5 teams that reached the NBA Finals without having home-court advantage throughout the playoffs

#3 Houston Rockets - 1981 NBA Playoffs

Moses Malone and the 1980-81 Houston Rockets made history during their run to the 1981 NBA Finals.

Malone became the second player in league history to win the MVP despite his team not winning 50 regular-season games in the 1978-79 season. Moreover, Malone and the 1981 Houston Rockets were the third and most recent team in NBA history to reach the NBA Finals after having a losing record in the regular round (40-42).

The Rockets started their postseason run by beating reigning champions LA Lakers in a three-game first-round series. Then, they took down George Gervin's San Antonio Spurs in seven games.

The Kansas City Kings (who also had a losing record, but were a higher seed) were Houston's rivals in the Western Conference Finals, and the Rockets went through in five games.

The Boston Celtics finally put an end to the Rockets' dream run as Larry Bird and company started their new era in the 1980s.

#2 Houston Rockets - 1995 NBA Playoffs

The 1994-95 Houston Rockets were looking to successfully defend their 1994 championship with a solid season. However, the team could only manage to enter the postseason with the sixth seed of the Western Conference.

With that, the Houston Rockets would need to become the lowest seed ever to win an NBA title, and that's exactly what they did. Houston entered the All-Star break with a 29-17 record that looked solid. Houston won its next game after the All-Star break, and then pulled off a trade for Clyde Drexler.

However, with Drexler on the team, the Rockets closed their season with a 17-18 record, and only sixth in the West. In the NBA Playoffs, the Rockets started their run with a 3-2 win in a series that started and ended at the Utah Jazz's home.

Hakeem Olajuwon averaged 35 points per game against Utah, while Drexler helped with 25 per night. In the second round, the Rockets found Charles Barkley's Phoenix Suns for the second year in a row. The Suns jumped to a 3-1 lead in the series before the reigning champions returned and won the series with a one-point win in Game 7. Mario Elie's 'Kiss of Death' three-pointer with the game tied and under 10 seconds proved enough for the Rockets to advance.

In the Western Conference Finals, the NBA MVP winner David Robinson and the San Antonio Spurs were new obstacles in Houston's way. However, Olajuwon put up a great performance, averaging 35 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in a series in which the home team only won one game.

The Rockets took down the Spurs in six games and went on to sweep Shaquille O'Neal and the Orlando Magic in the 1995 NBA Finals. To date, the 1995 Houston Rockets, who went back-to-back, are the lowest-seeded team to win the NBA title in league history.

#1 New York Knicks - 1999 NBA Playoffs

The most recent team to start every series of the NBA Playoffs on the road on its way to the NBA Finals is the 1998-99 New York Knicks.

The Knicks' run in the 1999 NBA Playoffs was stunning. The 27-23 (shortened regular season due to a lockout) squad took down the East's top seed, Miami Heat, three games to two behind Allan Houston's game-winning basket in the decider.

In the second round, the Knicks swept Dikembe Mutombo and Steve Smith's Atlanta Hawks, before taking down Reggie Miller's Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

As the first and most recent eighth seed to reach the NBA Finals, the Knicks' impressive run could not be finished with success. A dynasty was starting in San Antonio, and Tim Duncan guided the Spurs to the first title in franchise history in five games against New York.

The Knicks could not count on Patrick Ewing for the NBA Finals as hi season ended with an Achilles injury. Latrell Sprewell, Allan Houston and the rest of the team battled against the Spurs, but it was not enough to win the NBA Finals.