The era of parity in the NBA has arrived, with 6 champions in 6 years. Now Boston will try to reverse that trend

It was minutes after Denver’s reign as NBA champion ended last spring. The Minnesota Timberwolves were celebrating, their music and screams loud enough to be heard in the room where Nuggets coach Michael Malone was somberly conducting his final postgame news conference of the season.

At that point, it was official: Another season had passed without the NBA having a back-to-back champion, and Malone had to declare what had become obvious.

“It’s hard. It’s hard. It’s hard to repeat,” Malone said. “It’s hard to win.”

He’s right. And there’s never been a time in NBA history where it’s been more difficult.

Here are the last six NBA champions, in order: Toronto, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee, Golden State, Denver and now Boston. That’s six different franchises that have won titles in six seasons, a parity the league has only seen once before, nearly a half-century ago.

The era of dynasties may be on hold for now, replaced by an era where, for a variety of reasons, it’s harder than usual to reach the top of the NBA and stay there. It’s the Celtics’ turn to try to reverse this trend.

“It’s always tough to win one,” said Boston guard Jrue Holiday, who won a title with Milwaukee in 2021 and was part of the Bucks team that was ousted in the second round a year later. late. “But then winning back-to-back is even harder.”

The NBA doesn’t seem to care. We’re in the era of parity, and current collective bargaining agreements make it even harder for teams to be dynastic — a rapid change from the four-year span spanning 2015 to 2018, when Cleveland and Golden State qualified each year for the final.

Simply put, the more teams spend, the harder it becomes to make decisions, especially those involving players with big contracts. The latest collective agreement, which took effect last year, includes two discussions on the amount of the luxury tax. Pass the first apron, the flexibility of your list is hampered. Review the second one, and he’s seriously hampered. It could be argued that there haven’t been such significant rule changes since the league changed the lottery odds and added a play-in tournament to discourage tanking.

An example: It recently took Minnesota and New York several days to reach a deal a few weeks ago after agreeing on parameters — Karl-Anthony Towns going to the Knicks, Julius Randle and Donte DiVencenzo going to Wolves – because the financial details were necessary. to be very precise.

“The new rules…some of the consequences are unintended, frankly,” Wolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly was quoted as saying by ESPN. “I don’t know if anyone intended to make it that difficult to move, to transact when you’re on top of certain aprons.”

No, that’s exactly what the NBA wanted.

“I don’t want to say that nothing is lost, but for me, I don’t think our system, by definition, is going to prevent championships from happening again,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. “I think so, it makes it less difficult.” probably, but we didn’t intend to say, “Let’s make sure there’s a different champion every year.” I think, again, it’s more about equality of opportunity. But I think along the same lines, I think there is a real incentive for players to stay in the markets.

No one would say all 30 teams enter this season with a realistic chance of a title. But there are more real hopes than there were just a few seasons ago. Last year, 12 teams entered the year with title odds of 25-1 or less. Six years earlier, at the height of the Warriors-Cavs run, there were only three such teams.

“The league is looking for parity,” Washington general manager Will Dawkins said. “And flattening the lottery odds, adding the second apron, all those things are supposed to contribute to that.”

None of the previous five champions, not counting the defending Celtics (the heavy favorite to win the title this season, according to BetMGM Sportsbook), even returned to the Finals the following season. That matches the longest drought in NBA history, last occurring when the 1973-77 champions — in order, New York, Boston, Golden State, Boston again, then Portland — all were ousted in the conference finals or earlier.

A few years ago, most teams probably didn’t think they had a realistic chance. It’s a different line.

“I just think as this whole thing is gearing up to be more competitive, more teams are getting into it. And that’s where it gets fun, when there’s not much difference between the teams,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It will be how teams can manage all these different emotions and this competitive spirit throughout a season. It gets uncomfortable sometimes. I love him. It’s great for the league, it’s great for the viewers, it’s great for the fans. Ultimately, that’s what you want.

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