Brunson scored 45 points in the Game 5 clincher and was named Finals MVP (ESPN, 13 June 2026).
Hunch. Editorial scoring note: The official 2019-2026 champions sequence supports eight consecutive champions other than the defending champion. This is not a claim that each was a first-ever champion. The 2016 case remains contextual and outside this window.
The MVP market resolved on the NBA's official Bill Russell Trophy announcement following Game 5, per NBA.com.
No team has kept the NBA title since Golden State in 2018. We looked at recent champions to see how often the same team won again. Every season since 2019 has had a different champion, and teams that waited a long time keep winning. The last ten years ended more long waits for a title than the thirty years before them.