The 20 most surprising teams in NBA history

In the lockout-shortened 1999 season, the Knicks just barely squeaked into the playoffs with the No. 8 seed. Round by round, they kept upsetting teams, all the way to the Finals. There, they lost to the Spurs in five games, but regardless, the team defied expectations to an incredible degree.

The 67-win Mavericks were one of the NBA's best teams heading into the 2007 playoffs. They came against the Warriors in the first round, and surprisingly, they lost the series in six games. The "We Believe" Warriors were led by a balanced scoring attack spearheaded by Baron Davis and Monta Ellis, and were one of the most exciting and memorable underdogs of the era.

It might sound strange to call the Rockets underdogs the season after winning the championship in 1994, but they were middling in 1995, going 47-35. Entering the playoffs as a No. 6 seed, the team persevered round after round, eventually reaching the Finals and sweeping the Magic. Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler were one of the best duos of the '90s, and they showed their grit this season.

The Pistons were a tough defensive team, but they weren't particularly known for their offense; Their leading scorer, Richard Hamilton, averaged 17.6 points per game in the '04 season. But they made it all the way to the Finals, where they faced the Shaq/Kobe/Malone/Payton Lakers and took them down in five games.

Miami had to get into the postseason via the Play-In Tournament in 2023. Once in the playoffs, though, Jimmy Butler entered "Playoff Jimmy" mode and powered the Heat to the Finals, making them a rare No. 8 seed to reach the ultimate round. They lost to Denver in five games, but the run was incredible nonetheless.

The 2007 Celtics were terrible, winning 24 games. 2008 was a different story after the Celtics landed Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. With that big of a change, though, an adjustment period is expected. Instead, Boston went 66-16 and won a championship, completing one of the most radical single-season turnarounds in NBA history.

The 2002 Nets had a very similar story to those '08 Celtics. Awful in 2001, they acquired Jason Kidd for the 2002 season and made it to the Finals (where the Lakers swept them). Still, to go from one of the Eastern Conference's worst teams to its most successful was a major shock.

After trading Paul George for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis, the Pacers weren't expected to do much. Instead, Oladipo turned in an All-NBA season, and Sabonis became a valuable backup center. The team had the misfortune of facing LeBron's Cavaliers in the first round, but they nearly pulled off the upset, pushing the series to seven games.

The 2015 Hawks didn't have a real superstar, but six guys averaging between 10 and 17 points per game. This balanced approach worked: Four players made the All-Star team and Atlanta boasted a 60-22 record. Their team-focused strategy led them to the conference finals, where they faced LeBron's Cavaliers and were swept.

A 29-win team in 2004, the addition of Steve Nash for the 2005 season was a huge boost, lifting the team to a 62-20 record. Shawn Marion and Amar’e Stoudemire became unstoppable along with Nash as the team played with unprecedented pace. While they didn't make it to the Finals, this team's play style was a precursor to the modern game.

It's not usually a good sign when a team fires its coach midway through the season. Things turned around under Nate McMillan's leadership, though, and they upset the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs. Then they pushed Philly to seven games and won that series on the road. They even gave the Bucks a hard time in the conference finals, stretching the series to six games.

The Jazz lost their star, Gordon Hayward, to free agency, so the team was expected to falter in 2018. Instead, rookie Donovan Mitchell immediately stepped up and replaced the departing star's scoring output, while Rudy Gobert continued to anchor the defense. The team upset the Thunder in the first round before going down to the Rockets in the second.

The Blazers appeared to be at the start of a rebuild, or at least a new era, with the loss of LaMarcus Aldridge to the Spurs. Instead, Damian Lillard shouldered more of the scoring load while CJ McCollum emerged as a terrific No. 2 option, winning the Most Improved Player award. The team definitely overachieved, but not enough to beat the Warriors in the second round.

It was a gamble for the Raptors to bring Kawhi Leonard up to Canada for possibly just one season (which ended up being the case). It worked out tremendously, though. Kawhi hit one of the most iconic shots in NBA history with his series-winning buzzer-beater against Philadelphia before defeating the Warriors in the Finals.

Expectations for the Bulls in the season after Michael Jordan's first retirement were understandably lower than they had been. Instead, Scottie Pippen took charge, and the team finished with a nearly identical regular-season record. They were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs, but it showed that Pippen was capable of leading a team on his own.

A few games into the 2009 season, the Nuggets decided to let go of Allen Iverson and bring in Chauncey Billups. Paired with Carmelo Anthony, the result was a team that reached the conference finals for the first time in years. They lost to the Lakers there, but the Nuggets were established as a real threat.

The 2015 Warriors were awesome, finishing with a 67-15 record and winning the championship. The 2016 Warriors were somehow even better, getting a historic 73 wins. The biggest surprise with this team, though, was blowing a 3-1 lead in the Finals to LeBron's Cavaliers.

In the 2019 season, both Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray made leaps, which changed everything for Denver. They were out of the playoffs the season before, but this time, they were the No. 2 seed in the West. This was the start of an All-Star run for Jokić, the road to eventually being a multi-time MVP.

The Hornets were a sub-.500 team in 2007. In 2008, Chris Paul emerged as an MVP-caliber player, leading the league in assists and steals per game. The result was a 56-26 record and a playoff run that saw them push the Spurs to a 7-game series.

Derrick Rose was one of the league's biggest surprises in 2011, winning the MVP award at just 22 years old. He powered the Bulls to a 62-20 record, the league's best, and a deep playoff run that saw them reach the conference finals. This likely would have been the start of a lengthy superstar run for Derrick Rose had his career not been derailed by injury shortly after.