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142-692: The NBA Finals is the championship series for the National Basketball Association (NBA) held at the conclusion of its postseason . All NBA Finals have been played in a best-of-seven format , and are contested between the winners of the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference (formerly Divisions before 1970), except in 1950 when the Eastern Division champion faced the winner between
284-447: A T 2 {\displaystyle d_{h,T_{1}}=h_{T_{1}}-a_{T_{2}}} and d a , T 1 = a T 1 − h T 2 {\displaystyle d_{a,T_{1}}=a_{T_{1}}-h_{T_{2}}} . Team T 1 {\displaystyle T_{1}} played better at home field if d h , T 1 > d
426-594: A T 2 {\displaystyle h_{T_{1}}:a_{T_{2}}} played at T 1 {\displaystyle T_{1}} 's field and h T 2 : a T 1 {\displaystyle h_{T_{2}}:a_{T_{1}}} played at T 2 {\displaystyle T_{2}} 's field, we can compute differences in scores (e.g. from T 1 {\displaystyle T_{1}} 's point of view): d h , T 1 = h T 1 −
568-456: A , T 1 {\displaystyle d_{h,T_{1}}>d_{a,T_{1}}} , and T 1 {\displaystyle T_{1}} played better at away field if d h , T 1 < d a , T 1 {\displaystyle d_{h,T_{1}}<d_{a,T_{1}}} (for example, if Arsenal won 3–1 at home against Chelsea, i.e. d h , A r s e n
710-1108: A l = 2 {\displaystyle d_{h,Arsenal}=2} , and Arsenal won 3–0 at Chelsea, i.e. d a , A r s e n a l = 3 {\displaystyle d_{a,Arsenal}=3} , then the result for Arsenal at home was worse). Same approach has to be used for all opponents in one season to obtain k 1 {\displaystyle k_{1}} , k 0 {\displaystyle k_{0}} , and k − 1 {\displaystyle k_{-1}} . Values of k 1 {\displaystyle k_{1}} , k 0 {\displaystyle k_{0}} , and k − 1 {\displaystyle k_{-1}} are used to estimate probabilities as p ^ r = k r + 1 K + 3 , r = − 1 , 0 , 1 {\displaystyle {\hat {p}}_{r}={\frac {k_{r}+1}{K+3}},r=-1,0,1} , where K {\displaystyle K}
852-632: A 1–1–1–1–1–1–1 format in 1956 and 1971 , and in a 1–2–2–1–1 format in 1975 and 1978 . As of 2024, the Eastern champions have a 41–37 advantage in NBA titles over the Western champions, with their most recent being the Boston Celtics who have won 18 titles, the most of any team in the league. Eight consecutive Three consecutive Two consecutive NBA Finals The NBA Finals
994-603: A 7-game series, but were defeated by Lakers in 6 games. The 76ers responded by trading for Moses Malone, the league's reigning MVP. With the new duo of Malone and Erving, the 76ers won the 1983 NBA Finals in a sweep of the Lakers. The Celtics and Lakers met in the Finals in 1984 , 1985 , and 1987 . In 1984, the Celtics toppled the Lakers 4–3. The final game of this series attracted the largest ever TV audience for an NBA game, and
1136-571: A basket from 60 feet to tie the game, a shot that became one of the most famous ever. However, the Knicks won in overtime and eventually won the series in 7 games. Game 7 featured an injured Willis Reed returning to action for the Knicks and inspiring his team to victory, though Reed scored only 4 points. The following season had another first-time champion, as the Milwaukee Bucks , led by Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar , defeated
1278-405: A best-of-5 or best-of-7 format, where the first team to win 3 or 4 games, respectively, wins the playoff. Since these best-of series always involve an odd number of games, it is impossible to guarantee that an equal number of games will be played at each team's home venue. As a result, the team with the better regular season record must be scheduled to have one more home game than the other. This team
1420-594: A career in baseball. Following Jordan's departure, the Houston Rockets , led by Hakeem Olajuwon , won the 1994 and 1995 NBA titles. During this time, Olajuwon became the only player in history to win the NBA MVP , NBA Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP awards in the same season. After his short stint with baseball, Jordan returned to basketball late in the 1994–95 season. Although he did not lead
1562-542: A championship. After missing the playoffs two years in a row due to injuries and roster changes, the Warriors returned to the 2022 NBA Finals for their sixth appearance in eight seasons. They defeated the Boston Celtics in six games for their fourth championship in eight seasons. The Denver Nuggets reached their first Finals in franchise history in 2023 , defeating the Miami Heat in five games. Nikola Jokić
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#17327944047841704-497: A counterexample, college football schedules often have an imbalance in which the most successful and largest teams can negotiate more home appearances than mid-majors , a situation that was also prevalent in the early, disorganized years of the National Football League.) However, in the playoffs , home advantage is usually given to the team with the higher seed (which may or may not have the better record), as
1846-402: A disadvantage to the home team in hot-weather games. In ice hockey , there are at least three distinct rule-related advantages for the home team. The first is referred to as "last change", where during stoppages of play, the home team is allowed to make player substitutions after the visiting team does (unless the home team ices the puck, in which case no substitutions are allowed). This allows
1988-534: A multiyear partnership that began in 2018, internet television service YouTube TV became the presenting sponsor of the NBA Finals. The statistics below refer to series wins and losses, not individual games won and lost. For individual game statistics, see Individual games records . (*) As a result of the original franchise's relocation to New Orleans , the NBA team in Charlotte suspended operations for
2130-514: A new "Big Three". The Cavaliers appeared in the next four Finals, all against the Golden State Warriors . The Cavaliers and Warriors became the first two teams to square off in more than two consecutive Finals. The Warriors drew first blood in the 2015 NBA Finals , coming back from a 2–1 deficit to win the series 4–2, despite James' historic efforts. The following season, the Warriors broke the record for most regular season wins with
2272-500: A non-NHL market, with one as designated home team and one as the designated away team. The neutral site games ended after the 1993–94 NHL season , as the following season was lockout-shortened, and the 1995–96 NHL season reduced the regular season from 84 to 82 games per team. The NHL has held neutral-site, season-opening games in Europe (sometimes also including preseason exhibitions against European clubs), first from 2007 to 2011 as
2414-1032: A platoon system with other players (such as a catcher who does not start because the starting pitcher uses the other catcher), while the AL team's DH batted three or more times a game throughout the season. Measuring the home-field advantage of a team (in a league with balanced schedule) requires a determination of the number of opponents for which the result at home-field was better ( k 1 {\displaystyle k_{1}} ), same ( k 0 {\displaystyle k_{0}} ), and worse ( k − 1 {\displaystyle k_{-1}} ). Goals scored and conceded – in so called combined measure of home team advantage – are used to determine which results are better, same, and which are worse. Given two results between teams T 1 {\displaystyle T_{1}} and T 2 {\displaystyle T_{2}} , h T 1 :
2556-572: A previous match. For example, after the violent clashes after the Turkey-Switzerland game in 2005 , UEFA punished the Turkish team with playing the next six regular international home matches abroad. It is also required where one team's home location is in a war zone or at high risk of terrorism, or if the visiting team is prevented from travelling to (one of) their opponent's regular stadium(s) for political reasons. The latter consideration
2698-439: A rarity, having been discouraged in the era of black-and-white television. Many teams from warm-weather cities may wear their white uniforms at home, forcing their opponent to wear dark uniforms in the hot weather. An exception is a rule in high school American football (except Texas, which plays by NCAA football rules), requiring the home team to wear dark jerseys and the visiting team to wear white jerseys, which may work as
2840-515: A record of 73–9. The Warriors opened up a 3–1 series lead in the 2016 NBA Finals , but James and Irving led the Cavaliers to two straight victories to force a deciding Game 7. In a key sequence with two minutes remaining in Game 7, LeBron James made a memorable chase-down block on Iguodala to keep the game tied, while Irving hit a 3-point shot a minute later to take the lead. Cleveland held on to win
2982-437: A significant drop to home advantage compared with the previous six seasons. In 592 games played under the restricted conditions through March, home teams suffered a decline of 10% while road teams’ win rates increased by 7%. In a number of sports, the hosting team has the advantage of playing with their first choice uniforms, while the visiting team wears their alternative away/road colors . Some sports leagues simply state that
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#17327944047843124-435: A strong effect when each factor is considered alone suggesting that it is the combination of several different factors that creates the overall home advantage effect. An evolutionary psychology explanation for the home advantage effect refers to observed behavioral and physiological responses in animals when they are defending their home territory against intruders. This causes a rise in aggression and testosterone levels in
3266-550: Is incomplete gamma function . For example, Newcastle in 2015/2016 English Premier League season recorded better result at home field for 13 opponents, same result with 4 opponents, and worse result for two opponents; therefore P ( p 1 > p − 1 ) = 1 − I 1 / 2 ( 14 , 3 ) = 0.998 {\displaystyle P(p_{1}>p_{-1})=1-I_{1/2}(14,3)=0.998} and hypothesis about home team advantage can be accepted. This procedure
3408-541: Is also common to hold important games, such as the Super Bowl , at a neutral site in which the location is determined years in advance. In many team sports in North America (including baseball , basketball , and ice hockey ), playoff series are often held with a nearly equal number of games at each team's site. However, as it is usually beneficial to have an odd number of matches in a series (to prevent ties),
3550-412: Is debated. Most of these are psychological in nature: the home teams are familiar with the playing venue; they can lodge in their homes, rather than in a hotel, and so have less far to travel before the game; and they have the psychological support of the home fans. Other factors, however, are easier to detect and can have noticeable effects on the outcome of the game. In American football , for instance,
3692-417: Is largely recognized as the last NBA Finals conducted by the Celtics dynasty. The 1970s saw ten different teams reach the Finals and eight different teams win a championship, the most of any decade in the NBA, with the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks winning twice. In 1970 , a classic Finals featured the Knicks against the Lakers. In the waning moments of Game 3, with the series tied, Jerry West hit
3834-432: Is later resumed at the other team's venue. In most team sports, the home or hosting team is considered to have a significant advantage over the away or visiting team. Due to this, many important games (such as playoff or elimination matches) in many sports have special rules for determining what match is played where. In association football , matches with two legs , one game played in each team's "home", are common. It
3976-403: Is not applicable for no-hit major league baseball games for pitchers who either replicated performance by winning two or more no-hitters or amassed a large number of career wins. Their general finding was that home-field advantage is a metric for the inability to maintain performance independent of environment and that this metric is inversely related to variables of expertise. In recognition of
4118-430: Is said to have home-field advantage for that playoff series. During the course of these playoff series, however, sports announcers or columnists will sometimes mention a team "gaining" or "losing" home-field advantage. This can happen after a visiting team has just won a game in the series. In playoff series format, the home-field advantage is said to exist for whichever team would win the series if all remaining games in
4260-593: Is that home team advantage in Spain is stronger. Spanish La Liga has the strongest home team advantage, and English football league two has the lowest home team advantage, among analysed leagues. Comparison of home advantage in 19 European football leagues between the 2007/2008 and 2016/2017 seasons was made in Marek and Vávra (2024). They found that, among the analysed leagues, the Super League Greece had
4402-467: Is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awarded the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy , which replaced the original Walter A. Brown Trophy in 1976–77, though under the same name until 1984. The series was initially known as
List of NBA champions - Misplaced Pages Continue
4544-761: Is the case in the NFL , MLB , and Stanley Cup playoffs . One exception to this was MLB's World Series , which from 2003 to 2016, awarded home-field advantage to the team representing the league which won the All-Star Game that year, to help raise interest in the All-Star Game after a tie in 2002 ; before 2003, home-field advantage alternated each year between the National League and the American League . Starting in 2017, home-field advantage in
4686-550: Is total number of opponents in a league (this is Bayesian estimator ). To test hypothesis that home-field advantage is statistically significant we can compute P ( p 1 > p − 1 ) = 1 − I 1 / 2 ( k 1 + 1 , k − 1 + 1 ) {\displaystyle P(p_{1}>p_{-1})=1-I_{1/2}(k_{1}+1,k_{-1}+1)} , where I 1 / 2 ( ) {\displaystyle I_{1/2}()}
4828-608: Is uncommon because governing bodies typically implement measures to prevent national teams from jurisdictions with the most serious political disputes (for example, Spain and Gibraltar or Serbia and Kosovo ) from being drawn in the same group, but it does happen - for example, the Ukraine–Kosovo qualifier game for the 2018 World Championships was held in Krakow, Poland, because Ukraine does not recognize Kosovo and does not admit Kosovar nationals to its territory. In all such cases,
4970-592: The 1947 BAA Finals in five games. The following season the Warriors again reached the Finals , however they fell short to the now defunct Baltimore Bullets. To date the Baltimore Bullets are the only defunct team to win a championship. In 1948, the Minneapolis Lakers won the championship of the rival National Basketball League before joining the BAA. Led by future Hall of Famer George Mikan ,
5112-574: The 1999 NBA playoffs , the Spurs finished with a 15–2 mark. With a defensive squad led by David Robinson and Tim Duncan , San Antonio's 84.7 points allowed per game was the fewest average points allowed in the postseason in the last 30 years. In the Finals , the Spurs held the New York Knicks , the first 8-seed team to reach the Finals in NBA history, to an average of 79.8 points per game. During
5254-659: The 2003 NBA Finals , the Spurs defeated the New Jersey Nets in six games, which also marked the first championship contested between two former ABA teams. In Game 6, Duncan was two blocks short of recording the first quadruple-double in NBA Finals history, finishing with 21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists, and 8 blocks. The Spurs also defeated the Detroit Pistons 4–3 in 2005 and swept the LeBron James -led Cleveland Cavaliers in 2007 . Tony Parker won
5396-492: The 2009 NBA Finals , where they beat Orlando Magic in five games. The Lakers met the Celtics once again in 2010 , trailing 3–2 before winning the last two games at home. Head coach Phil Jackson surpassed Red Auerbach 's record for most NBA titles of all time with eleven. The 2010s were distinguished by the continued excellence of LeBron James , who appeared in nine NBA Finals in ten seasons, winning four titles, while playing for three different franchises. The decade also saw
5538-466: The 2009-10 UEFA Europa League , Hapoel needed to acclimatize and were therefore at a disadvantage. Hapoel duly lost the match 3–0. This advantage, however, can also be a disadvantage to the home team, as weather conditions can impede the home team as much as the visitors: the Buffalo Bills , whose home stadium ( Highmark Stadium ) is subject to high and unpredictable winds and lake-effect snow in
5680-802: The BAA Finals prior to the 1949–50 season when the Basketball Association of America (BAA) merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) to form the NBA. The competition oversaw further name changes to NBA World Championship Series from 1950 to 1985, as well as a brief stint as the Showdown, before settling on NBA Finals in 1986. Since 2018, it has been officially known as the NBA Finals presented by YouTube TV for sponsorship reasons . The NBA Finals
5822-472: The Baltimore Bullets . Two seasons after losing in the Finals, the Lakers won 33 straight games, the longest winning streak in NBA history. By season's end, they broke the record for most wins in a season with 69, one more than the 1966–67 Philadelphia 76ers , before taking home the championship for the first time since relocating to Los Angeles , beating the Knicks. The Knicks returned to win
List of NBA champions - Misplaced Pages Continue
5964-598: The Dallas Mavericks . Despite being heavy underdogs on paper, the Mavericks won the series in six games. The Heat returned to the Finals in the following year against a young Oklahoma City Thunder team featuring future MVPs Russell Westbrook , James Harden , and Kevin Durant . Miami won the series in five games, with James winning his first championship. The Heat repeated as champions in 2013 , this time over
6106-549: The FIFA World Rankings . More recently, Bolivia beat Argentina , who were ranked sixth in the world, 6–1 on April 1, 2009, Argentina's heaviest defeat since 1958. In cricket , the condition of the pitch and the behaviour of the ball when it bounces off the pitch varies significantly in different parts of the world, and consequently the players on the visiting team must adjust to the ball behaving in an unfamiliar way to be successful on foreign surfaces; additionally,
6248-614: The Kawhi Leonard -led Toronto Raptors . Toronto prevailed in six games after season-ending injuries to stars Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson , resulting in the first NBA title for a team based outside the United States. LeBron James joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018, and subsequently led them to the 2020 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat , marking the first time in NBA history that two teams that missed
6390-440: The NBA Finals , the team with the better regular season record, regardless of seed, has home-court advantage. Rugby union's European Rugby Champions Cup also uses a seeding system to determine home advantage in the quarterfinals (though not in the semifinals, where the nominal "home" teams are determined by a blind draw). In many sports, playoffs consist of a 'series' of games played between two teams. These series are usually
6532-623: The NHL Premiere , and from 2017 as the NHL Global Series . The 2019 NHL Heritage Classic was also a neutral site game, played in the non-NHL market of Regina, Saskatchewan —falling roughly halfway between the markets of the participating teams, the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets . A requirement to play home matches at a neutral venue has been used as a punishment by UEFA for teams whose fans cause disturbances at
6674-598: The Portland Trail Blazers . Chicago defeated the Trail Blazers in Game 1 by 33 points, a game notable for Jordan breaking the record for the most three-pointers in a first half, with six. The Bulls went on to win the series in six games. In 1993 , The Bulls were matched against the Phoenix Suns , led by Charles Barkley , who was the league's reigning MVP of the Phoenix Suns . After dropping
6816-627: The San Antonio Spurs , featuring a Heat comeback in Game 6 that is widely regarded one of the greatest playoff games ever played. Miami sought a three-peat in a 2014 rematch with the Spurs, but this time San Antonio prevailed in five games, winning the fifth and final title of Tim Duncan 's career. In the 2014 off-season, James returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers where he teamed up with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love to form
6958-546: The San Francisco Warriors to a Western Division championship, but again failed to conquer the Celtics. The following season, he returned to the Eastern Division to join the Philadelphia 76ers after the former Syracuse Nationals relocated to the city to cover the vacancy created by the Warriors. The first clash between the two stars in the playoffs was in 1966, with Boston winning the series 4–1. In
7100-564: The Walter A. Brown Trophy ). The current home-and-away format in the NBA Finals is 2–2–1–1–1 (the team with the better regular season record plays on its home court in games 1, 2, 5, and 7), which has been used in 1947 , 1948 , 1950 – 1952 , 1957 – 1970 , 1972 – 1974 , 1976 , 1977 , 1979 – 1984 , and since 2014 . It was previously in a 2–3–2 format (the team with the better regular season record plays on its home court in games 1, 2, 6, and 7) during 1949 , 1953 – 1955 , and 1985 – 2013 , in
7242-473: The Western and Central Division champions. From 1946 through 1949, when the league was known as the Basketball Association of America (BAA), the playoffs were a three-stage tournament where the two semifinal winners played each other in the finals. The winning team of the series receives the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy , which is awarded since 1977 (between 1947 and 1976 the winning team received
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#17327944047847384-525: The World Series . This put AL teams at a disadvantage when they played in NL parks, as AL pitchers were typically not used to batting nor baserunning. NL teams at AL parks were at a disadvantage because a player who did not play often had to bat an entire game, usually on consecutive nights. The NL team's DH was a pinch-hitter who batted perhaps once every two or three games during the season, or alternated in
7526-667: The test for homogeneity of parallel samples (for the test see Rao (2002) ). The second proposed approach is based on distance between estimated probability description of home team advantage in two leagues ( p ^ r = k r K , r = − 1 , 0 , 1 {\displaystyle {\hat {p}}_{r}={\frac {k_{r}}{K}},r=-1,0,1} ) which can be measured by Jeffrey divergence (a symmetric version of Kullback–Leibler divergence ). They tested five top level English football leagues and two top level Spanish leagues between 2007/2008 and 2016/2017 season. The main result
7668-650: The 1976 Montreal Olympics, the only Summer Games at which the hosting country failed to win a single gold medal.) The strength of the home advantage varies for different sports, regions, seasons, and divisions. For all sports, it seems to be strongest in the early period after the creation of a new league. The effect seems to have become somewhat weaker in some sports in recent decades. Adams & Kupper (1994) described home-field advantage as an expertise deficiency. They demonstrated that, in theory and in practice, home-field advantage decreases as superiority of performance increases. They also showed that home-field advantage
7810-481: The 1990s was marked by the supremacy of the Chicago Bulls . The Bulls, led by head coach Phil Jackson and star players Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen , won six titles in six Finals appearances from 1991 to 1998. The only other team to win a title during this time was the Houston Rockets , who won titles in 1994 and 1995. The Bulls' first championship came at the expense of the Los Angeles Lakers , in
7952-766: The 2002–03 and the 2003–04 seasons, before a new team, named the Bobcats, was established for the 2004–05 season. In 2013, the original Hornets were renamed the Pelicans and obtained the records during their time in New Orleans and Oklahoma City from 2002 to 2013. In 2014, the Bobcats became the second incarnation of the Charlotte Hornets, and retained the history and records of the Hornets organization from 1988 to 2002. Home advantage In team sports ,
8094-523: The Bulls to the Finals for that season, he returned to pre-retirement form the next season while the team acquired perennial rebounding champion Dennis Rodman . The 1995–96 Bulls finished the regular season 72–10, attaining, at the time, the best regular season record in NBA history. They dominated in the playoffs, going 11–1 in the first three rounds, before facing the Seattle SuperSonics in
8236-516: The Celtics, who were more likely to be familiar with the playing surface, an advantage. During the 1985–1986 season , the Larry Bird -led Celtics posted a home court record of 40–1; this record still stands in the NBA . Memorial Gymnasium , the venue for men's and women's basketball at Vanderbilt University , was built in 1952 with the team benches at the ends of the court instead of along one of
8378-570: The Dome than in other ballparks. While this is no longer an issue for opponents of the Minnesota Twins with that team's 2010 move to the open-air Target Field , it remained important to the many college baseball teams that played games in the Dome until its late 2013 closing. Hard Rock Stadium , the home stadium of the NFL's Miami Dolphins , is designed in such a way that when the sun is overhead,
8520-470: The Finals 18 times. Boston also won the most consecutive titles, winning eight in a row from 1959 to 1966. The Los Angeles Lakers have the most NBA Finals appearances, with 32. The Eastern Division / Conference has provided the most champions, with 40 wins from eleven franchises; the Western Division / Conference has 37, from nine franchises. The beginning era of modern professional basketball
8662-567: The Finals MVP award in 2007, becoming the first European-born player to do so. The Lakers won five championships in the same period, including a three-peat from 2000 to 2002, led by Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant . Most notably, during their 2001 postseason run, the Lakers swept their first three series and won the Finals against the Allen Iverson -led Philadelphia 76ers in five games, finishing with an unprecedented 15–1 record,
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#17327944047848804-550: The Finals again a season later, followed by the Celtics’ 12th title in 1974 . The late 1970s were characterized by a major breakthrough of the league's western franchises. In 1975, after compiling a 48–34 regular season record, the Golden State Warriors swept the Washington Bullets 4–0 in the 1975 NBA Finals . In 1976, the Phoenix Suns , after only eight years of existence, overcame an 18–27 losing record early in
8946-538: The Finals. They went on to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals to again become NBA champions. In 1969, the Celtics faced great difficulty entering the postseason, as they had an aging team and multiple injuries to a number of players. They qualified for the playoffs as the fourth and final seed in the East, while the Lakers, who had added Chamberlain in the off-season to join stars Jerry West and Elgin Baylor , won
9088-517: The Heat to a championship in 2006 at the expense of the Dallas Mavericks . The Lakers returned to the Finals in 2008 against the Boston Celtics , renewing the teams' rivalry marking the 11th Finals matchup between them. The Celtics defeated the Lakers in six games, led by their "Big Three" superstars of Ray Allen , Kevin Garnett , and Paul Pierce . The Lakers bounced back from the loss by winning
9230-411: The Jazz were defeated in both Finals by the Bulls in six games. In both series, Chicago won by hitting winning shots in the sixth game, the first by Steve Kerr in 1997 in Chicago, and the second by Jordan in Utah in 1998. This saw Chicago winning their sixth NBA championship, and winning their second three-peat. Jackson retired following this season, which set off a chain reaction that resulted in most of
9372-404: The Lakers a 107–106 win and a 3–1 series lead. In the following two seasons, the Celtics failed to reach the Finals, becoming overshadowed by the Detroit Pistons . The Lakers defended their title in the 1988 NBA Finals , winning the series in 7 games against the Pistons. They became the first team to win back-to-back NBA titles since 1969. Seeking a three-peat in 1989 , the Lakers were swept by
9514-429: The Lakers in the first round. The Rockets were only the second team in NBA history to make the Finals after posting a losing record in the regular season, and the Celtics had an NBA best record of 62–20. The Celtics won the Finals in 6 games. The Lakers returned to the Finals in 1982 , this time led by new coach Pat Riley , in a rematch against the 76ers. The 76ers defeated the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals in
9656-446: The Lakers won the third and final BAA championship in 1949 over the Red Auerbach -coached Washington Capitals. The BAA then merged with the NBL to form the National Basketball Association before the 1949–50 season . The Lakers won the inaugural NBA championship in 1950 to become the first team to repeat as champions. In 1951 , the Rochester Royals defeated the New York Knicks in the only Finals contested between two teams from
9798-409: The NBA Finals. After the Bulls took a 3–0 series lead, Seattle won the next two games after point guard Gary Payton asked his coach George Karl to be switched onto Jordan. Jordan altered his game to deal with Payton, and the Bulls won Game 6 to win their fourth title. In 1997 and 1998, the Bulls met the Utah Jazz in the Finals twice. Led by Dream Team Olympians John Stockton and Karl Malone ,
9940-401: The Pistons in a rematch of the previous year's Finals. The Pistons were nicknamed the "Bad Boys" due to their rough, physical play led by future Hall of Fame guards Joe Dumars and Isiah Thomas and a rugged front court with Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman . In 1990 , the Pistons went back-to-back, defeating the Clyde Drexler -led Portland Trail Blazers in five games. The majority of
10082-436: The Suns 87–80 in Game 6. Franchises that won their first titles in the 1970s included the New York Knicks in 1970, Milwaukee Bucks in 1971 , the Portland Trail Blazers in 1977 , and the Washington Bullets , who defeated the Seattle SuperSonics , in 1978 . The Sonics exacted revenge on the Bullets the following season, beating Washington in five games in 1979 to win their first title. The 1980s were mostly known for
10224-558: The West and were prohibitive favorites to become champions for the first time since relocating to Los Angeles. Despite holding a 2–1 advantage going into Game 4, the Lakers led 87–86 and had the ball with 10 seconds to play. But after a turnover, Sam Jones scored to give the Celtics a narrow 88–87 win and tying the series. The series was eventually tied 3–3 going into Game 7 in Los Angeles, with Lakers owner Jack Cooke hanging balloons in
10366-555: The World Series is nowadays given to the team with the best regular season record. Home-ice advantage in the Stanley Cup Finals is given to the team with the best season record. The NBA is the only league that has home-court advantage based solely on which team has the best record (using various tiebreakers to settle the question should the teams finish with identical records). For most championship series, such as
10508-469: The ability of a pitcher to throw an effective breaking ball . The low humidity also causes baseballs to dry out, making it harder for pitchers to grip them and further reducing their ability to throw breaking balls. The Colorado Rockies have a very large home advantage. This anomaly has been countered with Colorado's innovative use of humidors to keep the baseballs from drying out. Denver's altitude advantage has also come into play in gridiron football ;
10650-432: The arena an extremely poor reputation, including a slanted ice surface that forced opponents to skate the majority of the game uphill and lack of showers for the visiting team. Sports Illustrated , in a 17 January 2011 article, reported that home crowds, rigor of travel for visiting teams, scheduling, and unique home field characteristics, were not factors in giving home teams an advantage. The journal concluded that it
10792-509: The arena in anticipation of a Lakers victory. West also picked up injuries to his thigh and hamstring during the series, but returned to play for the final game. Russell utilized this newly lacking mobility in West to organize fast breaks at every opportunity for the Celtics, which allowed them to gain an early lead. They held off a furious Lakers comeback to win 108–106 and win the series, and win their eleventh championship in 13 years. As many stars either declined or retired following this win, it
10934-576: The ascent of the Golden State Warriors , emerging as a dominant force in the Western Conference with six NBA Finals appearances and four titles in eight seasons. During the 2010 off-season, the Miami Heat re-signed team captain Dwyane Wade and added James and Chris Bosh via free agency to form a new " Big Three ." The Heat were subsequently considered heavy title favorites and appeared four straight finals, starting in 2011 against
11076-478: The away team won 1,149 games (47.4%). These totals do not include the six games played at neutral sites (though all of the neutral-site games had a designated "home" team). In the 2018–19 NBA regular season , the home team won 729 games (59%), and the away team won 501 games (41%). Across the 2008 , 2010 , and 2011 seasons of the Indian Premier League , the home team won 95 games (54.3%), and
11218-435: The away team won 80 games (45.7%). At least some degree of home field advantage has been recorded in almost every National Football League season; each year, designated home teams have won more games than lost. The 2020 NFL season , played in empty and near-empty stadiums , was the first in which no significant advantage was recorded: home teams that year finished 127–128–1 (.498). In the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs , for
11360-546: The best postseason record in NBA history at the time. The Lakers also defeated the Indiana Pacers in 2000 , the Pacers’ only Finals appearance to date, and swept the New Jersey Nets in 2002 . In the 2003 off-season, veteran stars Gary Payton and Karl Malone signed with the Lakers. Along with Bryant and O'Neal, they formed what many expected to be one of the best teams in NBA history and were heavy favorites to win
11502-399: The bottom half of the ninth inning or any extra inning, the game ends immediately if the home team takes the lead; the visiting team does not get another opportunity to score and the home team does not have to protect their lead. On the other hand, if the visiting team has the lead when the top half of the ninth inning or extra inning ends, the home team still gets an opportunity to score and so
11644-407: The centre-ice spot; when a face-off takes place anywhere else on the ice, the defending centre has to place his stick first. The centre who is allowed to place his stick last gains the ability to time the face-off better and gives him greater odds of winning it. The third advantage is that the home team has the benefit of choosing whether to take the first or second attempt in a shootout. In baseball,
11786-542: The championship in 2004. However, the Detroit Pistons , coached by Larry Brown , defeated the Lakers in five games. Now established as one of the powerhouses of the East, the Pistons returned to the NBA Finals the following year, losing to the Spurs in seven games. Following bad blood and eventual fallout with former Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant , O'Neal was traded from the Lakers to the Miami Heat in 2004, where he teamed up with rising star Dwyane Wade . Together they led
11928-457: The court during the game, scoring 42 points, with 15 rebounds and 7 assists to win his first championship and Finals MVP honors, becoming the first and only rookie to win the award. Boston reached the 1981 NBA Finals led by the "Big Three" of Larry Bird , Kevin McHale , and Robert Parish . They met the Houston Rockets , who were carried practically single-handedly by Moses Malone and upset
12070-409: The crowd often makes as much noise as it can when the visiting team is about to run a play. That can make it very difficult for the visiting team's quarterback to call audible play changes, or for any player to hear the snap count . In contrast, the crowd is often quiet while the home team is on offense, and that enables the quarterback to use the hard count intended to draw the defense offsides as
12212-532: The crowd will be in support of the home team. Stadium announcers in many sports will emphasize the home team's goals and lineup to excite the crowd. Ryan Boyko, a research assistant in the Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University , studied 5,000 English Premier League games from 1992 to 2006, to discern any officiating bias and the influence of home crowds. The data
12354-494: The defenders. A similar effect has been observed in football with testosterone levels being significantly higher in home games than in away games. Goalkeepers, the last line of defense, have particularly strong testosterone changes when playing against a bitter rival as compared to a training season. How testosterone may influence results is unclear but may include cognitive effects such as motivation and physiological effects such as reaction time. An extreme example of home advantage
12496-409: The defense can hear the hard count. In basketball , when a visiting player is making a free throw , home fans behind the backboard typically wave their arms or other objects in an attempt to break the visiting player's focus on making the shot. Environmental factors such as weather and altitude are easy to measure, yet their effects are debatable, as both teams have to play in the same conditions; but
12638-639: The difficulty in winning away matches, cup competitions in association football often invoke the away goals rule . Away goals can also sometimes be used to separate teams level on points and goal difference in league competitions. There are many causes that attribute to home advantage, such as crowd involvement (for instance Marek and Vávra (2024) conducted a study on ice hockey results during COVID-19, where no spectators were allowed at matches), travel considerations, and environmental factors. The most commonly cited factors of home advantage are usually factors which are difficult to measure and so even their existence
12780-409: The disadvantages away teams suffer from changing time zones or climates, or from the rigors of travel; and in some sports, to specific rules that favor the home team directly or indirectly. In baseball and cricket in particular, the difference may also be the result of the home team having been assembled to take advantage of the idiosyncrasies of the home ballpark / ground , such as the distances to
12922-408: The establishment of the Celtics dynasty in 1957, spearheaded by center Bill Russell , the team saw great success. Despite encountering some difficulty when up against teams led by Wilt Chamberlain , for most of the late 1950s and 1960s, the Celtics and Russell managed to have an upper hand on Chamberlain's teams. In 1964, Chamberlain, who had moved to the state of California alongside his team , led
13064-500: The event, thus in most cases they outnumber the visitors' fans (although in local derbies and crosstown rivalries this may not always be the case). In some sports, such as association football , sections of the stadium will be reserved for supporters of one team or the other (to prevent fan violence) but the home team's fans will have the bulk of the seating available to them. In addition, stadium/arena light shows , sound effects , fireworks , cheerleaders , and other means to enliven
13206-642: The fact that the World Cup was held in the winner's country. A 2006 study by The Times found that in the English Premiership , a home team can be expected to score 37.29% more goals than the away team, though this changes depending on the quality of the teams involved. Others have suggested that the increase in British medals during the 2012 Olympics may have been impacted by home court advantage. (However, having home court did not help Canada at
13348-450: The final home game is often awarded to the team that had more success over the regular season. An example is UEFA Champions League , UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League home and away legs, with weaker teams often beating the favourites when playing at home. The World Cup victories of Uruguay (1930), Italy (1934), England (1966), Germany (1974), Argentina (1978) and France (1998) are all in part attributed to
13490-586: The first time in NHL history all division winners (who had home-ice advantage) were eliminated in the first round as all the wild-cards advanced to the second round. The Columbus Blue Jackets won a playoff series for the first time, defeating the first-place Lightning in four games, and marking the first time in Stanley Cup playoff history that the Presidents' Trophy winners were swept in the opening round, and
13632-610: The first time since 2012 that the Presidents' Trophy winners were defeated in the opening round. They were soon followed by the Calgary Flames , who with their five-game loss to the Colorado Avalanche , ensured that for the first time in NHL history, neither of the conference number one seeds advanced to the second round. After that, the two remaining division winners, the Nashville Predators and Washington Capitals , were each eliminated in an overtime game,
13774-404: The first two games and the other team hosts the next two games. If needed, the remaining three are played at each team's home arena alternately, starting with the arena of the team with the better regular season record. A total of 21 franchises have won the NBA Finals, with the Boston Celtics winning the most recent title in 2024 . Boston holds the record for the most championships, having won
13916-471: The first two games at home, The Suns won Game 3 in Chicago in triple overtime. The Bulls came back to win Game 4 with Jordan scoring 55 points and tying Rick Barry for the second-most points in an NBA Finals game. Chicago clinched the series in Game 6, 99–98, on John Paxson 's three-pointer, as the Bulls became the third team in history to three-peat . After this win, Jordan retired from basketball to pursue
14058-446: The following season, Philadelphia coach Alex Hannum instructed Chamberlain to provide an increased focus on playing a team game, to avoid drawing the double-teams that troubled Chamberlain during the Finals. This tactical change brought the team to a new record of 68 wins the following season, as well as defeating the Celtics before winning the 1967 Finals. In 1968, Boston overcame a 3–1 deficit against Philadelphia to once again arrive in
14200-460: The home sideline is in the shade while the visitors sideline is directly in the suns path. This, combined with the hot tropical climate South Florida receives, can lead to differences of up to 30 degrees Fahrenheit or more between the two sidelines, with the visiting sideline temperature getting as high as 120 °F (49 °C). The parquet floor at the Boston Celtics ' former home of Boston Garden contained many defects, which were said to give
14342-716: The home team has the right to adjust the preparation of its pitches in a manner which specifically enhances its own strengths or exacerbates its opponent's weaknesses. The weather can also play a major factor. For example, the February average temperature minimum in Tel Aviv , Israel is 50 °F (10 °C), while the average at the same time in Kazan , Russia is 10 °F (−12 °C), with snow being common. This means that when Rubin Kazan played at home to Hapoel Tel Aviv in
14484-539: The home team may be more acclimated to local conditions with difficult environments, such as extremely warm or cold weather, or high altitude (such as the case of Denver teams , as well as the Mexico national football team , many of whose home matches are played in Mexico City ). The stadium or arena will typically be filled with home supporters , who are sometimes described as being as valuable as an extra player for
14626-412: The home team to obtain favorable player matchups. This rule makes the home team designation important even in games played on neutral ice. Traditionally, the second advantage was that when lining up for the face-off , the away team's centre always had to place his stick on the ice before the centre of the home team. However, in both the NHL and international rule sets, this now applies only for face-offs at
14768-584: The home team were to win each game, then the 76ers would have won four games, the Lakers would have won three games, and the 76ers would have won the series, so we say that Philadelphia had the home-court advantage. However, the visiting Lakers won Game 1. Los Angeles now had one win, and there were three games remaining at each arena. The home team went on to win all of the remaining games in that series, so Los Angeles won four games, while Philadelphia won two (Game 7, which would have been played in Philadelphia,
14910-403: The home team – which bats in the bottom half of each inning – enjoys the advantage of being able to end the game immediately if it has the lead in the ninth inning (or other scheduled final inning) or in extra innings . If the home team is leading at the end of the top half of the ninth inning, the game ends without the bottom half being played. If the home team is trailing or the score is tied in
15052-447: The home team. The home fans can sometimes create a psychological lift by cheering loudly for their team when good things happen in the game. The home crowd can also intimidate visiting players by booing , whistling , or heckling . Generally the home fans vastly outnumber the visiting team's supporters. While some visiting fans may travel to attend the game, home team fans will generally have better access to tickets and easier transport to
15194-556: The host team is familiar with the unique dimensions of their home field yielding them advantages (pitching, hitting, fielding) over visiting teams. Before the Major League Baseball labor agreement that ended the 2021–22 lockout saw the designated hitter added permanently in the National League, the home league's rules concerning the designated hitter (DH) were followed during interleague games, including
15336-412: The last Finals appearance for Magic Johnson . The series was billed as a showdown between the aging Johnson and the upstart Jordan. The Lakers won the first game, however, for the rest of the series, Pippen guarded Johnson allowing Jordan to primarily focus on scoring. The Bulls won the next four games to win the series 4–1. The Bulls returned to the Finals the next year, pitted against Clyde Drexler and
15478-492: The late fall and early winter, regularly suffer large numbers of injuries late in the season. Sometimes the unique attributes of a stadium create a home-field advantage. The unique off-white Teflon -coated roof of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome trapped and reflected noise to such an extent that it was distracting or even harmful. This, combined with the color of the roof, caused opposing baseball players to commit more errors in
15620-415: The match is still treated as a "home" match for such purposes as implementing the away goals rule . In North America, Major League Soccer formerly hosted its MLS Cup final at a neutral site. Since 2012 , the game has been held at the venue of the participating team that had the better regular season record. In the 2018 Major League Baseball regular season , the home team won 1,277 games (52.6%), and
15762-495: The other four (the Warriors, Lakers, Royals, and Syracuse Nationals ) all relocated by 1964 . The Boston Celtics won 11 of the 12 NBA Finals they reached during 13 seasons (1956–57 to 1968–69), including eight straight NBA championships from 1959 through 1966. During this time the St. Louis Hawks also won their only title before moving to Atlanta and the Philadelphia 76ers won their first title since relocating from Syracuse. With
15904-503: The outfield walls / boundaries ; most other sports are played in standardized venues. The term is also widely used in "best-of" playoff formats (e.g., best-of-seven) as being given to the team that is scheduled to play one more game at home than their opponent if all necessary games are played. In many sports, such designations may also apply to games played at a neutral site, as the rules of various sports make different provisions for home and visiting teams. In baseball , for instance,
16046-546: The participating teams. Regardless, tickets are allocated equally between both competing teams, even if one happens to be playing in its own stadium. Neutral-venue matches may arise out of necessity. For example, on December 12, 2010, the roof of the Minnesota Vikings ' stadium, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome collapsed due to a snowstorm. The Vikings were supposed to play against the New York Giants at
16188-453: The playoffs the year before met in the Finals. The Lakers won the series 4–2, claiming their 17th title to tie the Boston Celtics ' franchise record; LeBron James was named Finals MVP for the fourth time in his career, becoming the first player to win the award with three different franchises. The 2021 NBA Finals saw the Milwaukee Bucks defeat the Phoenix Suns in the first Finals since 1971 to feature no players who had previously won
16330-424: The regular season to build a remarkable run to finish 42–40. The team, nicknamed the "Sunderella Suns," achieved upset victories over the Seattle SuperSonics and the Warriors, before facing the Celtics in the Finals. The teams split the first four games, before Game 5 went into three overtimes, and Boston won 128–126. The Celtics quickly managed to secure their 13th championship, and second in three years, defeating
16472-468: The replay is given to the other team. For certain sporting events, home advantage may be removed by use of a neutral venue. This may be a national stadium that is not a home stadium to any club (for example Wembley Stadium hosts the FA Cup Final and semi-finals). Alternatively the neutral venue may be the home stadium of another club, such as was used historically to stage FA Cup semi-finals. If
16614-500: The rivalry between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers , who combined to win eight titles in the decade. Rookie Magic Johnson led the Showtime Lakers to the 1980 NBA Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers , who were led by Julius Erving . The Lakers took a 3–2 lead, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar could not play in Game 6 due to injury. Johnson, a natural point guard, was shifted to center and played every position on
16756-463: The same state (something not possible under the current NBA alignment). This was the first of three consecutive losses in the Finals for the Knicks, Meanwhile, the Lakers won three straight Finals from 1952 to 1954 to become the first team to three-peat while also winning their fifth title in six seasons. Of the five franchises to win a championship from 1947 to 1956, one (the Bullets) folded and
16898-563: The second longest field goal in National Football League history took place in Denver, as did the longest recorded punt . The national association football team of Bolivia also enjoys the advantage of playing at high altitude: at home during World Cup qualifiers at the even more extreme 3,600 m (11,800 ft) altitude of La Paz they have even been known to beat Brazil , a team regularly ranked number one in
17040-504: The second-largest ever for a basketball game, with only the 1979 NCAA Championship game between Johnson and Bird having a larger audience. The teams faced off again in 1985 and 1987, but the Lakers came up on top both time, winning in 6 games despite each time, despite losing Game 1 in 1985 by 34 points in the Memorial Day Massacre . The 1987 Finals included Johnson hitting a hook shot with two seconds left in Game 4 to give
17182-518: The series are won by the home team for that game . Therefore, it is possible for a visiting team to win a game and, hence, gain home-field advantage. This is somewhat similar to the concept of losing serve in tennis . As an example, in the 1982 NBA Finals , the Los Angeles Lakers played the Philadelphia 76ers , with the 76ers having earned home court advantage because of a better regular season record. Four games were scheduled to be played in Philadelphia, while three were scheduled in Los Angeles. If
17324-494: The sidelines, a setup that was not unusual at the time. However, the configuration is now unique in U.S. major-college sports, and has been said to give the Commodores an edge because opposing coaches are not used to directing their teams from the baseline. Cherry Hill Arena , a New Jersey –based arena in the southern suburbs of Philadelphia , had a number of idiosyncrasies that its home teams used to their advantage but earned
17466-793: The stadium the next day. The game was moved to the Detroit Lions ' stadium, Ford Field . The following week, the Vikings' Monday Night Football game against the Chicago Bears was moved to the University of Minnesota 's TCF Bank Stadium . As part of a settlement for a 1992 strike by the NHL Players Association , the National Hockey League scheduled two neutral-site games for each team in
17608-427: The stamina of athletes whose bodies are not used to it. Although baseball is less aerobically demanding than many other sports, high altitude affects that sport's game play in several important ways. Denver's combination of altitude and a semi-arid climate (the city averages only about 16 in/400 mm precipitation annually) allows fly balls to travel about 10% farther than at sea level, and also slightly reduces
17750-433: The strongest home advantage and English Football League Two had the lowest home advantage. During the regular season for a sport, in the interest of fairness, schedulers try to ensure that each team plays an equal number of home and away games. Thus, having home-field advantage for any particular regular-season game is largely due to random chance. (This is only true for fully organized leagues with structured schedules; for
17892-492: The team wears its away uniforms only when its primary jerseys would clash with the colors of the home team, while other leagues mandate that visiting teams must always wear their away colors regardless. However, sometimes teams wear their alternative uniforms by choice. This is especially true in North American sports where generally one uniform is white or grey, and "Color vs. color" games (e.g., blue vs. red uniforms) are
18034-414: The team, including Jordan and Pippen, leaving the Bulls. With no foundation of youth to build upon, the Bulls became a lottery-bound team for the next six seasons. The 2000s were largely dominated by the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers , who appeared in a combined eleven Finals to win nine championships in twelve seasons. The Spurs won four championships, in 1999, 2003, 2005, and 2007. During
18176-471: The term home advantage – also called home ground, home field, home-field advantage, home court, home-court advantage, defender's advantage or home-ice advantage – describes the benefit that the home team is said to gain over the visiting team . This benefit has been attributed to psychological effects supporting fans have on the competitors or referees; to psychological or physiological advantages of playing near home in familiar situations; to
18318-455: The title and end the city's championship drought . In the subsequent off-season, the Warriors acquired Kevin Durant through free agency, forming what many considered to be one of the greatest teams ever assembled. In 2017 , the Warriors set a playoff record of 15 consecutive wins en route to a five-game victory in the Finals, followed by a dominant sweep in 2018 . The Warriors made their fifth consecutive Finals appearance in 2019 against
18460-525: The venue is chosen before the start of the competition however, it is still possible for one team to gain home field advantage. For example, in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League, there have been four instances where a club has managed to reach the final hosted in its own stadium ( 1957 , 1965 , 1984 , and 2012 ). Most recently Bayern Munich played (and lost) the 2012 final at their home stadium of Allianz Arena , as it
18602-410: The visiting team always bats first in each inning. Therefore, one team must be chosen to be the "visitor" when games are played at neither team's home field. Likewise, there are uncommon instances in which a team playing a game at their home venue is officially the visiting team, and their opponent officially the home team, such as when a game originally scheduled to play at one venue must be postponed and
18744-452: The visiting team must protect their lead. In addition, in the late innings, the home team knows how many runs they need to win or tie, and can therefore strategize accordingly. For example, in a tie game in the ninth inning or extra innings, the home team may employ strategies such as bunting or stealing bases , which oftentimes increase the chance of scoring one run, but decrease the chance of scoring multiple runs. Additionally in baseball,
18886-530: Was chosen as the venue in January 2010. In the Champions League Final, however, if the "home" shirt colors of both teams conflict (e.g. both are red) then there is a draw which assigns one of the teams their "away" shirt. The NFL 's Super Bowl is also played in a venue chosen years in advance of the game. Super Bowl LV in 2021 was the first Super Bowl in which one of the participating teams
19028-670: Was dominated by the Minneapolis Lakers , who won five of the first ten titles. The Philadelphia Warriors also won multiple championships, including the inaugural title in 1947 and another in 1956 to bookend the NBA's first decade. After being founded in 1946, the Basketball Association of America completed its inaugural season in April 1947 with the Philadelphia Warriors defeating the Chicago Stags in
19170-436: Was favorable treatment by game officials and referees that conferred advantages on home teams. They stated that sports officials are unwittingly and psychologically influenced by home crowds and the influence is significant enough to affect the outcomes of sporting events in favor of the home team. Other research has found that crowd support, travel fatigue, geographical distance, pitch familiarity, and referee bias do not have
19312-418: Was initially structured in a 2–2–1–1–1 format. In 1985 , to ease the amount of cross-country travel, it was changed to a 2–3–2 format, in which the first two and last two games of the series were played at the arena of the team who earned home-court advantage by having the better record during the regular season. In 2014, the 2–2–1–1–1 format was restored. The team with the better regular season record hosts
19454-542: Was introduced and applied by Marek and Vávra (2017) on English Premier League seasons 1992/1993 – 2015/2016. Later, the procedure was finalised in Marek and Vávra (2020). Marek and Vávra (2018) described procedure which allows to use observed counts of combined measure of home team advantage ( k 1 {\displaystyle k_{1}} , k 0 {\displaystyle k_{0}} , and k − 1 {\displaystyle k_{-1}} ) in two leagues to be compared by
19596-426: Was named Finals MVP, becoming the lowest-drafted player (41st overall) to win the award. The Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Finals , marking the sixth straight year with a different championship team, matching a run of NBA championship that only occurred from 1975 to 1980. Boston won its record 18th NBA title, breaking a tie with their longtime rival Los Angeles Lakers . As part of
19738-459: Was omitted, as even if the 76ers won, they'd still lose the series 4–3). Since the Lakers won the series in this scenario, it is said that they have taken home-court advantage away from the 76ers. In some cup competitions, (for example the FA Cup in all rounds prior to the semi-final), home advantage is determined by a random drawing. However, if the initial match is drawn (tied), home advantage for
19880-664: Was playing in its home stadium, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida . The next year saw the Los Angeles Rams play Super Bowl LVI at their home of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California . Both games were awarded to their respective locations in 2017. Two other Super Bowls ( XIV in 1980 and XIX in 1985) were played in neutral stadiums in the market area of one of
20022-571: Was published in the Journal of Sports Sciences and suggested that for every additional 10,000 people attending, home team advantage increased by 0.1 goals. Additionally, his study found that home teams are likely to be awarded more penalty kicks , and this is more likely with inexperienced referees . Further, home players can be accustomed to peculiar environmental conditions of their home area. The city of Denver , being one mile (1.6 km) above sea level, has thinner air, enough so that it affects
20164-536: Was the 2013 Nigeria Premier League ; each of the 20 teams lost at most 3 of 19 home matches and won at most 3 of 19 away matches. Paul Doyle ascribed this to visiting teams' facing "violent crowds, questionable refereeing and [...] [a]rriving just before kick-off after long road trips, often on hazardous surfaces". The 2020–21 NHL season saw major disruption due to COVID-19-restricted conditions that resulted in bubble playoffs and ghost games, as fans were unable to attend in person. New research has shown that this led to
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