The NBA playoffs haven’t even gotten underway yet, and the shocks are already in full flow. The Golden State Warriors – the greatest Dynasty of the modern era – have already been eliminated and won’t feature in this year’s postseason. In this year’s play-in tournament, they met a Sacramento side determined to secure redemption for last season’s defeat at the hands of the Splash Brothers in the first round of the playoffs. And revenge is exactly what they got.
Despite Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green all featuring, the NorCal outfit was thoroughly outclassed by their California compatriots. The Kings’ Keegan Murray put up 32 points in a blistering side to help his side to a convincing 118-94 victory, perhaps ending the Warriors’ dynasty once and for all. But perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised, considering how the regular season has played out.
The 2023/24 campaign has truly been the year of the underdog, especially on the West Coast. This term, the unheralded Oklahoma City Thunder have finished the season with 57 wins, good enough for top-seed status in the conference. Inspired by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – who finished third in the entire league in terms of points per game – the Paycome Center outfit finished ahead of the reigning champion Denver Nuggets and is poised for a favorable draw in the playoffs.
Unfortunately for them, they weren’t able to secure top-seed status in the entire league. The Boston Celtics’ stellar record of 64 wins against just 18 losses was good enough to secure their spot at the summit and prompted NBA betting lines and futures providers to make them the short-priced +165 favorites for the title this season. However, how has the overall top seed fared in recent campaigns?
2023 – Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee entered the 2023 NBA Playoffs as the number one seed, boasting a solid regular-season record of 58 wins. The team was led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who racked up 31.1 points per game throughout a stellar campaign. However, despite their regular-season dominance, an almighty shock was just around the corner.
They met a Miami Heat side in the first round of the playoffs that had to play two play-in games to even secure a spot in the postseason. As such, the top seeds were heavily favored to progress, but the Floridians and a certain Jimmy Butler had other ideas. Despite being the eighth seed and rank outsiders, they managed to pull off a stunning 4-1 series victory in one of the greatest shocks in NBA history.
The Bucks’ early exit was met with disbelief and sparked conversations about likely changes within the team to avoid similar results in the future. This term, they kept the core of their team together and finished as the Eastern Conference’s second seed. They will be glad to leave last season’s embarrassment firmly in the rearview mirror.
2022 – Phoenix Suns
Phoenix were in some awesome form two years ago as they topped the pile. Their success was driven by a balanced attack and the stellar play of Devin Booker and Chris Paul. This season marks the first time that the latter of those two hasn’t featured in the postseason since 2010, but in 2022 he was on fire. However, unfortunately for him and the Arizona outfit, their playoff run would ultimately end in disappointment.
Throughout the 2010s, the Suns were a powerhouse, reaching the Conference Finals three times in five years. Unfortunately for them, all of those trips ended in defeat and it was the same in 2022. They were ultimately downed by Luka Doncic and his Dallas Mavericks, the same team that eliminated them at the same stage 16 years prior, when they were powered by another European star, the legendary Dirk Nowitzki.
2021 – Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz finished the 2021 regular season with the league’s best record, fueled by a high-octane offense and a stout defensive unit led by Rudy Gobert. This season, the French powerhouse made the move to the Minnesota Timberwolves and transformed the Minneapolis outfit from an afterthought in the Western Conference to a genuine Larry O’Brien contender. He did the same in Salt Lake City three years ago, and he will be hoping that this postseason goes better than when he was a part of the country’s top-seeded team.
Back then, the Jazz racked up 52 wins against just 20 losses throughout the regular season and comfortably knocked off the Memphis Grizzlies in the opening round of the playoffs with a 4-1 series victory. Unfortunately for them, however, they ran into a highly motivated Los Angeles Clippers in the second round. Fueled by years of mockery, the Californians managed to pull off the 4-2 series upset, much to the dismay of the Delta Center faithful.
