While the first round of the NBA playoffs doesn’t exactly resemble the first weekend of March Madness, we have seen our fair share of shockers over the years. Just last night, the Orlando Magic defeated the Detroit Pistons 112-101 and became the first 8-seed to score a wire-to-wire win over a top seed in a playoff opener. But that was just one game. They’ll need to win three more to join this list.
A big point of contention with this list is in regard to the playoff format and how it has changed over the years. From 1977 to 1983, only six teams made the playoffs from each conference, and division winners received byes in the first round. These first round games were best-of-three series. Starting in 1984, the field expanded to the current setup of eight teams in each conference. But the first round series were best-of-five. In 2003, the league switched to a best-of-seven format.
These are the Ten Most Shocking First Round Upsets in NBA Playoff History.
Houston Rockets (6 seed) over Utah Jazz (3 seed), 1995
Series result: Rockets in 5 (Best-of-five)
The Rockets had won it all the year prior, but their 1994-95 regular season was wholly forgettable. Houston went just 47-35 and settled for the 6 seed. As the 6th seed, Houston had to face the 3-seeded Utah Jazz, which included Karl Malone and John Stockton at the peak of their powers. The Jazz went an impressive 60-22 that season and seemed all but destined for a lengthy playoff run.
Utah actually held a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series by winning Game 3 at The Summit, 95-82. But Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, and Robert Horry never allowed the Rockets to quit. They won the final two games of the series, including Game 5 at Utah’s Delta Center, 95-91, and would go on to repeat as NBA Champions. Afterwards, Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich proudly shouted, “Don’t ever underestimate the heart of a champion!”
New Jersey Nets (6 seed) over Philadelphia 76ers (3 seed), 1984
Series result: Nets in 5 (Best-of-five)
The 1983 76ers had one of the most dominant runs in playoff history, going 12-1 en route to the title—one game shy of fulfilling Moses Malone’s “Fo’ Fo’ Fo’” prophecy.
A year later, however, Malone, Dr. J, Andrew Toney and Bobby Jones fell to the New Jersey Nets, of all teams. It was the Nets’ first ever NBA playoff series win. The Nets, who won just 45 games that season, were led by Darryl Dawkins, Michael Ray Richardson and Otis Birdsong. In a completely bizarre series, the road team won every game.
Philadelphia 76ers (8 seed) over Chicago Bulls (1 seed), 2012
Series result: 76ers in 6 (Best-of-seven)
The Bulls have seemingly been cursed since the Jordan-era dynasty days, and the franchise’s worst moment of this century occurred during Game 1 of this series against the 76ers. Late in the contest, with Chicago up 12, Derrick Rose drove to the United Center paint, jumped in the air and came down awkwardly on his left leg. It was later revealed that he had torn his ACL.
Rose had won the NBA MVP award the season prior, and Chicago was the 1 seed in the East for the second consecutive season. It was clear that the Bulls were blossoming into something special, but the Rose injury in Game 1 derailed the franchise.
The Sixers had the worst record of any team in the playoffs that year, owning a 35-31 mark (season shortened due to NBA lockout). Philly was led that year by Andre Iguodala, Elton Brand, and a young Jrue Holiday.
The Sixers won this series in 6, but the result has a sizable asterisk due to the Rose injury.
Seattle SuperSonics (7 seed) over Dallas Mavericks (2 seed), 1987
Series result: Sonics in 4 (Best-of-five)
The 1986-87 SuperSonics finished below .500 with a 39-43 record, barely making the playoffs as a 7 seed. The Mavs, meanwhile, coasted to a 55-27 record.
Dallas had a boatload of talent, with Mark Aguirre (25.7 ppt), Rolando Blackman (21.0 ppt), Sam Perkins (14.8 peg), and Derek Harper (16.0 peg) leading the way. Seattle was led by Dale Ellis (24.9 ppm), Tom Chambers (23.3 ppg), and Xavier McDaniel (23.0 ppg).
The Sonics were the first 7 seed to upset a 2 seed since the NBA Playoffs moved to a 16-team format.
New York Knicks (8 seed) over Miami Heat (1 seed), 1999
Series result: Knicks in 5 (Best-of-five)
While highly memorable, this one falls short of the other 1-8 upsets because it occurred during a lockout-shortened campaign. The NBA season did not start until Feb. 5, 1999 and the league crammed a 50-game regular season games into three months. It left the standings a jumbled mess as 1-seeded Miami had a record of 33-17 and the eighth-seeded Knicks had a record of 27-23.
The Knicks-Heat rivalry was at its peak during this era, with former Knicks head coach Pat Riley leading Miami. Miami featured Alonzo Mourning (20.1 ppg), Tim Hardaway (17.4 ppg), and Jamal Mashburn (14.8 ppg). New York was led by Latrell Sprewell (16.5 ppg), Allan Houston (16.3 ppg) and Larry Johnson (12.0 ppg). Houston won the series for the Knicks with a shot that hit the front of the rim and then banked off the backboard and in with 0.8 seconds left in Game 5. Again, this was before the NBA changed the format for the first round from best-of-five to best-of-seven.
Miami Heat (8 seed) over Milwaukee Bucks (1 seed), 2023
Series result: Heat in 5 (Best-of-seven)
Jimmy Butler embodied “Heat Culture” during the early portion of this decade, and never was it on better display than in the 2023 NBA Playoffs when the 8 seeded Heat upset the 1 seeded Bucks. Butler scored a career-high 56 points in Game 4 of the series, as Miami took a 3-1 lead in the quarterfinal series.
“Jimmy Buckets” and the Heat never let the Bucks up off the mat, as Butler then scored 42 points in Game 5 to close it out.
Milwaukee had an NBA-high 58 wins that season, while the Heat only managed to net 44 victories during the regular season. But they couldn’t overcome the loss of Giannis Antetokounmpo, who suffered a lower back contusion early in Game 1, which forced him to miss Games 2 and 3.
The Bucks were huge favorites heading into this series despite the Heat having made the Eastern Conference Finals the year prior. Milwaukee was a whopping -1200 favorite to win the series.
Houston Rockets (6 seed) over Los Angeles Lakers (3 seed), 1981
Series result: Rockets in 3
The Lakers, led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and a young Magic Johnson, won the NBA title in 1980 and 1982. Sandwiched in between was a stunner of a first round series against the Houston Rockets.
The Rockets were under .500 in the 1980-81 season and squeaked into the playoffs at 40-42. Only six teams made the playoffs in each conference during this time, and the first round of the playoffs was a best-of-three series.
Moses Malone scored 38 points in Game 1 at the Fabulous Forum in Inglewood, leading Houston to a 111-107 road win. The Lakers responded with a 111-106 Game 2 win at the Summit in Houston to stay alive.
It all came down to Game 3 at the Forum, and Malone once again led the way for the Rockets as he scored 23 points and pulled down 15 rebounds in an 89-86 Houston victory.
Memphis Grizzlies (8 seed) over San Antonio Spurs (1 seed), 2011
Series result: Grizzlies in 6 (Best-of-seven)
The Grit-and-Grind Grizzlies are one of the more loveable non-title teams in NBA history, and they stamped their legacy in this 2011 first round series against Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs.
The Spurs had already won four titles in the Duncan era, but the dynasty appeared to be slowing down at this juncture. It had been four years since their most recent NBA championship. In addition, Manu Ginobili was banged up heading into this postseason.
The Grizzlies, meanwhile, had youth and a take-no-prisoners attitude on their side. Memphis featured Zach Randolph (20.1 ppg), Mike Conley (13.7 ppg), Marc Gasol (11.7 ppg) and Tony Allen (8.9 ppg).
Memphis defeated the Spurs in 6 games, as Randolph scored a game-high 31 points in the deciding contest.
Denver Nuggets (8 seed) over Seattle SuperSonics (1 seed), 1994
Series results: Nuggets in 5 (Best-of-five)
The image of Dikembe Mutombo sprawled out on the Seattle Center Coliseum screaming in joy while holding the basketball in victory left an indelible mark on any NBA fan currently above the age of 40.
Mutombo’s Nuggets were the first 8 seed in NBA history to upset a 1 seed. It was a stunning outcome, considering most 1 vs. 8 matchups up until that point typically ended in sweeps or gentleman’s sweeps.
In terms of shock value, this should probably be No. 1 just because it was the first. On the other hand, the first round of the playoffs was just a best-of-five back then, so it was much easier to pull off an upset in hindsight.
Golden State Warriors (8 seed) over Dallas Mavericks (1 seed), 2007
Series result: Warriors in 6 (Best-of-seven)
The 2006-07 Dallas Mavericks posted the fourth-best record in the history of an NBA regular season at the time as they went 67-15. Dallas was led by league MVP Dirk Nowitzki with a supporting cast consisting of Josh Howard (18.9 ppg), Jason Terry (16.7 ppg), and Jerry Stackhouse (12.0 ppg).
The Warriors, meanwhile, were late-bloomers that season as they had a mediocre start to the campaign but closed the regular season on a 16-5 tear. They were led by Baron Davis (20.1 ppg), Al Harrington (17.0 ppg), Stephen Jackson (16.8 ppg), and Monta Ellis (16.5 ppg).
It was the first time the Warriors had made the postseason since 1994, and Oracle Arena was a complete mad-house for Games 3, 4 and 6 (all Warriors wins).
The Don Nelson-coached “We Believe” Warriors completely shut down Nowitzki in Game 6, holding him to just 8 points on 2-of-13 shooting, giving Nelson a measure of revenge against his former team.
Not only did this Warriors team pull off the first best-of-seven Round 1 upset by an 8 seed in NBA history, it did so in just 6 games.
