What NBA teams overcome a 3 1 deficit?
The 2015-16 Cleveland Cavaliers are the only team to come back after being down 3-1 in the NBA Finals and win Game 7.
The 2015-16 Cleveland Cavaliers are the only team to come back after being down 3-1 in the NBA Finals and win Game 7.
While no team has ever won four straight playoff games after losing the first three, teams have managed to win after falling into a 3-1 series deficit 13 times in NBA history.
How many times has an NBA team come back from a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs? The unfortunate answer is zero times. While no teams have come back to win after being down 3-0, there are three teams that have rallied to tie up a series 3-3 and went on to lose Game 7.
Golden State is 1-14 all time in series after trailing 3-1. Their lone comeback was in the 2016 Western Conference finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. They squandered their own 3-1 advantage in the next round against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
Returning from a 3-1 deficit is a remarkable achievement in the high-stakes world of NBA playoffs. With 277 cases of teams falling into a 3-1 series hole in NBA history, only 13 of them have managed to rally back and win the series, accounting for a mere 4.7% success rate.
In the history of the NBA, only 13 teams have overcome a 3-1 playoff series deficit and gone on to win Game 7. It's an impressive achievement when one considers that each series winner had to win three consecutive elimination games. To complete a 3-1 comeback, teams must win at least one game on the road.
While no team in NBA history has ever won a series after trailing 3-0, a number of them have bounced back from a 3-1 deficit to advance to the next round — and in one case, win the whole thing. The most recent team to overcome such a deficit is the Nuggets, who did it not once but twice in the 2020 NBA Playoffs.
Yes, the Lakers have blown a 3-1 lead in the NBA Playoffs before. Back in 2006, Kobe Bryant and the Lake Show took a 3-1 series lead over the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 2006 NBA Playoffs.
NBA history has seen 11 teams turn a 3-0 lead into a 4-2 series loss. Those teams, in chronological order, are: The 2022 Toronto Raptors, who lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round. The 2015 Milwaukee Bucks, who lost to the Chicago Bulls in the first round.
How many times did Jordan get swept?
How many times has Michael Jordan been swept in the NBA Playoffs? Jordan was swept out of the playoffs twice in his career, but it comes with a caveat. Both sweeps came in the first round in best-of-5s.
Has an NBA team ever went 82-0? No, of course not. The odds of an NBA team going unbeaten in 82 games would be astronomical. The best regular-season record of all time by an NBA team was by the 2016 Golden State Warriors, who went 73–9.
Several NBA teams have come close to sweeping the playoffs, but no team has stayed undefeated throughout the entire league postseason series.
NBA teams have overcome 3–1 deficits 13 times, only one of which occurred in the NBA Finals. The NBA is the only major North American sport with seven-game playoff series where no team has overcome a 3–0 deficit. The Celtics won two games on the road during the comeback, and also won the NBA Finals.
| TEAM | SEASON | STL |
|---|---|---|
| Golden State Warriors | 2008-09 | 638 |
| Golden State Warriors | 1996-97 | 611 |
| Golden State Warriors | 1985-86 | 751 |
| Golden State Warriors | 1982-83 |
The Cavaliers' lone championship occurred in 2016, when they rallied from a 3-1 series deficit and won Game 7 on the road. The teams will complete the two-game season series Saturday night in San Francisco. "I enjoy coming back here," said Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who also played for Cleveland.
Someone has to win four times. That's why you play it out." Golden State is 1-14 all time in series after trailing 3-1. Their lone comeback was in the 2016 Western Conference finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Kobe Bryant spent his entire 20-year NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers after being traded by the Charlotte Hornets in 1996 only a month after the Hornets had drafted him. How many championships did Kobe Bryant win? Kobe Bryant won five NBA championships (2000–02 and 2009–10).
NBA. The greatest comeback in National Basketball Association play occurred on November 27, 1996, when the Utah Jazz, down by 36 points to the Denver Nuggets late in the second quarter (it was 70–36 at the half and 70–34 just before), overcame this deficit to win 107–103.
| Best-of-7 series | Reverse sweeps | |
|---|---|---|
| NHL hockey | 755 | 4 |
| NBA basketball | 601 | 0 |
| MLB baseball | 184 | 1 |
Has any NBA team come back from 2 0?
Ten teams have overcome a 2–0 deficit in a best-of-five series, two of which occurred in the League Championship Series.
The Celtics and Lakers are tied with the most NBA titles at 17. Here's a list of teams that have won at least three NBA championships: Los Angeles Lakers (17 titles) Boston Celtics (17)
1968 Boston Celtics
The Celtics won the first game of the series but saw themselves down by 3-1 after dropping the next three games. But the team still managed to mount the first-ever 3-1 series comeback in NBA history by winning the next three games and advancing to the NBA Finals.
It was that way from the 1950s until 1981 when the rule was abolished. The “3-to-make-2” rule was only in the NBA, but is an example of the way basketball used to be with certain rules.
As of 2020, Robert Horry, John Salley, LeBron James and Danny Green are the only players to have won championships with three different teams. Horry won seven championships: two with the Houston Rockets, three with the Los Angeles Lakers and another two with San Antonio Spurs.
