2021 NBA Finals: Difference between revisions

The 2021 NBA Finals (branded as the NBA Finals 2021 presented by YouTube TV for sponsorship reasons) will be the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2020–21 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. It will feature the Western Conference Champions, the Phoenix Suns, and the Eastern Conference Champions, the Milwaukee Bucks. With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the NBA for the second consecutive year, the scheduled start date of this best-of-seven playoff series has been pushed from its usual time in June to July 8, and a possible game 7 will be held no later than July 22.^[1]

This will be the first NBA Finals since 2012, and only the second since 1998, to not feature a Western Conference team from either the states of California or Texas. However, it is the seventh straight NBA Finals to feature a team from the Pacific Division. The Finals will be the first since 2014 to not include Andre Iguodala, who played in the past six finals with the Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat. It will also be the first Finals since 1995 to not feature either the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, or San Antonio Spurs; and the first since 1994 to not feature either Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, or Shaquille O'Neal.

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the NBA for the second straight year. The regular season was reduced to 72 games for each team, and was held from December 22, 2020 to May 16, 2021. The schedule was released in two parts, with the first half being announced in early December, while the second half was released in the latter part of the first half.^[1]

The NBA then staged a play-in tournament for teams ranked 7th through 10th in each conference from May 18 to May 21, using a modified page playoff system to determine who would clinch the 7th and 8th seeds in the playoffs. The regular 16-team playoff format was then held.^[1] In the first round, the Los Angeles Lakers, the defending champions, were eliminated by the Phoenix Suns; and the 2020 NBA finals runner-up Miami Heat were swept by the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Suns had struggled during much of the 2010s last making the playoffs during the 2009–10 season. The Suns had just a .302 winning percentage in the previous five seasons entering the 2020–21 Season, which is the worst winning percentage in the previous five years for any team making the championship in any of the major professional American sports leagues.^[2] During the 2020 offseason, the Suns acquired All-Star Chris Paul from the Oklahoma City Thunder by trading away Kelly Oubre Jr. and a future first-round draft pick.^[3] The Suns, led by Paul, Devin Booker, and Deandre Ayton along with second year head coach Monty Williams, finished the season with a 51–21 record as the no. 2 seed achieving their first winning season since the 2013–14 season and making the playoffs for the first time since 2010.^[4] They also clinched the Pacific division for the first time since 2006–07.^[5]

The Suns began their playoff run by defeating the seventh-seeded and defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers in the opening round in six games.^[6] Then the Suns swept the third-seeded Denver Nuggets in the Conference Semifinals.^[7] The Suns then defeated the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers in the Conference Finals in six games advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1993.^[8]

* If necessary

Note: Times are EDT (UTC−4) as listed by NBA. If the venue is located in a different time zone, the local time is also given.

The Finals will be televised in the United States by ABC for the 18th consecutive year.