The greatest upsets in NBA playoff history

The Mavs won 67 games in 2007, while the Warriors barely got into the playoffs with their 42-40 record. Miraculously, Golden State stopped Dallas from even escaping the first round, winning the series in six games thanks to the efforts of Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson. The "We Believe" Warriors were the first-ever Western Conference 8-seed to beat the top-ranked team.

The Spurs were the best team in the league, at least in terms of their 61-21 regular-season record. The Grizzlies, meanwhile, were new to the playoffs, making just their third appearance in franchise history that postseason. But thanks to the big duo of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, as well as the stingy defense of Tony Allen, the "Grit and Grind" Grizzlies managed to beat San Antonio 4-2 in the series.

Seattle was a major title contender in 1994 thanks to the fearsome duo of Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp. It seemed they, the No. 1 seed, were going to make light work of the 8-seed Nuggets, especially after winning the first two games of the series. Mutombo's team, however, won the remaining games and advanced to the second round, becoming the first 8-seed to beat a No. 1 seed.

Giannis Antetokounmpo's Bucks were championship favorites, unlike the Heat, who had to go through the Play-In Tournament to earn a playoff spot. Jimmy Butler, though, went off. He averaged 37 points a night over the five-game series, including a 56-point explosion in the fourth game. His postseason heroics continued as he carried the team all the way to the Finals.

The series between the top and bottom seeds in the East was tied up with just the deciding game to go. But, with under a second left, Allan Houston hit a clutch jump shot that put his team up by one, securing the win. The 8-seed Knicks made it as far as the Finals that year, ending their Cinderella run with a 1-4 series loss to the Spurs.

It's tough to call a 1-seed beating another 1-seed an upset, but this was the year that the Warriors had a record-breaking 73-9 season and generally looked unstoppable. They even went up 3-1 against LeBron and Kyrie's Cavaliers in the ultimate series. Cleveland made history of their own, though, by becoming the first team in league history to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the Finals.

The Clippers famously went up 3-1 in this series, on the backs of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The Nuggets didn't give up, though, and went on to win the next three games, thanks to strong showings from Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray. Game 7 was an absolute collapse for LA, as they scored just 33 total points in the second half.

Derrick Rose, who would be named the regular-season MVP that year, was ready to lead Chicago to the promised land. Tragically, luck didn't go their way, as Rose tore his ACL in the first game. Still, the Bulls weren't going to just hand the series to Philly, but Jrue Holiday and Andre Iguodala and company managed to win in six.

Karl Malone and Gary Payton teamed up with Shaq and Kobe to chase the championship that had eluded them during their storied careers. The team had a successful regular season and a playoff run that landed them in the Finals. There, though, they came across a defensive-minded Pistons team that obliterated LA, winning in five games.

The Rockets had a mediocre 1981 season, finishing with a 40-42 record. In the first round, they found themselves facing the Lakers, who weren't the top seed but were the defending champions. Back then, though, first-round series were only best of 3, and in that unpredictable environment, the Rockets managed to win, even making it all the way to the Finals.

The Kings finished the regular season with a losing record, going 40-42, while the Suns had one of the league's best records with 57 wins. With the second-round series tied at 3 games apiece, a balanced scoring attack from Scott Wedman (19 points), Ernie Grunfeld (23), Reggie King (23), and Sam Lacey (18) led Kansas City to win the deciding game. They ended up facing the Rockets, another sub-.500 team, in the conference finals.

With a record barely above .500, the Suns weren't exactly championship favorites. But they managed to make it to the conference finals, where they faced the top-seeded Warriors. They took Golden State all the way to a seventh game, too. It was tightly contested, but an 18-point, 20-rebound game from Rookie Of The Year Alvan Adams helped secure a trip to the Finals.

The Sixers had a potent three-man attack led by Julius Erving, George McGinnis, and Doug Collins and were Finals favorites. The Bill Walton-led Blazers, though, actually had a comparable regular season record, but fell behind 0-2 in the series. Walton powered his team to win the next four games straight, though, and took home Finals MVP.

Stockton and Malone were one of the most dangerous duos in the NBA, and as the No. 2 seed, they were expected to make a deep playoff run. Those plans were thwarted, though, when they ran into the high-tempo "Run TMC" Warriors. First-round series were just three games back then, and Golden State won all of them thanks to big scoring production from Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond.

The Warriors surprised again just two postseasons later. This time, the 55-win Spurs were their victim. Mullin and Richmond were still steering the ship, as was second-year All-Star Tim Hardaway; Those three players each averaged at least 22 points a game that season. Their scoring continued as they dismantled the 2-seeded Spurs in four games.

The 62-win Spurs owned the league's best record and were led by MVP David Robinson. San Antonio couldn't handle Hakeem Olajuwon and the 6-seed Rockets, though. In the six-game series, he averaged 35 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks per night. They went on to sweep the Magic in the Finals.

It's wild to think that the dominant 1960s Celtics might have been considered underdogs, but Russell, who was player-coach this season, was in his final season, and it seemed like the dynasty was reaching its end. Meanwhile, the Lakers had Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, and Elgin Baylor. Boston managed to come out ahead, though, and secure the title despite an incredible series from Jerry West (so great that he won the Finals MVP trophy despite being on the losing team).

Led by Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld, the Bullets racked up 60 wins, tied for the best in the NBA that year. In the Finals, though, they got the West's winningest team in the Warriors. Over the course of just four games, Rick Barry hung 30 points a night in a surprising sweep.

Seattle was a sub-.500 team while Dallas had the second-best record in the conference. That was no matter for Seattle, as the trio of Xavier McDaniel, Dale Ellis, and Tom Chambers let the way to a four-game series win. They even continued their run to the Western Conference Finals.

The West was tight in the 2010 postseason: The Spurs were the No. 7 seed despite having just seven fewer wins than the top-seeded Lakers. They found themselves facing Dirk's Mavericks in the first round, not the early playoff match-up a team hopes for. But Tim Duncan, Manu Ginóbili, and Tony Parker powered San Antonio to a six-game win in one of their final postseason runs together.