Thunder & Heat Offer Differing Degrees Of Championship History

Tuesday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder host the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the 2012 NBA Finals. This will be the Thunder's fourth Finals appearance and first since moving to Oklahoma City in 2008.

The franchise's three previous Finals stops all came to be when they were the Seattle SuperSonics, with their 1996 matchup versus Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls serving as the organization's most recent visit.

Overall, SEA/OKC owns a 1-2 record in the championship round.

The club's lone victory took place back in 1979, against the then Washington Bullets.

On the other side of the equation, the Heat will be playing in their third NBA Finals, in the last seven seasons.

Last year's loss to the Dallas Mavericks occurred five years after Miami defeated the very same Dallas team in the 2006 NBA Finals.

Overall, the Heat are 1-1 in Finals play.

Incidentally, Miami and Dallas are the only post 1980 expansion franchises to have ever won an NBA championship.