Basketball Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Eastern Conference
Eastern Conference NBA
Formerly known as Eastern Division (1946–1970)
League Flag of the United States NBA
Founded 1970
No. of teams 15
Divisions Atlantic Division
Central Division
Southeast Division
Current teams
Former teams
Conference Finals
First Champion Baltimore Bullets
Recent Champion Miami Heat (7)
Most Wins Boston Celtics (10)


The Eastern Conference is a professional basketball conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It is made up of fifteen teams, and organized in three divisions of five teams each.

The three division winners are seeded 1, 2, and 3 for the playoffs in order of their record, with all non-division winners seeded 4 through 8. This leaves open the possibility that a #4 seed could have a better record than a #3 seed. On the other hand, home-court advantage in a playoff series is decided by record, not by seeding, so if a #3 and #4 team met in a playoff series in which the #4 team had the better record, the #4 team would have home-court advantage.

The Eastern Conference playoffs is divided into three rounds, with the winner facing the Western Conference champion in the NBA Finals to determine the champion. All playoff series are best-of-seven.

The current divisional alignment was adopted at the start of the 2004-05 season, when the Charlotte Bobcats began play as the NBA's 30th franchise. This necessitated the move of the New Orleans Hornets from the Eastern Conference's Central Division to the newly-created Southwest Division of the Western Conference.

The Eastern Conference teams are organized as follows:

Atlantic Division[]

Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets
New York Knicks
Philadelphia 76ers
Toronto Raptors

Central Division[]

Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Detroit Pistons
Indiana Pacers
Milwaukee Bucks

Southeast Division[]

Atlanta Hawks
Charlotte Hornets
Miami Heat
Orlando Magic
Washington Wizards

Conference champions[]

Eastern Conference champions
Season Team Record Playoffs result
1970–71 Baltimore Bullets 42–40 Lost NBA Finals 0–4 to the Milwaukee Bucks
1971–72 New York Knicks 48–34 Lost NBA Finals 1–4 to the Los Angeles Lakers
1972–73 New York Knicks 57–25 Won NBA Finals 4–1 over the Los Angeles Lakers
1973–74 Boston Celtics 56–26 Won NBA Finals 4–3 over the Milwaukee Bucks
1974–75 Washington Bullets 60–22 Lost NBA Finals 0–4 to the Golden State Warriors
1975–76 Boston Celtics 54–28 Won NBA Finals 4–2 over the Phoenix Suns
1976–77 Philadelphia 76ers 50–32 Lost NBA Finals 2–4 to the Portland Trail Blazers
1977–78 Washington Bullets 44–38 Won NBA Finals 4–3 over the Seattle SuperSonics
1978–79 Washington Bullets 54–28 Lost NBA Finals 1–4 to the Seattle SuperSonics
1979–80 Philadelphia 76ers 59–23 Lost NBA Finals 2–4 to the Los Angeles Lakers
1980–81 Boston Celtics 62–20 Won NBA Finals 4–2 over the Houston Rockets
1981–82 Philadelphia 76ers 58–24 Lost NBA Finals 2–4 to the Los Angeles Lakers
1982–83 Philadelphia 76ers 65–17 Won NBA Finals 4–0 over the Los Angeles Lakers
1983–84 Boston Celtics 62–20 Won NBA Finals 4–3 over the Los Angeles Lakers
1984–85 Boston Celtics 63–19 Lost NBA Finals 2–4 to the Los Angeles Lakers
1985–86 Boston Celtics 67–15 Won NBA Finals 4–2 over the Houston Rockets
1986–87 Boston Celtics 59–23 Lost NBA Finals 2–4 to the Los Angeles Lakers
1987–88 Detroit Pistons 54–28 Lost NBA Finals 3–4 to the Los Angeles Lakers
1988–89 Detroit Pistons 63–19 Won NBA Finals 4–0 over the Los Angeles Lakers
1989–90 Detroit Pistons 59–23 Won NBA Finals 4–1 over the Portland Trail Blazers
1990–91 Chicago Bulls 61–21 Won NBA Finals 4–1 over the Los Angeles Lakers
1991–92 Chicago Bulls 67–15 Won NBA Finals 4–2 over the Portland Trail Blazers
1992–93 Chicago Bulls 57–25 Won NBA Finals 4–2 over the Phoenix Suns
1993–94 New York Knicks 57–25 Lost NBA Finals 3–4 to the Houston Rockets
1994–95 Orlando Magic 57–25 Lost NBA Finals 0–4 to the Houston Rockets
1995–96 Chicago Bulls 72–10 Won NBA Finals 4–2 over the Seattle SuperSonics
1996–97 Chicago Bulls 69–13 Won NBA Finals 4–2 over the Utah Jazz
1997–98 Chicago Bulls 62–20 Won NBA Finals 4–2 over the Utah Jazz
1998–99 New York Knicks 27–23 Lost NBA Finals 1–4 to the San Antonio Spurs
1999–00 Indiana Pacers 56–26 Lost NBA Finals 2–4 to the Los Angeles Lakers
2000–01 Philadelphia 76ers 56–26 Lost NBA Finals 1–4 to the Los Angeles Lakers
2001–02 New Jersey Nets 52–30 Lost NBA Finals 0–4 to the Los Angeles Lakers
2002–03 New Jersey Nets 49–33 Lost NBA Finals 2–4 to the San Antonio Spurs
2003–04 Detroit Pistons 54–28 Won NBA Finals 4–1 over the Los Angeles Lakers
2004–05 Detroit Pistons 54–28 Lost NBA Finals 3–4 to the San Antonio Spurs
2005–06 Miami Heat 52–30 Won NBA Finals 4–2 over the Dallas Mavericks
2006–07 Cleveland Cavaliers 50–32 Lost NBA Finals 0–4 to the San Antonio Spurs
2007–08 Boston Celtics 66–16 Won NBA Finals 4–2 over the Los Angeles Lakers
2008–09 Orlando Magic 59–23 Lost NBA Finals 1–4 to the Los Angeles Lakers
2009–10 Boston Celtics 50–32 Lost NBA Finals 3–4 to the Los Angeles Lakers
2010–11 Miami Heat 58–24 Lost NBA Finals 2–4 to the Dallas Mavericks
2011–12 Miami Heat 46–20 Won NBA Finals 4–1 over the Oklahoma City Thunder
2012–13 Miami Heat 66–16 Won NBA Finals 4–3 over the San Antonio Spurs
2013–14 Miami Heat 54–28 Lost NBA Finals 1–4 to the San Antonio Spurs
2014–15 Cleveland Cavaliers 53–29 Lost NBA Finals 2–4 to the Golden State Warriors
2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers 57–25 Won NBA Finals 4–3 over the Golden State Warriors
2016–17 Cleveland Cavaliers 51–31 Lost NBA Finals 1–4 to the Golden State Warriors
2017–18 Cleveland Cavaliers 50–32 Lost NBA Finals 0–4 to the Golden State Warriors
2018–19 Toronto Raptors 58–24 Won NBA Finals 4–2 over the Golden State Warriors
2019–20 Miami Heat 44–29 Lost NBA Finals 2–4 to the Los Angeles Lakers
2020–21 Milwaukee Bucks 46–26 Won NBA Finals 4–2 over the Phoenix Suns
2021–22 Boston Celtics 51–31 Lost NBA Finals 2–4 to the Golden State Warriors
2022–23 Miami Heat 44–38 Lost NBA Finals 1–4 to the Denver Nuggets

NEW

National Basketball Association
Commissioners
Maurice Podoloff (1946 - 1963) ~ Walter Kennedy (1963 - 1975) ~ Larry O'Brien (1975 - 1984) ~ David Stern (1984 - 2014) ~ Adam Silver (2014 - present)
Players
NBA Players ~ Foreign NBA Players ~ Former NBA Players
Coaches and Owners
NBA Coaches ~ NBA Owners
Annual Events
NBA Draft ~ NBA Summer League ~ NBA All-Star Weekend ~ NBA Playoffs ~ NBA Finals
Others
NBA Awards ~ NBA Arenas ~ NBA TV ~ NBA Store ~ NBA G League
Advertisement