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 The Eastern Conference of the Nationl Basketball Association is made up of fifteen teams, organized in three divisions of five teams each.

The three division winners and the non-division winner with the best record are seeded 1 through 4 for the playoffs in order of their records, with all remaining non-division winners seeded 5 through 8. This leaves open the possibility that a #2 or #3 seed could be a non-division winner. Home court-advantage in a playoff series is decided by record, not by seeding, so if the #4 and #5 teams meet in a playoff series in which the #5 team has the better record, the #5 team would have home-court advantage.

The reasoning behind this seeding arrangement is because a non-division winner could have a better record than the winners of the two divisions other than the non-division winning team in question. If the three division winners were seeded 1 through 3 for the playoffs in order of their records, and all non-division winners seeded 4 through 8, it would be possible for the two best teams of the conference to meet in the Conference Semifinals. This actually happened in the 2006 NBA Playoffs when the two best teams in the Western Conference, the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks, both from the Southwest Division, faced one another in the Western Conference Semifinals while the 3rd seed, the Northwest Division -leading Denver Nuggets, had fewer wins than the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th seeds.The NBA proposed and approved of the current format to ensure that the best two teams of a conference can meet no earlier than the Conference Finals.

The Eastern Conference playoffs are divided into two preliminary rounds followed by the Eastern Conference Finals, with the winner of the Conference Championship facing the Western Conference champion in the NBA Finals to determine the champion. All playoff series are best-of-sseven.

The current divisional alignment was adopted at the start of the 2004-05 season, when the Charlotte Bobcats began play as the NBA's 30th franchise. This necessitated the move of the New Orleans Hornets from the Eastern Conference's Central Division to the newly-created Southwest Division of the Western Conference.

Current organization

The Eastern Conference teams are organized as follows:

Atlantic Division
  • Boston Celtics
  • Brooklyn Nets
  • New York Knicks
  • Philadelphia 76ers
  • Toronto Raptors
Southeast Division
  • Atlanta Hawks
  • Charlotte Bobcats
  • Miami Heat
  • Orlando Magic
  • Washington Wizards
Central Division
  • Chicago Bulls
  • Cleveland Cavaliers
  • Detroit Pistons
  • Iniana Pacers
  • Milawaukee Bucks

Former teams

Defunct

  • Providence Steamrollers
  • Toronto Huskies
  • Washington Capitols

Relocated to Western Conference

  • Buffalo Braves (moved to San Diego and became "Clippers", now the Los Angeles Clippers)
  •  Sacramento Kings(later the Kansas City -Omaha Kings, the Kansas City Kings, now the Sacramento Kings)
  • Golden State Warriors
  • Houston Rockets
  • New Orleans Pelicans
  • San Antonio Spurs
  • Utah Jazz

Eastern Conference champions

See also: NBA Conference Finals:Eastern Conference was named Eastern Division until 1970

*1947: Philadelphia Warriors
  • 1948: Philadelphia Warriors
  • 1949: Washinton Capitols
  • 1950: Syracuse Nationals
  • 1951: New York Knicks
  • 1952: New York Knicks
  • 1953: New York Knicks
  • 1954: Syracuse Nationals
  • 1955: Syracuse Nationals
  • 1956: Philadelphia Warriors
  • 1957: Boston Celtics
  • 1958: Boston Celtics
  • 1959: Boston Celtics
  • 1960: Boston Celtics
  • 1961: Boston Celtics
  • 1962: Boston Celtics
  • 1963: Boston Celtics
  • 1964: Boston Celtics
  • 1965: Boston Celtics
  • 1966: Boston Celtics
  • 1967: Philadelphia Warriors
*1968: Boston Celtics
  • 1969: Boston Celtics
  • 1970: New York Knicks
  • 1971: Baltimore Bullets
  • 1972: New York Knicks
  • 1973: New York Knicks
  • 1974: Bostn Celtics
  • 1975: Washinton Bullets
  • 1976: Boston Celtics
  • 1977: Philadelphia 76ers
  • 1978: Washington
  • 1979: Washington Bullets
  • 1980: Philadelphia 76ers
  • 1981: Boston Celtics
  • 1982: Philadelphia 76ers
  • 1983: Philadelphia 76ers
  • 1984: Boston Celtics
  • 1985: Boston Celtics
  • 1986: Boston Celtics
  • 1987: Boston Celtics
  • 1988: Detroit Pistons
*1989: Detroit Pistons
  • 1990: Detroit Pistons
  • 1991: Chicago Bulls
  • 1992: Chicago Bulls
  • 1993: Chicago Bulls
  • 1994: New York Knicks
  • 1995: Orlando Magic
  • 1996: Chicago Bulls
  • 1997: Chicago Bulls
  • 1998: Chicago Bulls
  • 1999: New York Knicks
  • 2000: Indiana Pacers
  • 2001: Philadelphia 76ers
  • 2002: New Jersey Nets
  • 2003: New Jersey Nets
  • 2004: Detroit Pistons
  • 2005: Detroit Pistons
  • 2006: Miami Heat
  • 2007: Cleveland Cavaliers
  • 2008: Boston Celtics
  • 2009: Orlando Magic
*2010: Boston Celtics
  • 2011: Miami Heat
  • 2012: Miami Heat
  • 2013: Miami Heat
NBA Champions in bold

List of Eastern Conference teams with the most conference championships

  • 21: Boston Celtics
  • 9: Philadelphia 76ers - Syracuse Nationals
  • 8: New York Knicks
  • 6: Chicago Bulls
  • 5: Detroit Pistons
  • 4: Miami Heat
  • 4: Washington/Baltimore Bullets
  • 3: Philadelphia Warriors
  • 2: New Jersey Nets
  • 2: Orlando Magic
  • 1: Cleveland Cavalies
  • 1: Indiana Pacers
  • 1: Washington Capitols

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