The NBA playoffs get the best venues in basketball to their feet. Players write themselves into franchise history, legacies are confirmed, and reputations are shattered. Great postseason upsets can do all of those three things.
This article looks at the greatest playoff shocks in the history of the NBA. Dynasties have been called time on, 3-1 deficits overturned.
The first-round has seen some of the biggest upsets with eight seeds toppling the number one team in the conference. Three Finals make the list, too…
1975: Warriors Sweep Bullets
The Washington Bullets were expected to cruise past the Golden State Warriors in the 1975 edition of the NBA Finals.
The reality was rather different, however, despite Washington winning 60 regular season games and besting the Warriors in three of their four prior meetings.
The Bullets had two Hall of Famers on their team in Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes. Golden State weren’t a talent match for the favourites, but they had a high-powered offence and quickly caused Washington problems.
Phil Smith led the scoring off the bench in a game one victory, before a 36-point outing from Rick Barry put the Warriors 2-0 up.
Playing away from their usual home (the Oakland Arena was already in use), the Warriors extended the lead to 3-0 before sealing the title at the Capital Center.
1994: Nuggets Shock Seattle
The Seattle SuperSonics (who we can hope return to the NBA before long) were meant to be challenging for the title.
The first-round matchup with the Denver Nuggets wasn’t expected to be much more than a formality, such was the talent difference between the two teams.
Seattle owned the best regular season record with a whopping 63 wins. They won the first two games comfortably at home, led by Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton. Denver couldn’t live with their hosts.
The Nuggets impressed in their first game at home and snatched game four in overtime.
Dikembe Mutombo was immense in a second half comeback in game five as Denver forced overtime. Mutombo famously clutched the final rebound as they secured the win 98-94.
2001: Hornets Sweep Heat
Miami secured the third seed in the Eastern Conference. Pat Riley’s team were hefty favourites in the NBA odds ahead of the series against the Charlotte Hornets.
Charlotte had registered 46 regular seasons wins, but they weren’t expected to trouble the supposedly superior Heat.
In a five-game opening round, the Hornets cruised to an improbable sweep. Miami were dominated on the boards and scored a meagre 235 points over the three games.
Former Heat player Jamal Mashburn thrived against Miami, scoring 71 points in the series and providing lockdown defence.
It might not have resulted in a title, but few NBA tips would have picked the Hornets in this series.
2004: Pistons End Lakers Dynasty
The Lakers won the title in 2000, 2001 and 2002. They lost to the Spurs in 2003, but were favoured to beat the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals. Karl Malone and Gary Payton had arrived to assist Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.
Detroit’s immense defence wasn’t enough to make them anything more than severe underdogs. O’Neal and Bryant are one of the NBA’s greatest duos ever, and Detroit did not have that sort of starpower.
Game one showed how competitive the Pistons were going to be, as they set their game out to stop O’Neal and Bryant. It worked.
The Lakers stole game two in overtime, but Detroit won the next three in Michigan to secure an improbable title.
The Pistons won their first championship since 1990 and Malone’s Hall of Fame career ended without a ring.
2007: Warriors Topple Dallas
Golden State didn’t confirm their playoff spot until the final day of the regular season. The Dallas Mavericks won 67 games in the regular season and Mavs fans worldwide were quite reasonably dreaming of a title.
The Warriors had won the previous five meetings, but that wasn’t meant to matter. Baron Davis (who features again later on this list) put in an all-time great performance and led the team to a game one win.
Dallas fought back in game two, but when they returned to Oakland, the Warriors took control.
Wins in games three and four put the Warriors 3-1 up. The Mavs battled to make it 3-2, but it was just delaying the upset. Stephen Jackson and Davis were on fire in game six.
The Warriors won, completing arguably the biggest shock in NBA playoff history.
2011: Grizzlies Win First Playoff Game & Series
The grit and grind era in Memphis was a story of good-but-not-good-enough.
As they entered the first-round against the San Antonio Spurs in 2011, the franchise story in the postseason was – at best – ugly. The Grizzlies were 0-for-12 in the NBA playoffs.
San Antonio boasted titles, experience and All-Star talent. The Grizzlies, though, set their standards high early and snatched game one with a three from Shane Battier in the dying seconds.
Zach Randolph led a game three win to put Memphis ahead 2-1, hitting a clutch first career three-pointer.
The Spurs saved the series in game five, before Randolph and Marc Gasol dominated the interior for Memphis to seal the series 4-2.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Michael Conroy / AP Photo*
