NBA commissioner Adam Silver has a favorite stat most fans of the league have probably heard: There have been eight different champions in the past eight seasons.
Silver has now mentioned the streak in 10 of his past 13 domestic press conferences, including twice during two of them. He was fixated on it even before the NBA broke the previous record of six straight seasons without duplicate champions, set from 1975 to 1980.
“I don’t remember a time when the league was so competitive,” Silver said in September 2023. “One indication being we’ve had five different teams win championships over the last five years.”
Silver has forced parity through his collective bargaining priorities, such as the 2023 CBA’s introduction of significantly harsher financial and roster-building penalties for teams that spend over a certain threshold on payroll.
The Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder and New York Knicks all chose to trade or not re-sign key players within a year of winning their respective championships. The front offices of all three organizations said publicly those decisions were for financial reasons.
In Silver’s view, talent dispersal is a good thing, and proof the CBA is working as intended.
“The point was to design a system … more NFL-like where every team was put in a position where, regardless of market size, they could compete for championships,” Silver said last month. “Eight different champions over the last eight years. That isn’t necessarily a sign of success. I’m fine if teams repeat. But I think over successive collective bargaining agreements and revenue-sharing systems and other changes we’ve made, we’ve gotten closer to building the kind of parity of opportunity we want.”
This is not a sudden shift in attitude to defend a controversial CBA. Silver has been beating this drum for a decade. When the Golden State Warriors signed Kevin Durant in the summer of 2016 after facing the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 2015 Finals rematch, Silver explicitly stated his desire for more parity.
“I’ve read several stories suggesting that that’s something that the league wants, this notion of two super teams, that it’s a huge television attraction,” Silver said in the summer of 2016. “I don’t think it’s good for the league, just to be really clear. The good news is that we are in a collective bargaining cycle. … My belief is we can make it better.”
Silver’s attitude marks a significant shift from his predecessor David Stern, who oversaw the NBA during a period of dynasties. Historically, the NBA has had the most repeat champions of the four major U.S. sports leagues. During the average 10-year span over the past 50 years, the NBA has had just 5.3 unique teams win the title. That’s far fewer than the NHL (6.1), NFL (6.8) or MLB (7.4).
There are many reasons for the NBA’s shift toward more equal opportunity, including increased variance from more 3-point shooting, more postseason injuries shaking up the field, and a deeper talent pool allowing more teams to amass great players. Combined with the new CBA, it’s been a perfect storm for Silver’s 10-year parity plan. Not only has there been no repeat NBA champion in the 2020s—there has yet to be a repeat conference champion.
According to odds on the prediction market Kalshi, it is slightly more likely than not that there will be a ninth unique NBA champion in a row. The previous eight champions have combined odds of just under 50%—although the Thunder (23%), Knicks (9%), Celtics (5%), Los Angeles Lakers (4%), Denver Nuggets (3%) and Toronto Raptors (3%) are all legitimate or fringe contenders.
Last week, the NBA Communications X account made 38 posts. The majority were either part of a series highlighting “familiar faces in new places” or promoting the league’s opening week schedule. Three posts, however, were parity-related. Silver is clearly not alone at the league office in his love for new champions.
On Sunday, the Thunder agreed to a five-year, $139 million extension with 22-year-old guard Cason Wallace. Barring some major roster moves, the contract will likely take the team over the second apron in the coming seasons, with All-Stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren already committed to long-term deals.
Thunder GM Sam Presti explained during his media availability last month that the second apron doesn’t exist to break up championship rosters, but rather to prevent high-spending teams from adding more talent. It also aims to shrink the window in which successful teams can spend liberally from what used to be 10 to 15 years down to just a few.
“It’s kind of giving everybody the same opportunity to make a choice to push in and spend aggressively if they feel they have a team that warrants that,” Presti said.
Silver has also frequently used the word “opportunity,” saying his fixation is not with generating unique champions but rather with giving every team a fair chance to compete.
“I’m perfectly comfortable with dynasties,” Silver said in July 2025. “It has less to do with the output; it has more to do with the input.”
With the Wallace deal, it appears Presti is pushing in his chips to go for a second championship. And although Silver says he’s comfortable with dynasties, he’s probably happy there’s a 7-foot-4 Frenchman standing in the Thunder’s way.