Both Anthony Edwards and Kevin Durant (now with the Rockets) are looking to become the NBA’s 8th different champion in 8 years.
Seven years, seven champions, seven different franchises. That’s the tsunami of parity the NBA is riding these days, with the Oklahoma City Thunder becoming the latest team to sign a one-year lease on the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
If the NBA deployed regal, white-gloved handlers of its hardware the way the NHL does with its Stanley Cup, those guys would be racking up serious frequent flier miles.
What fans are seeing now is the longest stretch of one-and-done champs in league history. There was a run of six back in the 1970s – Warriors, Celtics, Trail Blazers, Bullets, SuperSonics and Lakers from 1975-1980. And five from 1954-1958: Minneapolis, Syracuse, Philadelphia, Boston, St. Louis.
Those periods of equitably distributing the titles were the exceptions for most of the NBA’s first 70 years. The Lakers and the Celtics were the first two dynasties, claiming 27 of the first 41 championships (65.6%). Ten years later, with the Chicago Bulls’ pair of three-peats included, it was 33 of 51 (64.7%).
The Spurs’ extended run in San Antonio, the Warriors’ three added to three earlier in their history (1947, ’56 and ’75) and a few more for the Lakers and Celtics bumped the numbers by 2018 to 50 of 72 (69.4%) for just five franchises.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke before this year’s Finals about what had been a concentration of championships. “I remember when I first joined the league, [former commissioner David Stern] used to joke early on in his tenure, he said his job was to go back and forth between Boston and L.A. handing out championship trophies,” Silver said.
As celebrated as that Lakers-Celtics rivalry was, particularly after Magic Johnson and Larry Bird arrived in 1979 to revive it, the idea that a league is only as healthy as its least competitive team argued for greater balance. That is the intent with the Draft as well as provisions of the collective bargaining agreements between the owners and the players. The salary cap, luxury taxes, and trade or free agent limitations are all geared to spread the wealth.
“We set out to create a system that allowed for more competition in the league,” Silver said, “with the goal being having 30 teams all in position, if well managed, to compete for championships. That’s what we’re seeing here.”
And while media critics on the coasts bemoan the sizzle and TV ratings when two smaller-market teams such as Oklahoma City and Indiana meet in the Finals, that doesn’t change a fundamental in any league. Said Silver: “Fans in every city want to see their team be competitive.”
Can the run of new champs continue? Possibly. Of the 16 teams that qualified for the playoffs this year, 11 of them would have been winning for the first time. Now that the Thunder have done so, that leaves 10, and that doesn’t include teams such as San Antonio or Philadelphia hoping to make big leaps.
Eight in eight? It means the Thunder must at least pause what many view as a budding dynasty. It also means that, regardless of where they’re at in cycling back to championship contention, the Raptors, Lakers, Bucks, Warriors, Nuggets, and Celtics need to hold off until 2027 before they cash in.
Here are five teams that could keep the parity streak alive, with three honorable mention candidates:
1. Indiana Pacers
If not for Tyrese Haliburton’s Achilles tear, the Pacers might be among the top two or three favorites to win the championship next spring, parity or not. His value to their offense, their confidence and their propensity for comebacks is undeniable – Indiana lost the Finals by a total of 19 points, but they were 19 points better than the Thunder in the 210 minutes Haliburton did play.
This roster is deep enough, however, to push into the postseason again in search of one more victory. Andrew Nembhard can focus on point-guard duties, backup T.J. McConnell showed vs. OKC what he could do, Bennedict Mathurin can refine his currently raw skills, Obi Toppin has more to offer and so does Pascal Siakam, for that matter.
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
Unlike the Pacers, the Celtics and the Bucks, the Cavs quite literally have a leg up on the competition in the East because they don’t have a star (Haliburton, Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard) slated to miss the season after Achilles surgery and rehab. Cleveland’s five-game exit against Indiana was as embarrassing as it was disappointing, and a team that won 64 games will be driven to prove it is no paper tiger.
The core is solid, with Evan Mobley capable of additional improvement at both ends and Donovan Mitchell a leader and clutch scorer. Darius Garland merits a healthy season before Cleveland does anything rash with him, Jarrett Allen’s size alongside Mobley provides a competitive advantage over most teams, and De’Andre Hunter will be around from the season’s start. Besides, the Cavs were the one team in the East that beat OKC during the regular season.
3. Houston Rockets
The Kevin Durant deal was a shot across the NBA’s bow that the Rockets are done waiting. Durant’s shooting scratches this team’s biggest itch, after Jalen Green’s inconsistency left them too reliant on guard Fred VanVleet in the first round against Golden State.
Houston was able to add Durant without parting with any of its most valued rotation guys: Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr. or Tari Eason. As it was, they pushed Golden State to seven games in the first round and will be playing in Year 3 under demanding coach Ime Udoka. You don’t acquire 37-year-olds closer to their Hall of Fame enshrinements than their rookie orientations to meander toward contention.
4. New York Knicks
Nary a soul would have questioned the Knicks running back their East finalist team in 2025-26, coach included, after they upset Boston and were a high-bounce bucket off the back iron by Haliburton away from Game 7 against the Pacers. Then the front office lashed out, firing Tom Thibodeau despite the biggest, run-into-the-ground grumble about Thibodeau – his heavy use of starters sets them up for late-season injuries – never materializing.
Having Mitchell Robinson available for more than 17 games out of 82 next season is the quickest path to defensive improvement. Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns both were All-NBA, making New York one of three teams with two such honorees (OKC and Cleveland were the others). If new coach Mike Brown needs to win three games in the East finals to justify his hiring, he and the Knicks might as well go on and win five more beyond that.
5. Minnesota Timberwolves
Finishing in the top 10 both offensively and defensively has been a benchmark for 11 of the past 15 NBA champions. The Timberwolves and the Cavaliers are the only two teams that did that last season and still meet the no-rings requirement of this list. Meanwhile, Minnesota and Indiana were the only teams to reach the conference finals in 2024 and 2025.
Perennial door-knockers or ready to break it down? Much will depend on Anthony Edwards’ ascension toward potential MVP status, Jaden McDaniels’ improvement on offense to match his defense and how the front line sizes up next to Rudy Gobert. Point guard is a weak spot, with veteran Mike Conley aging out and Rob Dillingham unimpressive last season as his designated replacement.
Longer shots
LA Clippers: The Clippers looked poised to make a deep playoff run this spring, until they outscored and outshot Denver but lost in seven games in the first round. Just six years ago, for the only time in the franchise’s 55 years of existence, it reached a conference finals.
Detroit Pistons: The Pistons won 44 games, the first team in NBA history to more than triple their total victories (14) year over year. The core of this team is not unlike OKC’s, with Cade Cunningham heading toward a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander-worthy breakthrough MVP season and Jaden Ivey due to return alongside him in the backcourt.
Orlando Magic: The Magic took a half-step back to .500 last season, due largely to injuries – only one player started more than 60 games (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope), and he’s gone now. Desmond Bane arrives in return, though, as a more full-service off guard with a polished 3-point game. And would Orlando trade its starting forwards, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, for any team’s duo?
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
