Has an 8th Seed Ever Won the NBA Championship?

The NBA playoffs are in full swing and there are plenty of storylines to follow. One of the most intriguing is whether or not an 8th seed has ever won the NBA Championship.

The answer may surprise you. Keep reading to find out!

Introduction

In the NBA, the playoff seedings are often used to determine which teams will face off against each other in the first round. The higher-seeded team is usually seen as the favorite to win the series, while the lower-seeded team is often seen as the underdog. But does being seeded higher always mean that you’re more likely to win a championship?

In recent years, we’ve seen several lower-seeded teams make deep runs in the playoffs and even win championships. In 2012, the eighth-seeded team, the Golden State Warriors, made it all the way to the NBA Finals before losing to the sixth-seeded team, the Miami Heat. And in 2014, we saw the seventh-seeded team, the San Antonio Spurs, defeat the fifth-seeded team, the Miami Heat, in the NBA Finals.

So it’s clear that being seeded higher doesn’t guarantee anything in terms of winning a championship. But what about an eighth-seeded team? Has an 8th seed ever won an NBA championship?

The answer is no. In fact, no eighth-seeded team has ever even made it to the NBA Finals. The furthest an 8th seed has ever gone in the playoffs is the Conference Finals (formerly known as the Semifinals), which is one round before the Finals. The most recent 8th seed to make it to conference finals was

What are the NBA Playoffs?

The NBA Playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament annually held after the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) regular season to determine the league’s champion. The playoffs follows a playoff format. Thirty teams enter the playoffs each year: the top 22 teams in each conference (East and West), plus eight wild cards, based on regular-season record.

What is a Seed?

In basketball, the term “seed” refers to a team’s playoff seeding. The higher the seed, the better the team’s regular-season record. The NBA playoffs are a single-elimination tournament featuring 16 teams, eight from each conference.

In the NBA, there are three rounds of playoffs. The first round is between the eighth and first seeds from each conference (thus, there are four first-round series in total), the second round is between the conference semifinals (the winners of the first-round series), and the third round is between the conference finals (the winners of the second-round series). The NBA Finals is then between the champions of each conference.

The highest seed a team can have is a #1 seed. The lowest seed a team can have is an #8 seed.

What is the Difference Between a 1st and an 8th Seed?

In the NBA, the playoffs are a best-of-seven series. The team that wins four games advances to the next round while the team that loses four games is eliminated. The first round of the playoffs is between the two teams with the seventh-best record and the tenth-best record in each conference. These are called the seventh seed and the tenth seed, respectively. The second round is between the third seed and the sixth seed and the first seed and the second seed. The three remaining teams in each conference advance to the semifinals, which is also a best-of-seven series. The team that wins four games in the semifinals advances to their respective conference finals.

In order for an eighth seed to win an NBA championship, they would have to win a best-of-seven series against each higher seeded team. This has only happened twice in NBA history. In 1999, led by MVP Dirk Nowitzki, eighth-seeded Dallas Mavericks pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NBA history when they defeated top-seeded San Antonio Spurs in six games. In 2007, we saw it again when eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors accomplished the feat against top-seeded Dallas Mavericks.

Has an 8th Seed Ever Won the NBA Championship?

In the history of the NBA, only 8 teams seeded 8th or lower have ever won an NBA championship. Those teams are:

-2016 Cleveland Cavaliers (8th seed, won in 7 games)
-2011 Dallas Mavericks (8th seed, won in 6 games)
-2010 Los Angeles Lakers (8th seed, won in 7 games)
-2007 San Antonio Spurs (8th seed, won in 4 games)
-1999 New York Knicks (8th seed, won in 5 games)
-1995 Houston Rockets (6th seed, won in 6 games)
-1993 New York Knicks (8th seed, won in 7 games)
-1969 Boston Celtics (4th seed, won in 7 games)

Why is it So Hard for an 8th Seed to Win the NBA Championship?

There are several reasons why it’s so hard for an 8th seed to win the NBA Championship. One reason is that the 8th seed has to face the top seed in the first round of the playoffs, which is a very difficult task. The top seed usually has the best record in the league and is playing its best basketball of the season.

Another reason is that the 8th seed is often times a team that just barely made the playoffs. They may have been struggling down the stretch of the regular season and are just happy to be in the playoffs. They may not have the same level of motivation as a team that is fighting for a higher seed.

Lastly, the 8th seed often doesn’t have as much talent as the teams they are facing in the playoffs. The top seeds tend to have multiple All-Star caliber players, while the 8th seed may only have one or two. It’s hard to win a playoff series when you’re at a talent disadvantage.

Despite all of these factors, there have been some instances where an 8th seed has managed to win a playoff series. It’s very rare, but it does happen from time to time.

Conclusion

It is possible for an 8th seed to win the NBA Championship, but it is very unlikely. In the history of the NBA, only two 8th seeds have made it to the Finals: the Houston Rockets in 1995 and the Denver Nuggets in 2009. Neither team was able to win the Championship.