**From 1975 to 1980, there were 6 consecutive years of unique NBA champions:**

1975: Golden State Warriors

1976: Boston Celtics

1977: Portland Trail Blazers

1978: Washington Bullets

1979: Seattle SuperSonics

1980: Los Angeles Lakers

In this time, there were 2 teams to win their sole NBA championship. In back-to-back years the Blazers and Bullets (Wizards) won their only titles to date. Until last year, it was 3 straight years, as the Sonics (now the Thunder) were also one time champions until OKC’s title win in 2026.

**The next longest streak in NBA history of unique champions is 5, occurring between 1971-1975 and 1977-1981.** From 1981 to 2021 (once this streak started), the longest streak of unique champions is 3 years.

What’s even more mind boggling is that from 2020 to 2026, no same team from either the Eastern or Western Conferences has made the Finals in back-to-back years, meaning **there has been unique NBA Finalists in back-to-back seasons for 7 years**. The Warriors made the Finals in 2018 and 2019, but since then, no team has done it in consecutive years. If anyone wants to do the numbers on the second longest streak, I’d be very curious to know the answer. I imagine it’s at most 4 years of consecutive unique NBA Finalists.

From 2021 to 2026, the Boston Celtics are the only team to make the NBA Finals multiple times.

SEGA_32X_CD | NBA

493 | 11 hours ago

The Sonics are still one-time champions. Don’t mix them in with that Thunder mess.

greywolf2155 | Supersonics

84 | 11 hours ago

Thanks. I’ll buy you a pint of Manny’s

lanfordr | Spurs

70 | 9 hours ago

Don’t the Sonics get their history back if there is ever an expansion team in Seatle?

DoctorPigHead | OKC

128 | 9 hours ago

Thunder fans don’t even claim Sonics history tbh, it’s just a technicality

zach_here_thanks_man | LAC

-18 | 6 hours ago

Saying this with a Nick Collison flair is something else

DoctorPigHead | OKC

34 | 6 hours ago

What? You are saying this like he only contributed in Seattle, his number wouldn’t be retired if that was the case

ShokupanFuriKuri | Supersonics

6 | an hour ago

Yeah it’s really not that crazy at all. He contributed heavily to both teams it isn’t like your claiming Gary Payton or something lmao

Natural-Kiwi6364 | Timberwolves

19 | 3 hours ago

Minnesota doesn’t claim the titles won by the original Minnesota Lakers, and LA certainly counts the titles won before the move.

Maybe it’s different since OKC doesn’t seem to consider the Sonics history to be their own.

Ferbtastic | Heat

7 | 3 hours ago

It was part of the move. I think the same thing happened with the browns.

freshprince44

5 | an hour ago

LA didn’t even count them for a bit too, then they decided to (once it started getting somewhat close to the celtics lol, I forget the specifics but it is mildly interesting how it just kind of happened and meow everybody accepts it)

Eyeglasses216

5 | 3 hours ago

They should. The hornets hold the the past hornets (now pelicans) history and records.

hud731

32 | 10 hours ago

Yeah that’s just disrespectful

NatureTrailToHell3D | Supersonics

10 | 9 hours ago

Agreed

Neveraththesmith | Spurs

0 | 3 hours ago

Just because it’s disrespectful doesn’t mean it isn’t true

epanek | Cavaliers

8 | 4 hours ago

I always think of this song when I hear the name Sonic’s.

“It’s ironic, I had the brew, she had the chronic
The Lakers beat the Supersonics”

jd451 | Celtics

5 | an hour ago

I don’t know if there was a goodyear blimp present after game 7 but if there was, it’d probably read “Wemby’s a pimp”

ryrythe3rd

343 | 11 hours ago

The last point doesn’t seem right, the Heat made the Finals in 2020 and 2023, but the Celtics also made the Finals in 2022 and 2024.

Willing-Leather-9788

98 | 11 hours ago

Corrected, thank you!

Ecureuil02

-10 | 2 hours ago

You didn’t have to for the Celtics. Screw them.

Medical_Cup_5972 | Supersonics

228 | 11 hours ago

Please do not lump the Sonics and Thunder together.

HoBaggyPants

-57 | 10 hours ago

They still legally own that history until there is a Seattle Supersonics again.

SpamAcc17 | Timberwolves

25 | 9 hours ago

This is just how this works unfortunately, I think the downvotes are cause of the move betrayal and people wanting it to be otherwise and I agree it’s a bastard decision but not how its viewed legally.

Much like the Ravens and Browns the agreement is to leave the branding for the old team but the history is shared until the original, non stolen franchise, comes back to the league.

Exodus100 | Mavericks

1 | 2 hours ago

And likely because OKC ownership rejects the history

Majima-Kensetsu

-10 | 6 hours ago

you are as annoying as those OKC players and that bitchmade clay bennet

HoBaggyPants

14 | 5 hours ago

Just for that I’m gonna move the new Supersonics to Fresno.

RapsareChamps_Suckit | Clippers

66 | 11 hours ago

celtics fans miss the ‘60s, I bet

GabbyMisconcepcion | Celtics

39 | 11 hours ago

And what era do Clippers fans miss?

[deleted]

40 | 11 hours ago

[removed]

StepbackJumpa

17 | 11 hours ago

lmao facts for real. Bill Russell was disrespected at a ridiculous level and even more recently-ish Marcus Smart. Fuck Boston.

captain_ahabb | Lakers

17 | 10 hours ago

White voters in Massachusetts: Harris +22

Nationwide? Trump +14

nicehax_

2 | 7 hours ago

Mass white voters with some outlier +/-

e92s65king

-5 | 10 hours ago

I’m saying Boston

cletoreyes01 | Heat

4 | 9 hours ago

Same folks that tell you the mikan rings don’t count but are also the folks that left actual shit and also thrashed the home of the man who is responsible for ¹¹⁄₁₈ titles that the franchise has

RapsareChamps_Suckit | Clippers

8 | 11 hours ago

victory has a thousand fawthas; but defeat is an orphan

SEGA_32X_CD | NBA

4 | 9 hours ago

Buffalo?

The_MadStork | NYK

23 | 11 hours ago

The 60s, when the Celtics were the Clippers and vice versa

[deleted]

0 | 10 hours ago

[deleted]

AlabasterRadio | Celtics

4 | 3 hours ago

Yeah the long suffering Boston sports fans, haven’t been to a title game in a few months and haven’t won one in like 2 years. Terrible.

KingBroly | Wizards

38 | 11 hours ago

The latter feels ancillary because they don’t like how OKC/SGA plays. I doubt other teams over the past 8 years had the same animosity.

AlabasterRadio | Celtics

7 | 3 hours ago

Yeah, the hate for past champions has sorta been more “normal” hate.

Overall-Palpitation6 | Grizzlies

-25 | 11 hours ago

There was much more animosity directed towards the Grizzlies a couple of years ago, and they only made it past the 1st Round once.

financialthrowaw2020 | NBA

14 | 5 hours ago

Grizzlies fan thinks their irrelevant team is hated. The truth is no one has thought about the grizzlies in a long time.

IAmNotKevinDurant_35 | GSW

10 | 10 hours ago

Who were you playing a couple years ago? That will explain why

Overall-Palpitation6 | Grizzlies

4 | 10 hours ago

They’ve played OKC, Minnesota, LAL and GSW in the playoffs recently, none of whom are exactly darlings to neutral fans.

fatkamp | Warriors

2 | 10 hours ago

I agree, up until this years conference finals Grizzlies were more disliked

greywolf2155 | Supersonics

39 | 11 hours ago

If you’d asked me off the top of my head, I’d have definitely guessed it was in the 70s. Crazy parity era

(partially because the talent was split between two leagues)

HoBaggyPants

26 | 10 hours ago

Then Magic and Bird came along to own the 80s. Then Jordan called the 90s.

palamunintillnow

13 | 9 hours ago

Early to mid 80s only like had 76ers, rockets, Lakers, Celtic made the finals. There are other contenders team like the bucks/nuggets but they can’t beat 3 of the four teams at the same playoff run.

RyouBestGirl | Spurs

3 | 4 hours ago

There were 2 factors why it was like that: 1. ABA 2. Cocaine

Jacern | Lakers

29 | 11 hours ago

The Celtics made it to the finals in ‘22 and ‘24

Ricoh881227

25 | 11 hours ago

8 straight years and the curse continues for former MVPs bringing just one chip into their respective franchise (minus embiid and the sixers)..

XVDub | SAS

-1 | 2 hours ago

Yeah, but the beat the fuck out of Boston this year.

Ricoh881227

1 | 20 minutes ago

Not sure why the need to rebuttal, when thats not even the point at all..

Yellow_Evan | Lakers

20 | 11 hours ago

In 10 years after the Spurs win 6 titles and the Thunder win 3, this era will be quaint.

YeahNoYeahThatsCool | Bulls

21 | 11 hours ago

Let’s hope the Knicks at least grab one while Wemby is still young

bruticuslee | Lakers

15 | 7 hours ago

Knicks deserve to win one, the drought has been too long and their fans have loved their team all this time.

Cultural_Ad9114 | Bulls

6 | 9 hours ago

Bulls fans wanting to see the Knicks win. Ok 👌

ThaRealSunGod | Lakers

16 | 9 hours ago

People been saying that damn near every year since 2020

erizzluh | Lakers

5 | 8 hours ago

with all the salary cap stuff, the thunder might have a better chance for longevity. don’t they still have a shit ton of draft picks and deeper roster for trades to keep the gravy train going? unless the spurs guys accept pay cuts to keep the core together, i feel like their window can’t be that long.

East-Technician2015

13 | 11 hours ago

what better way to celebrate than by removal of the OKC flair

Wazzoo1 | Supersonics

12 | 7 hours ago

Fun fact: the Sonics were up 3-2 in the 1978 Finals. They blew it, but Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld were amazing. That still doesn’t diminish the fact the 1978 Sonics started 5-17, fired their coach, hired Lenny Wilkens, finished with a record of 47-35 and made it to Game 7 of the Finals. Long Live Lenny.

bebopblues | Lakers

8 | 6 hours ago

Between 1980 till 2020, for 4 decades, it was 8 teams that won 37 championships:

Lakers (11), Bulls (6), Spurs (5), Celtics (4), Pistons (3), Heat (3), Warriors (3), and Rockets (2)

The other 4 teams were one and done:

Sixers (1981), Mavs (2011), Cavs (2016), and Raptors (2019).

So yes, let’s not be so quick to call any championship team a dynasty when they can’t even make it back to the Finals the following year, nevermind winning it again.

joeh4384 | Pistons

4 | 4 hours ago

Really the Raptors were the only team on this list to only make the finals once too. Philly was a power house in the early 80s and Dallas went 1-1 against Miami and Cleveland lost a bunch of finals with Lebron.

bebopblues | Lakers

1 | 3 hours ago

And if championship success is a metric to determine greatness, then Jokic, SGA, Giannis, and Tatum can’t be measured against the legends like Jordan, Kobe, LeBron, Duncan, Curry, Olajuan, Shaq, Magic, Bird, etc. They are a different league because they have returned to defend their title multiple times, or at least once.

KD and Leonard are bits of an asterisks because they should be on the top tier league, but the way they won their two championships weren’t impressive. One joined a super team and the other didn’t defend his title with the same team.

gamesrgreat | Heat

1 | 8 minutes ago

Kawhi’s rings >> KD’s rings

Upstairs_Display_697

1 | 7 minutes ago

*Sixers won in 1983

Logical_Welder3467

5 | 5 hours ago

The community going to turn hater when the Wemby dynasty got underway

S0ulSlayerz

6 | 10 hours ago

What happened to the bullets and Sonics

Willing-Leather-9788

12 | 9 hours ago

The Bullets changed their name to the Wizards in 1997. The Sonics franchise moved cities from Seattle to OKC and changed their name to the Thunder in 2008.

ManonFire1224

5 | 6 hours ago

Lakers and OKC are the only western conference teams to win a championship and make it back to a western conference finals in this time span

Brave_Commission

2 | 4 hours ago

all the gambling and bullshit aside, nba has been cooking with parity. add in two expansion teams in a few years when the league is at its youngest and lets see how history writes itself

Lakers_23_77 | Lakers

2 | an hour ago

I care far less about parity and more so that OKC lost. Basketball won, not the spurs. But congrats to Wemby too. Now I can root for former baby-Lakers Josh Hart and Jordan Clarkson on the Knicks.

UniqueAssistant8123

2 | 43 minutes ago

This is exactly why the league feels so fun right now because every season genuinely feels like a new story instead of the same teams taking turns at the top.

Any-Farm-4623

1 | 11 hours ago

I don’t think the thunder deserved to beat the spurs and go to the chip based on how they play as a team and they are really rough

Jamagnum

1 | an hour ago

I think we’re using research a bit liberally here.

Ok-Complex-1975

1 | 43 minutes ago

For years everyone complained about parity being dead, and now we’re living through the most unpredictable era ever and somehow people still find a reason to hate it.

CryptoSpyro

1 | 33 minutes ago

If the spurs have a dominate final that streak might end the following year lol

Upstairs_Display_697

1 | 24 minutes ago

In reality, parity in champions hurts marketing. The 70s was the least memorable NBA decade, even after the NBA-ABA merger.

Mr Silver must be praying for the Wemby dynasty to come soon, or the next CBA negotiations would be interesting.

astronomy8thlight | Raptors

-4 | 11 hours ago

If Kawhi re-signed with the Raptors, they repeat

greywolf2155 | Supersonics

8 | 11 hours ago

Hang the hypothetical banner!

Particular-Royal1885

-10 | 11 hours ago

Choklamhoma doesn’t need a traditional championship window when the CHOKC empire built a permanent fortress at the top of the league.

justFramy | Thunder

-31 | 11 hours ago

we desperately need a repeat champion tbh, when everyone is special no one is

RapsareChamps_Suckit | Clippers

28 | 11 hours ago

man I am loving seeing these faded okc flairs

justFramy | Thunder

-23 | 11 hours ago

us losing is ur championship i get it, clippers fans don’t got much else to celebrate

TimothyN | Pelicans

17 | 11 hours ago

You’re mistaken, you losing is a championship for all basketball lovers. Yesterday, both negative, ref baiting, shithousing, and foul happy teams in two sports lost and tens of millions people rejoiced. Maybe instead of flopping on every play you’ll get back to trying to win a game of basketball by actually playing it.

[deleted]

-3 | 6 hours ago

[removed]

OkBuddyErennary | Spurs

3 | 4 hours ago

Everyone’s glad you guys lost it. Beat it

lkn240 | Bulls

15 | 11 hours ago

Fuck that, Parity is awesome

Majormlgnoob | OKC

-13 | 11 hours ago

Being the team to break it is cooler tho

DuelingPushkin | Nuggets

8 | 11 hours ago

Would have been*

Majormlgnoob | OKC

-8 | 11 hours ago

We still can reset it to 2 years next year

Y’all can knock it to 4 years

DuelingPushkin | Nuggets

1 | 37 minutes ago

Lots of teams “could” do it. The fact that we can’t say for sure that one will anytime soon is part of what makes the league more exciting these days than when the Finals were the Curry/Bron invitational

justFramy | Thunder

-13 | 11 hours ago

it can be for stretches, but not for extended periods of time imo

JagmeetSingh2

5 | 11 hours ago

very funny lol

chazriverstone | Knicks

2 | 11 hours ago

I actually think you’re right in a lot of ways.

The late 70s is typically one of the most forgotten periods of basketball (which I personally think sucks), and I think a big reason for this is there’s simply no dynasties for people to refer back to; and no singular player that just dominated everything. Even Kareem or Dr J weren’t winning then.

For the active fan, it was probably (and from what I’ve heard) a lot of fun to watch back then. But for the casual fan taking a quick look at basketballs history, it’s just glossed over. Same could very feasibly happen for this era… which is unfortunate, because it really is a blast not knowing who’s gonna win every year

Threefrows

0 | 11 hours ago

Dont worry OKC is special, everyone will remember their legacy as the dirtiest team to win a championship.

LardHop | Lakers

0 | 9 hours ago

Yeah kinda agree with you. Good for fans to have parity, but the NBA is now lacking a household name.

The last MVP my mother who doesn’t give a shit about sports knows is Steph Curry. The last 10 MVPs really didn’t stay at the top for too long to be popular outside basketball fans.

The NBA community is rejoicing in OKC’s WCF exit and the fact that we have 8 straight years of unique NBA champions. This is the longest streak in NBA history. This got me thinking what is the second longest streak? A little research and I see it’s 6 years, between 1975-1980.