But since the Warriors won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018, the NBA has seen seven different champions hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy, the longest stretch of parity in league history. The question is whether that new system has fundamentally altered how the league and its teams operate. "Our system will allow successful teams to stay together," Silver said, "but those teams will need to make harder choices." There's a throughline between the Spurs teams, they had Tim [Duncan], Tony [Parker], and Manu [Ginobili], but the role players turn over. But parity among NBA champions could become the new normal.