Many veteran fans who watch the game have a feeling that the NBA has formed a pattern of strong west and weak east, since CCTV began broadcasting NBA games in 1994, western teams have won 17 championships, while eastern teams have only won 11 of them.
However, in recent years, the strength of the Eastern team has gradually increased, the last 6 Finals, the East and the West have won 3 times, especially the Raptors in 2019 overturned the Warriors Dynasty and the 2021 Alphabet Brother led bucks crushing the sun, but also let fans feel that the league pattern has quietly changed, and the situation of strong West and weak East seems to have become history.
In fact, the rise of a large number of eastern teams has indeed increased the suspense of the finals a lot, and in the past, like the Lakers and the Warriors' consecutive championships, it is now impossible, even if the West is strong, the Eastern team cannot let them take the championship consecutively.
Looking at this year's playoff situation, the 76ers and Bucks in the East have a tendency to reach the Finals, even the Celtics who have recently blown up the youth storm, under the leadership of Tatum, there is also a momentum of breaking bamboo, these teams, no matter who reaches the Finals, are not lambs to be slaughtered, the Suns, the Warriors, facing any team from the East, dare not say that they have full confidence to win.
So, what is the reason for the quiet change of the pattern of the east and the west? In my opinion, the gradual growth of the number of stars in the East is the root cause of this pattern. In the past, at a certain time, only one superstar in the East could compete with the West on the Finals stage, just like Jordan in the 90s, the Wolf King 10 years ago and James in previous years, in contrast, the West was a bunch of stars, many teams and even star combinations, like the LAKERS OK and Spurs GDP, and the Warriors' Splash Brothers.
Now, that has changed. When the focus of the West is on James and a bunch of veterans, the Young Generation players such as Embiid, Alphabet Brother, and Trae Young in the East have risen, and there is a trend of catching up with the old stars in the West, plus Irving, Durant, DeRozan and other long-established people, they have obvious advantages over Western stars in terms of strength and age, which is also the reason why the strength of the East has now surpassed the West.