8 seeds to beat a 1 seed in NBA: Complete history of biggest first-round playoff upsets originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The NBA playoffs can produce thrilling moments, but they aren't necessarily known for upsets. That doesn't mean major surprises are impossible.
An 8-seed knocking off a 1-seed is rare, which may be putting it mildly. On some occasions, it's happened partly due to injuries. On others, it's come as a complete shock. It just doesn't happen often.
After a few unpredictable runs in recent years, however, one has to wonder whether 8-seeds might have more chances to pull off some stunners in the years ahead.
Here's a look at the history of 8-seeds beating 1-seeds in the NBA playoffs.
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Six 8-seeds have won a playoff series against a 1-seed. The last to do so was the Miami Heat in 2023, when Jimmy Butler and co. knocked off the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks to start a run no one saw coming.
Why is it such a rare occurrence? Unlike college basketball, the seven-game series significantly reduces surprise outcomes. Winning a game or two as an 8-seed is nothing out of the ordinary. Winning four times in a span of seven games, without home-court advantage, against a team that finished with the best record in the conference is enormously difficult, even in the event of injuries.
Here's a complete look at each time an 8-seed beat a 1-seed in a playoff series.
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The Nuggets became the first 8-seed to win a playoff series when they knocked off the 63-win Sonics despite finishing 21 games behind Seattle. Denver won a best-of-five series in five games, storming back from a 2-0 series deficit to stun Seattle.
The Nuggets would put up an impressive fight in the second round as well before losing to the Utah Jazz in seven games.
The Knicks' win over the Heat was a surprise in 1999, but it wasn't a total stunner. New York only finished six games behind Miami in a lockout-shortened season and had beaten the Heat as a 7-seed a year earlier.
Still, the series win was the start of a historic run. After a narrow 78-77 victory over the Heat in Game 5, the Knicks went on to sweep the Hawks, defeat the Pacers and become the first 8-seed in NBA history to reach the NBA Finals. Their run ended in the Finals without an injured Patrick Ewing, as the Spurs won the title in five games.
The "We Believe" Warriors were one of the greatest stories in NBA history, as they had to battle just to make the playoffs after starting the season 26-35. After climbing to the 8-seed in the West, a Baron Davis-led Golden State team stunned the 67-win Mavericks in six games after Dallas reached the NBA Finals a year prior.
After jumping out to a 3-1 series lead, the Warriors fell in Game 5 but left no doubt with a 25-point home win in Game 6. Golden State would only win one more playoff game, falling to the Jazz in five games in the second round.
The Grizzlies were a particularly strong 8-seed with 46 wins when they knocked off the Spurs in 2011, but San Antonio's early exit in six games was still a shock under Gregg Popovich.
Memphis pieced together a series win much the way the Spurs did, relying on defense and a collection of players, rather than one dominant star, to get the job done. The Grizzlies would push the Thunder to seven games in the next round before coming up short of a Western Conference Finals appearance.
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The Heat were still the kings of the East, but the Bulls looked like a serious threat to keep Miami out of the NBA Finals until reigning MVP Derrick Rose tore his ACL in Game 1 of the first round against the 76ers. The Bulls held on to win that game, but they lost the next four and couldn't recover offensively.