The NBA Play-In Tournament has added some more thrill to that first level of playoffs, but can a team who actually had to go through the play-in format eventually win an NBA Finals? Below, we'll examine the history of NBA Finals and determine if any play-in team has found its way to league supremacy.
Except for a quirk of shifting playoff formats from year to year, the Finals have always been best-of-seven games between the East champ and West champ.
NBA Champions
Los Angeles Lakers (17)
Boston Celtics (17)
Golden State Warriors (7)
Chicago Bulls (6)
San Antonio Spurs (5)
Philadelphia 76ers (3)
Detroit Pistons (3)
Miami Heat (3)
Bill Russell has the most championships with 11; John Havlicek is second, while four other Celtics have multiple rings.
What the NBA Finals winners analysis does not show is a single team making it through that play-in format which leads to winning an NBA championship. Recent history suggests that the winners of the NBA Finals generally punch their own playoff tickets and avoid a jet through to play-in tournament.
The NBA Play-In Tournament has brought a new and entertaining layer on the path to an eventual NBA championship, but as past data shows us no team that competed in the play-in format ultimately lifted up Larry O'Brien Trophy.
