This year’s NBA postseason is shaping up to be the best we’ve seen in years. Fans expected we’d get Cavs-versus-Warriors 4.0 come June, but an unpredictable regular season has thrown everything out of whack.
The injury bug has bitten Golden State. Drama has riddled the Cavs, who decided to blow their roster up at the trade deadline. With the playoffs kicking off Saturday, both teams look very human.
With the top seeds open for the taking, two other squads emerged as the class of the East and West—the Raptors and Rockets, respectively. On the heels of a tremendous regular season, they have every reason to be confident, but they’re haunted by the ghosts of playoffs past. Meanwhile, a number of lower seeds—like the Jazz, Thunder, Bucks, and Wizards—loaded with talent. Others, like the Heat and Spurs, have great coaches.
The teams at the top of playoff seeding look vulnerable. The teams at the bottom look dangerous. Who knows what’s going to happen? We very well could witness a stunning upset (or two).
We seem to be privy to a dramatic upset once every 2-3 years. The most recent of these moments unfolded during the iconic ending to Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals; who could forget those final two minutes? LeBron pinned Iguodala’s layup, Kyrie hit a clutch jumper, and the rest is history.
But where does that iconic Finals rank among the biggest upsets of all-time? There have been a number of great ones over the years.
Just think of the 2000s, for example. Remember when Baron Davis and the Warriors beat the No. 1 seed Dallas Mavericks? How about the Pistons shocking the Lakers in the 2004 Finals? Or the Magic topping the Cavs in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals?
Below is our take on the biggest upsets in NBA playoffs history.
15. 1959 West Finals: Minneapolis Lakers beat St. Louis Hawks
14. 1969 NBA Finals: Boston Celtics beat Los Angeles Lakers
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Russell was still around, but he wasn’t Bill Russell. He was a player-coach, and he had lost the spring in his step—he was practically in Uncle Drew mode. The aging Celtics faced an uphill battle in the playoffs after finishing 48-34, but they pulled out one final ring. First, they surprised the 55-27 Philadelphia 76ers, then they toppled the 54-28 New York Knicks.
Their trek didn’t get any easier; they had to square off with the 55-27 Los Angeles Lakers, who had Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, and Baylor, in the Finals. But Boston won the epic series in seven games, claiming the deciding match-up 108-106. The championship G.O.A.T. immediately hung them up after this one.
13. 2009 Eastern Conference Finals: Orlando Magic beat Cleveland Cavaliers
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In 2008-09, the Cavs were the East’s No. 1 seed and looked like the best team in the entire NBA. LeBron had gone up a level and entered true untouchable mode, and the Cavs swept their first two series.
The Magic were a solid team, too. They were the East’s No. 3 seed, they had taken down No. 2 Boston, and they also had an emerging star in Dwight Howard.
The Magic’s ahead-of-its-time strategy to play the sweet-shooting Rashard Lewis at the four and space the floor made a big difference. Howard scored 40 points and snagged 14 rebounds in the decisive Game 6. This series marked the last time LeBron made the Eastern Conference Finals with Cleveland before announcing The Decision in 2011.
12. 1977 NBA Finals: Portland Trail Blazers beat Philadelphia 76ers
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Bill Walton led a promising young Portland squad, but the loaded Sixers were heavily favored. Philly jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals, but the Blazers bounced back to win four straight and claim the title. Walton got most of the love, but Maurice Lucas and Herb Gilliam helped out. It was Portland’s last NBA title to date.
11. 1999 Eastern Conference First Round: New York Knicks beat Miami Heat
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The Knicks were the No. 8 seed and Heat were No. 1, but that came with a caveat—the lockout shortened the 1998-1999 season to 50 games. Pat Riley had moved on from the Knicks to coach the Heat. Jeff Van Gundy, Riley’s former assistant, now led his old squad. There was a lot of bad blood in this one, which also happened to be a rematch of the Knicks’ 1998 playoff win against Miami. Both sides wanted to win badly.
The squads duked it out throughout the best-of-five series; it came down to the very end of Game 5. New York’s Allan Houston hit a jumper with 0.8 seconds remaining to clinch it. The Knicks miraculously advanced all the way to the NBA Finals, where they fell to a young Tim Duncan and the Spurs.
10. 2001 Eastern Conference First Round: Charlotte Hornets beat Miami Heat
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The veteran Heat were expected to cruise in this 3-6 matchup. They had won 50 games, behind Tim Hardaway, Anthony Mason, Brian Grant, and the coaching of Pat Riley. The young Hornets, however, were far from intimidated. Boasting a young core of Baron Davis, Jamal Mashburn, and Eddie Robinson, the Hornets didn’t just beat the Heat—they dominated them.
This was in the best-of-five days, and Charlotte cruised to a 3-0 series win. It became clear that Davis, who averaged 20.3 points per game, would become one of the league’s best guards.
9. 1981 First Round: Houston Rockets beat Los Angeles Lakers
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With a core of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, no one wanted to meet Los Angeles in the playoffs. The Lakers had won the title the year before, and many pundits picked them to repeat as champs, though they only entered the playoffs as the West’s No. 3 seed. They seemed to have an easy first-round matchup—the Houston Rockets, who had qualified for the playoffs with a sub-.500 record (40-42).
The Rockets, behind Moses Malone and Calvin Murphy, stunned L.A. Houston improbably marched all the way to the NBA Finals, where the Rockets fell to Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics in six games.
8. 2011 Western Conference First Round: Memphis Grizzlies beat San Antonio Spurs
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This series marked the emergence of Zach Randolph, who propelled the Grizzlies to a stunning win in a tough, six-game series. Not only were the young and athletic Grizzlies an eight seed, but the franchise had never won a playoff game. Undeterred, Randolph, Shane Battier, Mike Conley, Marc Gasol, and company toppled the Spurs.
This was the first 8-versus-1 series win since the NBA had switched to a best-of-seven format.
7. 2016 NBA Finals: Cleveland Cavaliers beat Golden State Warriors
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You can’t discount the fact that Cleveland had three All-Stars on its roster: James, Irving, and Love. Golden State, however, had eviscerated everyone in their path in the regular season, they had the MVP, and they had bested the Cavs in the Finals the previous year.
It felt like nobody expected the Cavs to win entering this series, and even those who did fell off the wagon after Golden State jumped to a 3-1 lead. The outcome looked inevitable. Somehow, Cleveland—behind a Herculean performance from King James—clawed back. The Warriors got revenge against Cleveland in the 2017 Finals, but the 2016 Finals remains one of the most entertaining series in basketball history.
6. 1975 NBA Finals: Golden State Warriors beat Washington Bullets
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The Bullets, who won 60 games in the regular season, were considered practical locks to win the 1975 NBA Finals. They had incredible talent in Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes. The Warriors were an afterthought, but their high-powered offense proved to be too much for Washington.
Behind the great Rick Barry, and the timely scoring of Phil Smith, Golden State dominated en route to a 4-0 sweep.
5. 1984 Eastern Conference First Round: New Jersey Nets beat Philadelphia 76ers
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After winning the title in 1983 (and going 12-1 in the playoffs), Dr. J and the Sixers were favorites to repeat in ’84, but they encountered an upstart Nets team. The Nets had never won a playoff game, but they were young, quick, athletic, hungry, and unfazed by the moment. Behind Buck Williams, Albert King, and Michael Ray Richardson, New Jersey won the best-of-five series in a classic Game 5.
A loaded Philly team, which boasted Malone and Maurice Cheeks (who was recently announced as a Class of 2018 Hall of Famer) in addition to Irving, collapsed. New Jersey claimed the decisive game, 101-98, on Philadelphia’s home court.
4. 2011 NBA Finals: Dallas Mavericks beat Miami Heat
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This season marked the beginning of Miami’s “Big Three” era. People didn’t like that James had left to join a super team, they didn’t like the way he had announced it, and they didn’t like the Heat’s arrogance (“not four…not five…”). Accordingly, before the Warriors became the “Super Villains,” the Heat were the league’s most hated team.
They never fully meshed in that first season, as each of the three stars tried to figure out his role. That didn’t bite them until the NBA Finals, when the veteran Dallas Mavericks—led by Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, and Jason Kidd—exposed the Heat’s dysfunction and buried them in six games. It was a great example of a team beating a far more talented group of individuals
3. 2004 NBA Finals: Detroit Pistons beat Los Angeles Lakers
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The 2003-04 Lakers had Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton, and Karl Malone. Payton and Malone had sacrificed to join the Lakers solely because they wanted a ring. Neither veteran got it. The reason: Deeeeee-troit basketball. The Pistons were massive underdogs, but they were fearless.
Behind a formidable top five, Detroit played dominant defense. In Game 3, Los Angeles’ vaunted offense could muster only 68 points. That was an all-time postseason franchise low. The Pistons won the series in surprisingly easy fashion, needing only five games. Subsequently, Karl Malone retired, Phil Jackson left the Lakers, and L.A. traded Shaq to Miami.
2. 1994 Western Conference First Round: Denver Nuggets beat Seattle SuperSonics
1. 2007 Western Conference First Round: Golden State Warriors beat Dallas Mavericks
