NBA Western Conference teams have combined to have a winning record against Eastern Conference teams each of the last eight NBA seasons.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The NBA Western Conference again was better than the East during the regular season -- for the 17th time in 18 seasons.

In head-to-head competition, the West was 42 games over .500 against the East during the 2016-17 regular season, up from a plus-14 in 2015-16.

(See history since 1998-99 charted at bottom of story.)

The last time East won head-to-head regular season play against the West was in 2008-09.

However, the West has not been as dominating when it comes to championships.

Cleveland's title in 2016 marked the third time in five seasons the NBA championship was won by an Eastern Conference team. LeBron James was the key player in each of those championships - winning with Miami in 2012 and 2013, and with Cleveland in 2016.

James has been to the NBA Finals each of the last six seasons.

Below is a rundown of the head-to-head records for regular season games between the West and East. (The plus number represents games above .500 in cross-conference games.)

Also:

Calculate James' chances of passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as NBA's all-time scorer

James' best 10 teammates, ranked all-time

Top 25 scoring leaders in the NBA playoffs.

Season Conf. Reg. season Champion 2016-17 West Plus 42 2015-16 West Plus 14 Cleveland (East) 2014-15 West Plus 76 Golden State (West) 2013-14 West Plus 118 San Antonio (West) 2012-13 West Plus 74 Miami (East) 2011-12 West Plus 42 Miami (East) 2010-11 West Plus 72 Dallas (West) 2009-10 West Plus 42 LA Lakers (West) 2008-09 East Plus 12 LA Lakers (West) 2007-08 West Plus 66 Boston (East) 2006-07 West Plus 64 San Antonio (West) 2005-06 West Plus 54 Miami (East) 2004-05 West Plus 62 San Antonio (West) 2003-04 West Plus 112 Detroit (East) 2002-03 West Plus 80 San Antonio (West) 2001-02 West Plus 44 LA Lakers (West) 2000-01 West Plus 98 LA Lakers (West) 1999-00 West Plus 34 LA Lakers (West) 1998-99 East Plus 8 San Antonio (West)

Source: cleveland.com/datacentral

Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com, writes about numbers on a variety of topics. Follow on Twitter @RichExner.

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