The NBA of change will soon experience something unheard of in the last 44 years

Whatever happens in the Conference Finals and then in the NBA Finals, the sport will have a sixth different champion in the last six years when one of the Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Timberwolves or Dallas Mavericks claim their first ever rings.

Although it may seem like a minor statistic, it has only happened once in history and that was some 44 years ago.

The Denver Nuggets' loss to the Timberwolves ensures the champions cannot defend their crown any longer so for the second time in history, the league will have six different victors in six years.

For the Timberwolves and Pacers, if they go all the way then they would win the first title in their history, while for the Mavericks, it would be their second. The Celtics would make history by collecting the eighteenth championship, breaking the record they share with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The streak of the last few years was started by the Toronto Raptors back in 2019 when they beat the Golden State Warriors, whilst after them came the Lakers, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Warriors and then the Nuggets.

None of those teams have reached the Conference Finals this year after Nikola Jokic's Nuggets were eliminated in game seven by the Timberwolves, losing 98-90 in a game that saw their offense fail to come to life as they posted just 14 points in the third quarter.

Despite all of the dynasties in NBA history, the decade with least dominance by one team was the 1970s, which is where the only other streak of six years with six different champions happened.

It was the period from 1975 to 1980 in which Warriors, Celtics, Portland Trail Blazers, Baltimore Bullets (now the Washington Wizards), Seattle SuperSonics (now defunct) and Lakers won before the streak was closed by Boston winning again in 1981.

The Eastern Conference Finals

The Proud Green jerseys of the Celtics finished as the best team in the regular season with 64 wins and they are the favorites, not only in the East, but also for the NBA Finals. But the Pacers have reached the penultimate step showing a collective ability only comparable to that of the Celtics or Timberwolves...

The Pacers already eliminated the Celtics in the NBA In-Season Tournament, although that was a one-game and not a best-of-seven series, with the latter generally rewarding the better teams so it remains to be seen how this series will play out.

• Game one: Boston Celtics vs. Indiana Pacers on May 21 at 20:00 ET.
• Game two: Celtics vs. Pacers on May 23 at 20:00 ET.
• Game three: Pacers vs. Celtics on May 25 at 20:30 ET.
• Game four: Pacers-Celtics on May 27 at 20:00 ET.
• Game five (if necessary): Celtics-Pacers on May 29 at 20:00 ET.
• Game six (if necessary): Pacers vs. Celtics on May 31 at 20:00 ET.
• Game seven (if necessary): Celtics vs. Pacers on June 2 at 20:00 ET.

The Western Conference Finals

As mentioned above, the Timberwolves dumped out the defending NBA champions in a gruelling seven-game series that initially saw them take a 2-0 lead before throwing it away to be 3-2 down, before they staged a memorable comeback to right their earlier wrongs. Imagine the heart rates of their fans throughout the series...

Meanwhile, the Mavericks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder over six games in a much calmer series that saw them lose the first game, win the next two, lose the fourth and then win the final two to book their spot in the next stage.

If the Timberwolves win this series, it will be their first ever Conference title which also means they've never won the NBA, whilst the Mavericks are going for their first rings since 2011, their only Championship as of the time of writing.

• Game one: Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Dallas Mavericks on May 22 at 20:30 ET.
• Game two: Timberwolves vs. Mavericks on May 24 at 20:30 ET.
• Game three: Mavericks vs. Timberwolves on May 26 at 20:00 ET.
• Game four: Mavericks vs. Timberwolves on May 28 at 20:30 ET.
• Game five (if necessary): Timberwolves vs. Mavericks on May 30 at 20:30 ET.
• Game six (if necessary): Mavericks vs. Timberwolves on June 1 at 20:30 ET.
• Game seven (if necessary): Timberwolves vs. Mavericks on June 3 at 20:30 ET.