Updated “asterisk” counter (last 30 years)
In light of OKC fans wanting an asterisk this year because they lost, I think its time to go through all the "asterisks."
1986: John Lucas of the Rockets was suspended
1987: Parish, McHale, Ainge, and Walton were all injured, Len Bias tragic death the year before
1988: Isiah Thomas was injured in Game 6 of the Finals, Bill Laimbeer phantom foul on Kareem
1989: Magic Johnson injured in Game 3 of the Finals
1990: Scottie migraine, Blazers drafted Arvydas Sabonis in 1986 who was an absolute beast, but weren't able to get him over to play for them until 1995
1991: Old Magic, Worthy and Byron Scott injured
1992: Blazers drafted Arvydas Sabonis in 1986 who was an absolute beast, but weren't able to get him over to play for them until 1995
1993: Suns got 64 free throws in Game 7 of the WCF and Barkley got injured in Game 2 of the Finals
1994: Jordan played baseball and missed the whole season
1995: Jordan played 17 games after being out for a year and a half
1996: Gary Payton had a torn calf, resulting in him not guarding Jordan for the first 3 games of the Finals
1997: Scottie got away with an absurd goaltending in Game 6
1998: Jordan push off, but more egregiously, refs incorrectly called two baskets earlier, resulting in a 5 point swing in favor of the Bulls
1999: Lockout shortened season
2000: Lakers got 27 free throws in the fourth quarter of Game 7 against the Blazers, helping them come back from a large deficit, reigning Finals MVP Tim Duncan out for the Playoffs with a torn meniscus
2001: Terrible officiating the Bucks/Sixers ECF which is why the Sixers were there in the first place, as well as Game 2 of the Finals
2002: Absurd officiating in Game 6 of the WCF
2003: Dirk Nowitzki injured in Game 3 of the 2003 WCF, played a 49 win Nets team in the Finals
2004: Karl Malone hurt
2005: Easy competition, Pacers season was derailed by Malice at the Palace, Lakers imploded
2006: Wade got 50 billion free throws
2007: Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw suspended for a home Game 5 of a 2-2 series for coming off the bench after Horry hip checked Nash, helping there Spurs win
2008: Bynum was injured in the Finals
2009: KG was injured
2010: Kendrick Perkins injure in Finals
2011: Manu Ginobili of the #1 seed Spurs injured in first round
2012: Derrick Rose of the #1 seed Bulls tears his ACL
2013: Russell Westbrook of the #1 seed Thunder tears his meniscus
2014: Serge Ibaka misses the first two games of the WCF allowing the Spurs to take a 2-0 lead in a series they won in 6
2015: Kyrie injured in Game 1 of the Finals, Kevin Love misses series with injury
2016: Bogut/Iguodala injuries, Draymond suspension in Finals
2017: Kawhi hurt in game 1 of the WCF
2018: CP3 hurt in Game 5 of the WCF
2019: KD out for all but 12 minutes of the Finals, Klay out for Game 3 and tore his ACL in Game 6
2020: Bam and Dragic injuries, The Bubble
2021: Kyrie and Harden injuries in second round, Trae Young injured in ECF
2022: Ja Morant injured toward the end of Game 3 of the second round
2023: Giannis injured, CP3 hurt toward the end of Game 2 of the second round when the Suns had a lead at Denver, played 7 and 8 seeds otherwise
2024: Haliburton hurt in the ECF, weak competition
2025: Haliburton tears Achilles in Game 7 of the Finals, Gordon injured for Game 7 of the second round
2026: JDub and Mitchell injured for the Thunder in WCF for Spurs, weak competition for Knicks
My point here is: asterisks are stupid. Every championship ream had some fortune go their way.
Edit: Last 40 years I forgot math