The greatest first round playoff upsets in NBA history

Some high-seeded NBA playoff teams view the first round of the postseason as a formality. However, a stunning turn of events can lead to infamy in NBA playoff lore, for the wrong reasons. We’ll take a look at the upstart teams that have knocked off heavy favorites in the first round of the NBA playoffs. All statistics are sourced from Basketball Reference.

Sporting News called it an incredible upset, as the “We Believe” Warriors shocked the powerful Mavericks in six games. Baron Davis, Stephen Jackson, Jason Richardson, Monta Ellis and Matt Barnes helped the Warriors control the tempo of the series, which Dallas was not prepared to handle.

Jackson remembered the energy Oracle Arena had for Warriors home games in that series. “The city was dying for it at the time. The way we played gave the fans energy,” he told Sporting News. “We had the loudest arena that year in the playoffs.”

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Standings and seeding were a bit unusual during the 1999 campaign, whose regular season was shortened to just 50 games due to the NBA lockout. The Knicks never really hit their stride in that time frame, and were forced to head into the postseason without star center Patrick Ewing. Yahoo sports called what would happen next “a legendary run.”

The series went the full five games (the extent back in those days), and New York would escape with a win on a last-second shot by Allan Houston. The ball hit the front of the rim, then bounced back towards the backboard and dropped in. Pandemonium ensued, as Houston celebrated with his excited teammates.

We don’t have to go too far back through the annals of time to find another unforeseen first round result. The Heat dispatched of the Bucks in five games in their first round matchup, playing well ahead of their performance in the regular season.

According to USA Today, Miami was a poor shooting team during the regular season, ranking 26^th in the league in shooting from the field and 27^th in the NBA from long distance. Against Milwaukee, the Heat shot over 50% from the floor, and 45% on three pointers.

The first time an eight seed took down a number one seed in the NBA playoffs was in 1994, when Denver toppled Seattle. It was an interesting series, which saw Seattle hold serve by winning the first two games. The Nuggets won the following two games to steal the momentum heading into a decisive fifth game in Seattle.

Denver would outlast Seattle in overtime, securing a place in the second round of the postseason, and in NBA history. Nuggets head coach Dan Issel told The Denver Post, “This was the biggest upset in the history of the Denver Nuggets.” Flat on his back on the court after the buzzer sounded, center Dikembe Mutombo raised the ball towards the air to punctuate the triumph of the moment.

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The Grizzlies were a gritty bunch for much of the 2010’s. The Athletic fondly remembered their style of play in a 2019 piece, which they said led to many memories at FedEx Forum. One such instance came when Memphis was able to take down the top-seeded Spurs in six games.

Led by the defensive intensity of players like Mike Conley and Tony Allen on the perimeter, Memphis stifled San Antonio’s rhythm. Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph also held their own down low against Tim Duncan.

John Stockton and Karl Malone were always in the mix in the Western Conference in the late 1980s and 1990s, but Golden State took Utah’s superb duo out early in 1989. What was even more surprising was that they cleanly swept the Jazz in three games under head coach Don Nelson. Nelson was also the head man of the 2007 Warriors that knocked off the Mavericks.

The Los Angeles Times said that Golden State used a “full Nelson” to thwart Utah in that series. Young forward Chris Mullin averaged over 32 points in the series, while Mitch Richmond poured in over 25 points per game. Rod Higgins was a force on the glass, averaging 14 points and 10 rebounds. Manute Bol, remarkably, averaged six blocks a game in that three game span.

The Mavericks would suffer another embarrassing first round defeat in 2010, which arguably set the stage for their title run in 2011. Having faced Dallas a myriad of times in the 2000s, San Antonio knew how to effectively limit them when the stakes were highest.

Even though the Spurs found themselves as the inferior seed, San Antonio’s championship core would allow them to move past Dallas. They also received solid contributions from George Hill and Richard Jefferson.

Let us know what you think by leaving a comment! Full disclosure: The 2012 Philadelphia 76ers defeat of the number one seeded Chicago Bulls was not included due to the injury suffered to Bulls star guard Derrick Rose in Game 1.

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