Despite respective injuries to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Tyler Herro, it was the Heat who overcame the adversity with Jimmy Butler leading the way, including dropping 56 points in Game 4 at home. He then had 42 in the overtime Game 5 win in Milwaukee to make history.
Now the Heat's series win has the basketball spectrum wondering: How many times has a No. 8 seed eliminated a No. 1?
Prior to the Heat's win in 2023, four No. 8 seeds had advanced past No. 1 seeds in Round 1 of the playoffs, beginning with the No. 8 Nuggets’ victory over the No. 1 SuperSonics during the 1994 season.
The No. 8 Knicks also threw an unexpected competition in the works when they defeated the No. 1 Heat in the 1999 playoffs.
The trend continued with the No. 8 Warriors’ win over the No. 1 Mavericks in 2007 and the No. 8 Grizzlies’ win over the No. 1 Spurs in 2011.
During the 1997-98 season, the Knicks also had an exciting run, but this time, they did not just defeat a No. 1 seed in Round 1. The Knicks flew all the way to the NBA Finals. After defeating No. 1 Miami in Round 1 and No. 4 Atlanta in Round 2, the Knicks moved on to the conference finals, where they defeated the No. 2 Pacers and went on to the Finals against the No. 3 Spurs. Though they lost in five games, this made the Knicks the first No. 8 seed to make the NBA Finals in history.
Miami in 2023 will now play the No. 5-seeded Knicks in the second round to attempt to top that historic achievement.
But not only have No. 8 seeds upset No. 1 seeds. Thus far, five No. 7 seeds have made their mark by upsetting No. 2 seeds as well. 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.
Butler scored 42 points and the Heat staged a second straight stunning fourth-quarter rally before winning 128-126 in overtime on Wednesday night in Game 5 to eliminate the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks.
Six No.8 seeds have taken down a No.1 seed in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The Denver Nuggets became the first to do so when they faced a Seattle SuperSonics team that finished 21 games up in the 1993-94 regular season standings.
Since the NBA expanded to 16 playoff teams in the 1983-84 season, just six of 80 teams (7.5%) have ever won a first-round series as a No. 8 seed against a No. 1 seed. The most recent instance came last year, when the Heat upset the Milwaukee Bucks before making a run to the NBA Finals.
Whether it ends in lifting the Larry O'Brien Trophy, the Miami Heat have penned themselves in the history books. Prior to their run to the NBA Finals in 2023, only one No.8 seed before them had reached the ultimate stage – and that happened in 1998-99.
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.
Last time 1-vs-8 upset was during 2012 NBA playoffs
In 2012, the Philadelphia 76ers took down the top-seeded Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference in six games after Derrick Rose was injured in Game 3 of the series.
In 1999, the New York Knicks defeated the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. This victory made them the first and only 8-seed team to advance to the NBA Finals.
Since the playoffs expanded to 16 teams in 1984, no seven seed has ever won the NBA championship. In fact, over that span, just four No. 7 seeds have made it past the first round (h/t The Ringer).
The last time both No.1 seeds lost in the divisional round was in 2010. The Packers were on the winning side that time as they knocked off the Falcons 48-21 and the Jets beat the Patriots 28-21 one day later to complete the sweep. Green Bay wound up advancing to and winning the Super Bowl that year.
The 1994-95 Houston Rockets stand as the lowest-seeded team to ever win the NBA Finals. As the reigning NBA champions, Houston entered the 1995 postseason as a No. 6 seed following a 47-35 regular season.
8 seeds have eliminated No. 1 seeds since the playoffs expanded to their current 16-team size in 1984? The answer is five, and that includes the following teams.
Only two of those teams won the title: The 1994-95 Rockets and the 1968-69 Celtics. If you're 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. 6 seed out of the Western Conference.
Princeton became the 11th No.15 seed to defeat a No.2 seed when it shocked Arizona, 59-55, in the first round of the 2023 NCAA tournament. It marked the third year in a row a 15 downed a 2, as Saint Peter's took down Kentucky in 2022 and Oral Roberts upset Ohio State in 2021.
Top seeds own a 154-2 all-time record against 16 seeds. FDU vs. Purdue in 2023 was only the second time the upset has happened. That means 16 seeds have a 1.28 winning percentage against 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament.
Purdue is back in March Madness with a No. 1 seed after last year's shocking loss to 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson. Only one team has faced that challenge: Virginia, which followed its 2018 loss to UMBC by winning a title.
The No.1 seed has lost in the first round of March Madness twice before. In 2018, the Virginia Cavaliers were beaten 74-54 by the No. 16 seed UMBC Retrievers, and last season, the Purdue Boilermakers slumped to a 63-58 loss to the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights.
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