CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc. site: media | arena: nba | pageType: stories | It's just a media site that happens to cover MLB, the NFL, the NBA, the NHL, the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago Bears, the Chicago Bulls, and the Chicago Blackhawks. How many times has a No. 8 seed beat a No. 1 seed in NBA playoffs? Ironically, it was the biggest upset in NCAA history in terms of seeding. These years include 2018, 2015, 2007, 2000, and 1988. Has an #8 Seed Ever Win an NBA Championship? No - Interbasket If it's happening in the world of sports, then we're on it. Prior to the Heat's win in 2023, four No. Winners: Boston Celtics - 14 (2008, 1986, 1984, 1981, 1976, 1974, 1965, 1964, 1963, 1962, 1961, 1960, 1959, 1957), Los Angeles Lakers - 13 (2020, 2010, 2009, 2000, 1988, 1987, 1985, 1982, 1980, 1972, 1954, 1953, 1950), Chicago Bulls - 5 (1998, 1997, 1996, 1992, 1991), Golden State Warriors - 4 (2017, 2015, 1975, 1956) San Antonio Spurs - 3 (2014, 2003, 1999), Philadelphia 76ers - 3 (1983, 1967, 1955), Detroit Pistons - 2 (1989, 1990), Cleveland Cavaliers (2016), Miami Heat (2013), Oklahoma City Thunder (1979), Milwaukee Bucks (1971), New York Knicks (1970), Atlanta Hawks (1958). 8 seed to become conference champions. Heres what we know, since 1985, there have been many years where at least one No. That is certainly no guarantee now that Giannis Antetokounmpo has returned from his back injury, but with Butler playing at this level the Heat have a real chance to make history. He fell to the very last pick of the first round in the 2011 NBA Draft. 7 seeds have made their mark by upsetting No. With the new play-in rules, there's now a real advantage to every single seed No. 2 seeds from each conference. Brooklyn enters the 2022 NBA Playoffs with the fifth-best odds (+900) of winning the NBA Finals, according to our partner, PointsBet, trailing the Suns, Bucks, Celtics and Golden State Warriors. As things went, thats exactly what the problem appeared to be. The Warriors won Game 1 on the road, then took all of their home games thanks to a raucous Oracle Arena crowd. The Heat first swept the Pacers in . In 2020, the Miami Heat became the first five seed to ever make the championship game. Without Antetokounmpo in Game 2, the Bucks stepped up and cruised to a 138-122 victory to even the series. 7 seed. 7 seed ever won the NBA Finals? Butler has an 19-25 record on the road in the postseason, translating to a winning percentage of roughly 43%. . New York made a statement in Game 1, earning a 20-point win on the road. 7 seed Hawks, the top-seeded Celtics would not face the bottom-seeded Heat in the East Semifinals. A No. Despite falling to the four seed, the Celtics continued to shine their championship pedigree by marching to the NBA Finals and taking the championship. With that said, the team battled adversity in the regular season and fell to the eighth seed. All Rights Reserved. Just looked it up, apparently in 1969 the Boston Celtics were a 4 seed and won it No 5, 7, or 8 seed ever won it though Knicks did reach finals as 8 seed in 1999 though abaddon41_80 1. 8 seeds have ever made it past the first round of the playoffs, and the 1998-99 Knicks are the only ones to advance beyond Round 2. 5 seed when they shocked the previously unbeaten New England Patriots, 17-14, in 2007. 1 seeds in Round 1 of the playoffs, beginning with the No. Has a 7th Seed Ever Won the NBA Finals? - Sportsmanor Since the playoffs expanded to 16 teams in 1984, no seven seed has ever won the NBA championship. 4 Atlanta in Round 2, the Knicks moved on to the conference finals, where they defeated the No. No. The first time was the 1986-87 Seattle SuperSonics victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Round 1, and the most recent instance was the 2009-10 San Antonio Spurs upsetting the Mavs in the first round. Kyle Daubs has 15 years' worth of writing experience for numerous sports sites. His hopes for the 2020 title were dashed when Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic got hurt in Game 1 of the Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. No. The Western Conference was incredibly tough in the early 2010s, as evidenced by the fact that the Grizzlies won 46 games and were only the No. Since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, there have been 55 upsets of No. Only one Play-In team has ever won a Playoff series. 1 Heat in the 1999 playoffs. When it comes to the tournament, the number "5" has been unluckier than 13 would ever hope to be. In the intervening 46 years, 24 No.1 seeds went on to win the Stanley Cup. Even then, the consensus was the Sonics would take care of business in Game 5 in Seattle, where they went 37-4 that season. Butler has been an underdog for his entire basketball career. Bleacher Nation is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program. The Grizzlies won Games 1 and 3 by three points and five of the six games were decided by single digits. No. The first time was the 1986-87 Seattle SuperSonics victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Round 1, and the most recent instance was the 2009-10 San Antonio Spurs upsetting the Mavs in the first round. r/nba on Reddit: If the Warriors win Game 7, the second round will How Jimmy Butler, No. 12 would pull off an upset. 6 Houston Rockets, who were coming off a first-round upset of their own over Clyde Drexler and the No. All that said, one No. The Finals featured a thrilling seven-game series between the Lakers and Celtics. The No. The Minnesota Timberwolves shocked the world by getting an opening win over the Grizzlies as a seventh seed, while the Brooklyn Nets are the most dangerous seven seed in the league. Led by Anthony Edwards' 36-point performance in his playoff debut, the Wolves took down the No. After defeating No. The Bucks did get Giannis Antetokounmpo back for Game 4 and held a double-digit lead with six minutes before eventually losing 119-114. How many times has a No. That team was the 1985 Villanova Wildcats, who pulled off one of the biggest upsets in. The Houston Rockets won the NBA Finals in 1995 as a sixth seed.. The playoffs were expanded to 16 teams in 1984, which meant that up to this time, there were only eight teams and the seeding was one to four in each conference. The Spurs lost to the Grizzlies in six games, earning the eighth-seeded team their first playoff series win in franchise history. As the reigning NBA champions, Houston entered the 1995 postseason as a No. 8 seeds upset No. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. 1. More: 'He's making Hamilton his': How Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's hometown shaped him. 8 Miami Heat beat the No. Butler has been on very few championship-caliber teams. The next team is the 1999 New York Knicks. The Sonics advancing seemed like just a formality at that point. Does the committee purposely set up a team for a major upset? The Heat shocked the world, taking care of the heavily-favored Bucks in five games. The Heat first swept the Pacers in four games. The Bulls wouldn't meet his contract demands after his third season, so played his way into a max deal during his fourth. If youre wondering what the lowest seed to win the NBA Finals is, that would be the Houston Rockets led by Hakeem Olajuwon in the 1994-95 season who entered the playoffs as the No. 1994: Nuggets d. SuperSonics 3-2 In a stunning upset 10 years into the best-of-five era, the Nuggets knocked out a SuperSonics team that. According to NBC Sports Boston, only one No. Both MLB and the NHL follow a bracket-style postseason, just as the NBA does. If you look at the history, there have been five seasons since 1985 in which there was no 12-5 upset. In a win-or-go-home Game 5 against No. The Cinderella story ended there when the Spurs won in five games. History tends to remember destinations instead of journeys. #3 New York 1952 #2 Minneapolis def. 2 seed Grizzlies, with LeBron James and co. pushing Memphis to the brink of being bounced from the playoffs. 8 seed after finishing the season. Only five No. Instead, they witnessed the birth of the "Grit-N-Grind" Grizzlies, who simply refused to lose in an extremely narrow series. 3 seed line have ever won the national title: one 4 seed (Arizona in 1997), one 6 seed (Kansas in 1988), one seven seed (UConn in 2014) and one 8 seed . 8 seed to win a first-round series since the league expanded the playoffs to 16 teams during the 1983-84 season, and the fourth to do so in a best-of-seven matchup. Butler scored 98 combined points in those two games. 8 seed reaching the NBA Finals? Hakeem got the better of Shaq in the series, powering the Rockets to a sweep and a historic repeat. 1 seed in the NBA playoffs. 12 seeds were able to advance to the next round in 2002, 2009, 2013, 2014, and 2019. It may not mean as much as winning a championship, but it's a worthy legacy for a player who's done short of it in the postseason. The Knicks flew all the way to the NBA Finals. By Game 6, Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry, Max Strus, P.J. That was the last game the Bucks won. 1 seeds. Our site launched in early 2019, so we are new to the game, but we want to . CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc. site: media | arena: nba | pageType: stories | Photos used are the property of Bleacher Nation, are used under a license with Getty Images, are used with permission, are fair use, or are believed to be in the public domain. The N.Y. Giants were the No. 5 vs 12 Seed History in the NCAA Tournament 8 seeds have fared all time against No. 8 seed to win a series, and the Nuggets did so in the most dramatic fashion possible. Since the playoff field expanded to 16 teams in 1984, only one no. 5 seed has never won the NBA Finals, and only one No. Not even Kawhi Leonard ever matched that feat. SHOW COMMENTS! 1 seed, the Heat were plus-145 underdogs entering that series. In the Conference Finals, the team took on the top-seeded Spurs but won in six games. 12 seeds have reached the Sweet 16 in the mens basketball tournament and one team has advanced to the Elite 8. Apr 23, 2021, 09:13 AM EDT. #3 New York 1968 #2 Boston def. No. No. Only eight No. Sam hails from Grandville, Michigan. 2 seed. 7 seed Lakers and No. The Nets would be making history by hoisting the 2022 Larry OBrien Trophy. In 1993, the New York Knicks were the first and only 7 seed to make it to the NBA Finals. The No. The Timberwolves now enter the NBA playoffs as a No. The Heat would claim the title with 4-1 series win over Oklahoma City. 5 seed has reached the NBA Finals: the 2020 Heat, led by Butler. Additionally, this team managed to sweep the inexperienced Shaq -led Orlando . 8 seed to advance to the Finals, where they fell to the San Antonio Spurs in five games. But is there a historical precedent for a seven seed to win it all? They did so in 2020 as well, making Butler responsible for half of Milwaukee's postseason defeats under Mike Budenholzer. NBA Finals where no Number 1 seed made it 1951 #2 Rochester def. 1). It took a decade for the first No. 27 things that have never happened during March Madness The Golden State Warriors took them down in six games before losing to the Utah Jazz in the following round of the 2007 NBA playoffs. 12 seed has gone in the tournament is the Elite Eight. NBA Playoffs: How Many Times Has a No. 8 Seed Upset a No. 1 Seed? 1 Miami in Round 1, Allan Houston hit a go-ahead shot with under one second remaining to push the Knicks into the conference semifinals. The Phoenix Suns have lost three straight games to slip behind the Clippers and into No. It begs the question: Has a No. However, they went on to lose in the next round to the Utah Jazz, although they forced a game 7. It was the New York Knicks who became the lowest seed ever to reach the NBA finals and it was during the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season. However, the team lost the Finals 4-1 to the San Antonio Spurs, where Tim Duncan won his first ring. Miami rallied from a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter to shock the Bucks. 4, But not only have No. A No. Playoff seeding has always mattered in the NBA or in any sport, but the new play-in tournament rules have made seeding more important than ever. 5, just one game down the loss column ahead of the No. 5 seed has reached the NBA Finals: the 2020 Heat, led by Butler. The same thing happened in 2007, 2000, and 1988. 1 Miami in Round 1 and No. Yet, as one can imagine that New York team lives on to this day in the hearts of not just Knicks fans, but basketball fans on the whole. In fact, over that span, just four No. Indiana also won its last eight games to secure the No. LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers still have a chance. 8 seed. Kentucky (2014) and North Carolina (2022) reached the final as No. Has a No. Since Butler became a full-time starter in 2014, lower seeds have a series record of 33-102. 8 seed in the first round. It doesnt seem like a great percentage, but its remarkably high considering the seed. The SuperSonics magical run came to an end in the Western Conference Finals, as they were swept by Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the eventual-champion Los Angeles Lakers. With that said, only one seed lower than four has ever won. That introduced the First Four play-in games. That's a win rate of 46%. In fact, only one No. How Many #1 Seeds Have Won Championships In The Past? Incidentally, by doing so the Knicks also became the only No. He came one shot away from reaching the NBA Finals last season on a team whose injury report featured five key players going into Game 7 against the Boston Celtics. It has happened five times in history. In the five-game victory over the Bucks, Butler averaged 37.6 points, six rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.8 steals while shooting 64.1% inside the arc and 44.4% from deep. 2 seeds have won the championship 16 times and the top seeds having done it a whopping 50 times. When would Bronny James be eligible to play in the NBA? . 1? 12 seed has never reached the title game or the Final Four. It all had to start somewhere. The second-round triumph was capped by a one-point road win in Game 7, where Mario Elie drilled a tie-breaking 3-pointer in the final 10 seconds that became known as the Kiss of Death.. But the 76ers run would be brief, losing in the next round to the Boston Celtics, who lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to the eventual NBA Champion that season, the Miami Heat. Ahead of this years playoffs, there was the feeling that the Brooklyn Nets could be contenders and so it would have been impressive to see the No. The Warriors battled injuries during 2018, which led to falling behind the Rockets but defeated the same Rockets in the Conference Finals to take the title. Best Finishes by seed in NBA playoffs More: Tramel's ScissorTales: Hey, OKC Thunder, welcome to the NBA's version of March Madness. Among the four major professional sports in the United States, the only league that reseeds in the playoffs is the NFL. 2023/04/27 2:06 pm by stuart Views: 39. The lowest seed to reach the final in NCAA Tournament history is number eight. In the Division Finals, the Celtics took down the Knicks in six games. The Dikembe Mutombo-led Nuggets upset the Seattle SuperSonics in 1994. So, what kind of success have lower-seeded teams had in the playoffs? New York ran into the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals and fell in five games, as Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan combined for their first of five championships over a 15-year stretch. 6 seeded 1995, Only five No. Then, the team took on a young star in Hakeem Olajuwon, but the team beat the Rockets in six games.