2013 NBA Finals
The 2013 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2012–13 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs, played from June 6 to 20, 2013. The defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat, who were favored to win the series, defeated the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs in seven games to win their third championship.
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| Dates | June 6–20 | |||||||||
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| MVP | LeBron James (Miami Heat) | |||||||||
| Hall of Famers | Heat: Ray Allen (2018) Chris Bosh (2021) Dwyane Wade (2023) Spurs: Tim Duncan (2020) Manu Ginóbili (2022) Tracy McGrady (2017) Tony Parker (2023) Coaches: Gregg Popovich (2023) | |||||||||
| Eastern Finals | Heat defeated Pacers, 4–3 | |||||||||
| Western Finals | Spurs defeated Grizzlies, 4–0 | |||||||||
The Miami Heat's league-best regular season record of 66–16 gave them home-court advantage against the San Antonio Spurs, who finished the regular season 58–24. The San Antonio Spurs won the opening game on the road and eventually took a 3–2 series lead before the Miami Heat won the remaining two games at home to win their second consecutive NBA title. LeBron James, who was named the season MVP, was also named Finals MVP for the second straight year. The Heat's late rally in Games 6 and 7, which also included Ray Allen's clutch 3-pointer in Game 6 to force overtime, has made it one of the greatest Finals of all time.
Four former NBA Finals MVPs played in the series (the Spurs' Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, and the Heat's Dwyane Wade and LeBron James), the most since 1987. The 2013 Finals also set a record for most international players on either Finals roster (10). This also marks the last NBA Finals series to use the 2–3–2 format, which was introduced in 1985, with the format changed to 2–2–1–1–1 starting in 2014.