25 Things You Didn't Know About the NBA Finals

Did you know Darko Milicic is the youngest NBA champion of all time?

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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The NBA Finals have given fans more great moments and stories than we can name. Jordan's lay-up versus Magic's Lakers in 1991. 1976's triple-OT battle between Boston and Phoenix. Bird and Magic duking it out throughout the '80s. The list goes on and on and on. As fans, these memories have been ingrained in our heads since the moment we started watching the game, and are rehashed for us every year right around this time year. But what about the facts and figures that we've maybe managed to forget? Check out the 25 Things You Didn't Know About the NBA Finals.

Until 1982, the official name for the NBA Finals was the NBA World Championship Series. In '83 and '84, it was called Showdown.

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Darko Milicic is the youngest player to win an NBA championship.

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Robert Parish is the oldest player to win an NBA championship.

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The 1999 Knicks are the only No. 8 seed to reach the Finals.

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The lowest-rated NBA Finals of all time was the 2007 Cavs vs. Spurs matchup.

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The highest-rated NBA Finals of all time was the 1998 Jazz vs. Bulls matchup.

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Hakeem Olajuwon auctioned his first NBA championship ring due to his Muslim faith, which forbids men to wear gold. After winning again in '95, the Rockets made his second ring out of platinum.

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Since they switched to the 2-3-2 format in 1985, the teams that won Game 3 after the series was tied 1-1 have gone on to win the title 12 out of 13 times.

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Magic Johson has the most triple-doubles in the Finals with eight. LeBron is second with three.

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Michael Jordan's Bulls never played a Finals Game 7.

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The 2012 Finals were the first in NBA history—or any Big Four sport—to feature two teams whose names did not end in an “s.”

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The Celtics have made the most consecutive Finals appearances with 10.

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The Spurs are 5-0 in Games 1s.

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Rasheed Wallace had his championship ring altered so that it would fit his middle finger.

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The Eastern Conference has won more titles than the Western Conference.

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won Finals MVPs in both 1971, and 1985; the largest gap of time in Finals MVP history.

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Only four franchises have more than four titles.

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Since 1999, either the Spurs, Lakers, Pistons, Celtics, Mavs, or Heat have won the NBA Finals.

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Elgin Baylor holds the record for the player with the most NBA Finals appearances without a ring.

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Elgin Baylor also holds the record for most points scored in a Finals game (61).

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Jim Loscutoff and Robert Horry share the record for most rings by a non-Basketball Hall of Fame member.

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13 of the current 30 NBA teams have never won a championship.

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No player that has won the Most Improved Player has ever won a title.

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Jerry West is the only Finals MVP to win the award while playing for the losing team.

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The current championship trophy was designed in 1977. In 1984, the trophy was renamed the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. It was previously called the Walter A. Brown Trophy.

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