LeBron James made his fifth straight NBA Finals, but these eight Celtics did it first
LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a sweep of the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals, punching his ticket to a fifth straight NBA Finals after making the last four with the Miami Heat. It’s an awesome achievement for the best player of his generation, but not the first time an NBA player has done it.
Eight Boston Celtics made at least five Finals in a row in the 1950s and 60s. Bill Russell and Sam Jones made a record 10 straight, from 1957 through 1966. Take a look at the others.
Celtics with five or more consecutive NBA Finals appearances
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To be fair, there are three times as many teams in today’s NBA as there were in the 1950s and 60s, and the salary cap makes it a little bit harder to keep a great team together. But the Celtics were 9-1 in those 10 straight Finals appearances, whereas LeBron went 2-2 with the Heat. King James will face a stiff challenge from the Golden State Warriors in his first Finals appearance with his hometown Cavs since the Spurs swept them in 2007.
Game 1 of the Finals is Thursday, June 4 at Golden State.
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