The National Basketball Association Finals, starting on April 18 and ending no later than June 19, are an annual season-ender for the NBA. All the teams are put into brackets based on conference standing; there is an Eastern Conference and a Western Conference.
Out of the 30 teams in the NBA, only 16 teams, 8 from each conference, make the playoffs. Each team gets a seed based on how well they did during the season; seeds range from one to six. In every team matchup, each team plays best out of seven, so the first to four wins.
It’s currently the quarter-finals, and there are 8 teams fighting for the semis remaining. OKC, or the Oklahoma Thunder, has won both of its matchups 4-0. This means they could be on track to do the impossible–an undefeated postseason. The New York Knicks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 4-0, but only beat the Atlanta Hawks 4-2. The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Detroit Pistons are tied 3-3 and the San Antonio Spurs beat out the Minnesota Timberwolves 4-2.
In round three, or the conference finals, OKC plays the Spurs, and the Knicks face off against either the Cavaliers or the Pistons. The Pistons are favored to win, but it is still uncertain. They play on Sunday, May 17.
Overall, OKC is favored to win the whole playoffs, but they will have to beat the Spurs first. OKC has lots of star players, including Shea Gilgous-Alexander, who is favored to win MVP this year, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams. They have to compete against Victor Wemanyama, Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox on the Spurs. Victor Wembanyama is 7 ‘4 and 260 pounds, making him a highly valuable player. He currently leads the league in blocks per game, averaging 3.1.
Wembanyama was almost suspended in a game against the Timberwolves after a blatant elbow was thrown and hit Naz Reid in the face. This is a very controversial act by the NBA, and speculations claim that the NBA favors and has bias towards Wembanyama for multiple reasons.
Basketball fans expressed dissapointment after news came out saying that LeBron James, an NBA star since 2003 when he started with the Cavaliers, might retire. He is 41 years old and this season still has an average of 21 points per game. After the Lakers’ loss to OKC, he said that he wants to talk about it with his family and debate their choices this summer before a final decision.
The rest of the postseason is still unknown, and all of the remaining teams still have a good shot. That’s what makes the postseason so fun for many fans–they can root for underdogs like the Rockets and while also watching tension on the court between Holmgren and Wembanyama.
