National Basketball Association Playoffs - Records and Statistics

Records and Statistics

• Only five 8th seeded teams have managed to win a series versus the number 1 seeded team: The Denver Nuggets eliminated the Seattle SuperSonics 3–2 in 1994. The New York Knicks eliminated the Miami Heat 3–2 in 1999. The Golden State Warriors defeated the Dallas Mavericks 4–2 in the 2007 Western Conference First Round (becoming the first 8 seed to beat a 1 seed in the best of 7 format). In 2011, the Memphis Grizzlies beat the San Antonio Spurs, 4–2 and in 2012, the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Chicago Bulls 4–2.
• The 1999 Knicks are the only 8th seeded team ever to reach the NBA Finals.
• The 1958–59 Minneapolis Lakers and the 1980–81 Houston Rockets are the only team with a losing record (33–39 and 40–42, respectively) to make it to the NBA Finals. The other 1981 Western Conference Finalist, the Kansas City Kings, also had a 40–42 record
• The 1994–95 Houston Rockets, a sixth seed with a record of 47–35, were the lowest seeded team to win the NBA Finals. In the NBA Finals, the Rockets swept the Orlando Magic (57–25) in four games. In doing so, the Rockets defeated four teams that had won 50 or more games during the regular season (Utah Jazz at 60–22, Phoenix Suns at 59–23, San Antonio Spurs at 62–20 and Orlando at 57–25), which had never been done before. They are also the only team to have won an NBA title without having home-court advantage in any round.
• The San Antonio Spurs own the longest NBA Playoff winning streak for a single postseason with 12 straight wins in the 1999 Playoffs and a 15–2 finish overall. The Los Angeles Lakers own the most dominant post-season appearance with a 16-1 record in the 2001 Playoffs; they also have the second-longest playoff-game win streak with 11 in that season.
• Of all the teams with multiple NBA Finals appearances, the Chicago Bulls and the San Antonio Spurs are the only teams to have never lost in the Finals, winning 6 and 4, respectively.
• The Boston Celtics possess the most overall NBA Finals series wins with an overall record of 17–4. The Los Angeles/Minneapolis Lakers have played in the most NBA Finals series (31) with an overall record of 16–15.
• The longest playoff appearance streak currently belongs to the San Antonio Spurs with 15 consecutive appearances since 1996-97. The Dallas Mavericks managed 11 consecutive playoff appearances, before failing to qualify during the 2012-2013 season. The longest ever streak of playoffs appearances in a row belongs to the Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers, who made the playoffs 22 straight years from the 1949–50 season to the 1970–71 season, while the longest playoff appearance streak in one city belonged to the Portland Trail Blazers, who made it for 21 straight years, from the 1982–83 to the 2002–03 seasons.