Since the 2019 Toronto Raptors Championship, the NBA has seen a unique champion every year… will this random trend continue?
It’s the morning of the Play-In games, so the NBA playoffs are about to begin! I bring you this weird trend that is currently tickling my brain a lot recently.
Historically, the NBA sees eras with dominant teams either winning championships or participating in the Finals, resulting in many of such eras defined by teams that win a lot (MJ Bulls in the 90s, Warriors 2015, 2017-2018) or teams that stay competitive winning with championships sprinkled in between (Spurs during the 00s, Lakers/Celtics trading championships in the 80s). However this current era we’ve been watching has been defined by parity, many teams poised to form dynasties, but failing to repeat a second championship run.
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Oklahoma City Thunder | Indiana Pacers |
| 2024 | Boston Celtics | Dallas Mavericks |
| 2023 | Denver Nuggets | Miami Heat |
| 2022 | Golden State Warriors | Boston Celtics |
| 2021 | Milwaukee Bucks | Phoenix Suns |
| 2020 | Los Angeles Lakers | Miami Heat |
| 2019 | Toronto Raptors | Golden State Warriors |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 4/14/2026.
Such diversity in champions hasn’t been seen since the 1970s, with 8 unique teams winning championships. But that era seems to be regarded as an era with talent being too rapidly spread out between a rapidly expanding NBA, resulting in the lack of truly dominant teams.
However I think the current landscape of the NBA has a plethora of talent, with almost every team having strong players to build around and be excited about. So with the playoffs dawning on us, let me ask you guys
Why has there been no repeat champion in the past 7 years?
Out of the previous champions, who might be most likely to buck the trend? (Out of all previous champions, only the Bucks are absent in this year’s playoffs, although the Warriors are also unlikely…)
Hypothetically, how many more unique champions can we see this decade?
Mathematically, the likelihood of the trend holding up will decrease every year, but it would be very fun to have a different team win the championship every year and have the playoffs be a tightly contested affair every time.