Greatest NBA Playoff Upsets

Pick a storyline, this series had it all. Golden State becoming the first No. 8 seed to beat a No. 1 in a seven-game series. Coach Don Nelson getting revenge on his former team and bitter enemy, Mavs owner Mark Cuban. The Warriors winning their first playoff series in 16 seasons. Baron Davis, on a gimpy hamstring, pulling a Willis Reed to score 20 points in the Game 6 clincher.

Though they barely finished over .500 (42-40), the Nuggets, fueled by Dikembe Mutombo, defeated top-seeded Seattle in overtime of Game 5 to win the series. It was the first time in history that an eighth seed had defeated a No. 1. Seattle, led by Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, was plagued by Mutombo, whose 31 blocks set a record for a five-game series.

Golden State (48-34 in the regular season) swept Wes Unseld- and Elvin-Hayes-led Washington (60-22) in four tight games -- two one-point victories, a six-point win and an eight-point triumph. Rick Barry was named Finals MVP.

This matchup, which came after a 50-game, lockout-shortened regular season, will forever be remembered as one of only three series in which a No. 8 defeated a No. 1. The Knicks (27-23) won two games in Miami (33-17), capped by a memorable Game 5 in which Allan Houston put up a runner in the lane that bounced off the backboard and the rim before falling in with 0.8 seconds left to give the Knicks a 78-77 win.

Though this first-round series was only a best-of-three affair, nobody gave the Rockets much of a chance to defeat the defending champion Lakers, who finished the season with 14 more wins than Houston (40-42). But Moses Malone (pictured), Calvin Murphy and Rudy Tomjanovich were able to contain Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and second-year star Magic Johnson as the Rockets won the deciding Game 3 by 89-86. Houston continued its surprise run all the way to the NBA Finals before losing to Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics.

The aging Celtics, with player-coach Bill Russell and fellow 35-year-old Sam Jones, slumped (by their standards) to a 48-24 record and fourth-place finish in the Eastern Division during the regular season. But after getting past the Philadelphia 76ers (55-27) and New York Knicks (54-28) in the East bracket to reach their 11th Finals in 13 seasons, the Celtics won a seven-game series with a Lakers team (55-27) comprised of Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain, who was in his first year with Los Angeles. Russell, the NBA's greatest winner, retired as a player after winning his 11th title.

New Jersey not only won a playoff game for the first time in its seven-year NBA history but also eliminated defending champion Philadelphia, which had dominated the 1983 playoffs behind a similar cast of characters (Moses Malone [pictured], Julius Erving, Andrew Toney, Maurice Cheeks and Bobby Jones). The road team won all five games in the series, The Nets' run, fueled by Darryl Dawkins, Buck Williams, Otis Byrdsong, Albert King and Micheal Ray Richardson, ended a round later against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The fourth-seeded Kings, 40-42 during the regular season and dealing with injuries to Otis Birdsong (left) and others in the playoffs, were not expected to be much of a match for Truck Robinson, Dennis Johnson and the rest of the top-seeded Suns, who posted the best regular season in franchise history (57-25). But the Kings raced to a 3-1 lead, lost two straight and then pulled out a 95-88 victory in Game 7 to advance to the conference finals, where they were ousted by Houston in five games.

The pre-Charles Barkley Suns (54-28), featuring Tom Chambers (left) and Kevin Johnson, were decided underdogs against MVP Magic Johnson and the top-seeded, 63-win Lakers. But after splitting the first two games, the Suns took three straight to win the series. The Suns advanced to the conference finals, where they were promptly dismissed by Portland.

Before Garfield Heard's miraculous rainbow shot at the buzzer forced triple overtime against the Celtics in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, the Suns (42-40 during the regular season) had to match up against defending champion Golden State (59-23). After a hard-fought six games, the Suns defeated the Warriors 94-86 in Game 7 in San Francisco. Paul Westphal and Alvan Adams led the way for the Suns, marking the second-greatest upset (based on win differential) in NBA history.

Despite a losing regular-season record (39-43), the seventh-seeded Sonics knocked off the No. 2 Mavs (55-27) three games to one -- this after allowing 151 points in a Game 1 loss. The Sonics were led by Xavier McDaniel (left, against Los Angeles later in the playoffs) and Tom Chambers while the Mavs struggled to make up for the lackluster play of Mark Aguirre, who was suffering from strep throat. The Sonics made it past Houston in the semifinals before being swept by the eventual champion Lakers.

Although only one game separated the two teams in the regular season, the star-studded 76ers of Julius Erving and George McGinnis were considered heavy favorites against Bill Walton, Maurice Lucas and the young Blazers, a last-place team the previous season. After dropping the first two games in Philadelphia -- and taking part in a brawl late in Game 2 that many believe was the turning point in the series -- the Blazers ripped off four consecutive victories to secure the franchise's first and only title. Walton was named Finals MVP.

Veterans Gary Payton and Karl Malone moved to Los Angeles to help the team try to win its fourth championship of the Shaq-Kobe era. The series was billed as David (the underdog Pistons) vs. Goliath (the supremely talented Lakers), but after splitting the first two games, Detroit won three straight by an average of 14 points to win the title. Leading the way for the Pistons was guard Chauncey Billups (left, with coach Larry Brown), who averaged 21 points and five assists on his way to winning Finals MVP.

Buoyed by coach Dick Motta's mantra, ''The opera ain't over 'til the fat lady sings,'' the Bullets (44-38), after rallying to knock off San Antonio (52-30) in the conference semifinals, eliminated powerful Philadelphia (55-27) in six games to reach the NBA Finals. From there, Elvin Hayes and Co. beat the Sonics to become the NBA champion with the fewest regular-season victories.

After a 47-win regular season earned it the sixth seed, Houston went through Utah (60-22), Phoenix (59-22) and San Antonio (62-20) to reach the Finals. Then the Rockets, led by Hakeem Olajuwon, took out Shaquille O'Neal and Orlando (57-25) to win their second consecutive championship, prompting coach Rudy Tomjanovich to famously say, "Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion."