Brown, the original owner of the Boston Celtics who was instrumental in merging the BAA and the National Basketball League into the NBA in 1949.

A new trophy design was created for the 1977 NBA Finals, although it retained the Walter A.

[5][6][7] For the most part in contemporary league media, championship wins in the Brown Trophy era are represented visually by the O'Brien Trophy instead for the purposes of simplicity.

The inaugural winners of the trophy were the Philadelphia Warriors, who defeated the Chicago Stags.

Brown Championship Trophy since it was introduced in 1946 until it was awarded for the final time in 1976.