Has Anyone Come Back From 3-0 in the NBA?
The NBA Finals are upon us and the question on everyone’s mind is whether the Golden State Warriors can come back from a 3-0 deficit against the Cleveland Cavaliers. It’s a tall order, but it’s not impossible. Let’s take a look at some of the teams that have come back from 3-0 deficits in the NBA.
3-0 Deficits in the NBA
In the NBA, a team trailing by three games in a best-of-seven series is effectively toast. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series, in the NBA or any other major North American sport.
teams that have come back from a 3-0 deficit
In the history of the NBA, there have been 11 teams that have come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven series. It has only happened once in the NBA Finals.
The most recent team to do it was the Los Angeles Clippers, who came back to beat the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals in 2015.
The other teams to do it are:
-Boston Celtics (1969 Eastern Division Semifinals)
-Portland Trail Blazers (1977 Western Conference Semifinals)
-Philadelphia 76ers (1981 Eastern Conference Finals)
-Seattle SuperSonics (1996 Western Conference Semifinals)
-Utah Jazz (1998 Western Conference Finals)
-New Jersey Nets (2002 Eastern Conference Finals)
-Detroit Pistons (2003 Eastern Conference Finals)
-Phoenix Suns (2006 Western Conference First Round)
-San Antonio Spurs (2008 Western Conference First Round)
Memphis Grizzlies (2011 Western Conference First Round)
teams that have not come back from a 3-0 deficit
There have only been 12 teams in NBA history to come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series. This feat has only been accomplished 12 times in NBA history, and no team has done it since the Los Angeles Lakers did it against the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the 2000 NBA Playoffs.
The most recent team to come back from a 3-0 deficit was the Houston Rockets, who did it against the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2015 Western Conference Semifinals. The Rockets became just the 12th team in NBA history to win a series after being down 3-0.
teams that have not come back from a 3-0 deficit:
-Boston Celtics
-Dallas Mavericks
-Denver Nuggets
-Golden State Warriors
-Houston Rockets
-Indiana Pacers
-Los Angeles Clippers
-Los Angeles Lakers
-Miami Heat
-Milwaukee Bucks
-New Orleans Pelicans
-Oklahoma City Thunder
The Comeback
It has been done before in the NBA, a team coming back from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven series. It first happened in the 2006 Western Conference Semifinals when the Dallas Mavericks came back to defeat the Houston Rockets. Since then, it has happened two more times. In the 2016 NBA Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers came back to defeat the Golden State Warriors. And most recently, in the 2020 NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers came back to defeat the Miami Heat.
what it takes to come back from a 3-0 deficit
When a team falls behind 3-0 in a best-of-seven NBA playoff series, it’s all over but the exits. No team has ever come back to win such a series. So what does it take to come back from a 3-0 deficit?
It takes a lot of talent, of course. But it also takes heart and determination. And it takes a little bit of luck.
The most important thing is to keep your head up and keep fighting. That’s what the teams that have come back from 3-0 deficits have done. They haven’t given up, even when their backs were against the wall.
So if you’re ever in a situation where you’re down 3-0, don’t despair. Take heart from the fact that it’s not over until it’s over. And who knows? With a little bit of luck, you just might be the first team to pull off the greatest comeback in NBA history.
the teams that have done it
From the Boston Globe in May of 2010: “It has happened only four times in NBA history, most recently by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2000 Western Conference Finals against Portland. It is, of course, the 3-0 series comeback. The Lakers went on to win that series in seven games en route to an eventual NBA title.
The other teams to do it:
-The 1951 Rochester Royals, who came back to beat the New York Knickerbockers in the Eastern Division Finals.
-The 1969 Los Angeles Lakers, who rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the San Francisco Warriors in the Western Division Semifinals.
-The 1970 Indiana Pacers, who came back from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Kentucky Colonels in the Eastern Division Semifinals.”
The Future
It has been a while since an NBA team has come back from a 3-0 deficit, but it is not impossible. The last team to do it was the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2000 NBA Finals.
the teams that have a chance to come back from a 3-0 deficit
In the history of the NBA, only eight teams have come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series.
It has only happened twice in the last 20 years, and neither team was able to win the NBA championship.
The most recent team to do it was the Los Angeles Clippers in 2015, who came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs.
The other team was the Boston Celtics in 2003, who came back from a 3-2 deficit to beat the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Celtics went on to lose the NBA Finals in six games to the San Antonio Spurs.
Of the eight teams that have come back from a 3-0 deficit, only three have gone on to win the NBA championship.
Those teams are the 1969 Boston Celtics, 1977 Portland Trail Blazers and 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers.
the teams that do not have a chance to come back from a 3-0 deficit
In the NBA, no team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series. In fact, only twice has a team even forced a Game 7 after being down 3-0. The last time it happened was in 2006, when the Phoenix Suns came back to beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals.
So far this postseason, four teams have gone down 3-0 in best-of-seven series: the Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder. All four of those teams have now been eliminated.
