NBA Finals have zero involvement from teams like the Los Angeles Lakers.
 They qualified for the playoffs as the fourth and final seed in the East, while the Lakers, who had added Chamberlain in the off-season to join stars Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, won the West and were prohibitive favorites to become champions for the first time since relocating to Los Angeles
The 2021 NBA Finals saw the Milwaukee Bucks defeat the Phoenix Suns in the first Finals since 1971 to 2023 to feature no players who had previously won a championship

