2. The Los Angeles Lakers are 7-2 in the NBA Finals after winning Game 1 since 1980
The Los Angeles Lakers have been in the NBA Finals a lot. Since the 1980 season, which was essentially the start of the Showtime Era, the Lakers have won nine Game 1s of the NBA Finals. The team went on to win the NBA Championship in seven of those nine instances.
The Lakers won Game 1 in both 2009 and 2010. The 2009 NBA Finals were a breeze for the Lakers, which is what Laker fans are hoping for in this series (and also culminated in Orlando, like this series). The 2010 NBA Finals were a bit of a challenge.
They also won Game 1 in two of the three Finals in which they three-peated with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. They lost Game 1 in 2001, so that does not apply.
They also won Game 1 in 1987, 1982 and 1980, winning the NBA Finals in all three of those years.
The two instances in which the Lakers won Game 1 and did not win the NBA Finals, over the last 40 years, was in 1991 and 1984. Both of those title teams lost to formidable, all-time foes, something the Miami Heat do not have.
The 1991 Lakers lost to Michael Jordan in his first-ever NBA Finals victory while the 1984 Lakers lost to Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics. The Heat are a good basketball team, but Jimmy Butler is not even in the same building as Larry Bird and Michael Jordan, let alone on the same level.