance
- Sacramento Kings
- Toronto Raptors
- Denver Nuggets
- Chicago Stags
- Baltimore Bullets
- Washington Capitols
Teams with zero NBA Finals appearances
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Charlotte Hornets
- Memphis Grizzlies
- New Orleans Pelicans
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article was published in May 2022.