The Five Biggest Upsets in NBA Playoff History

These Upsets Will Always Be Remembered as the Best in NBA History.

Playoff Time

The NBA playoffs annually culminate the league’s 82-game regular season. It’s a much different product, with no friendship clubs as tends to be the norm during the season.

With serious defensive play that’s been in hibernation the past few months, points are usually (but not always) at a premium.  

What is making this 2025 version of the playoffs different is that the odds board is suggesting that only the Oklahoma City Thunder, defending-champion Boston Celtics, and Cleveland Cavaliers are poised to lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Every other playoff team began the postseason as a double-figure proposition in the wagering,

That’s not to suggest the entire regular season was without underdogs, and those same ‘dogs have bitten faves in the behind during any number of playoff series in the history of the league. In fact, an ‘8’ has beaten a ‘1’ on a half-dozen occasions,

Some of the more stunning postseason results include…

1-1994 West first round…those dearly departed Seattle Supersonics rolled (63-19) during the season, only to find trouble in the form of the 42-40 Denver Nuggets. Seattle lost, 3-2.

2-2007 West first round…It was the Dallas Mavericks and their 67-15 record stumbling in six games at the hands of the Golden State Warriors (42-40, same as the above Denver Nuggets).

3-1976 West finals…sort of role reversal, as those 59-23 Golden St Warriors could not get past the 42-40 (there’s that record again) Phoenix Suns.

4-1981 West first round…cue Ralph Sampson, whose late basket in the third and deciding min-series game propelled the less-than-mediocre (40-42) Houston Rockets past the 54-28 Los Angeles Lakers

Here’s a bit of a primer on the 2025 playoffs…

Who Is Favored to Win the NBA Finals?

The eight, best-of-seven opening-round series were well underway as of this writing. At the outset of the playoffs, it was a three-team ‘race’ to the title. The Oklahoma City Thunder are/ were approximately +165/+175 favorites to win the NBA Finals. Sitting second on the board are/were the defending-champion Boston Celtics (+185/+190), then the Cleveland Cavaliers (+550, or 11-2). Everyone else is double figures (at least) on the board.

Odds are/were fluid (in fact, they’ve changed during the first round of play). So it’s the job of the bettor to check NBA scores and find the best time to invest. 

How Many Teams Make the NBA Playoffs?

Sixteen, with eight each out of both the East and West. There was a play-in tournament in the NBA where Nos. 7 through 10 in the regular season competed to become the seventh and eighth seeds (each conference), filling out the entrants trying to make the NBA Finals.

What NBA Team Has Never Won the NBA Finals? 

This is a matter of semantics. Having finished the 2024-25 regular season with a league- and franchise-best record of 68-14, the aforementioned Oklahoma City Thunder began these playoffs as around +165/+175 favorites to win it all.

While it would be the team’s first title in Oklahoma, forefather Seattle SuperSonics won a championship in 1979. Those who bet on NBA games at BetUS note the Sonics left town after the 2007-08 season.

So, whether you would consider this a ‘first’ title depends on how you look at it.  

Among the other 2025 teams in the playoffs, there’s no denying that the Buffalo Braves/San Diego Clippers/Los Angeles Clippers franchise has never won it, nor the Indiana Pacers (three titles in the American Basketball Association, though) or the Minnesota Timberwolves.

As of this writing in the early portion of these playoffs, BetUS NBA odds had the Clippers at 20-1 (+2000), Timberwolves at 40-1 (+4000), and the Pacers at 60-1 (+6000).

Also in the playoffs and going after a first league title were the Orlando Magic (150-1, +15000) and Memphis Grizzlies (250-1, +250000).

Does BetUS Offer Constant Updates on NBA Betting Lines?

Indeed. There are individual game and series odds throughout the NBA playoff bracket. Additional props are available around individual games and the length of each series, and a board associated with the biggest individual postseason award, the MVP award, honoring Bill Russell.

Any Final Thoughts?

Anyone who pays even marginal attention to pro basketball is acutely aware of the NBA playoffs. There are spectacular games and exciting chances to make some money. Continuing to invoke the phrase ‘do your homework’ because it’s essential if you’re going to gain any advantage against the NBA playoff odds.