Top 10 biggest upsets in NBA Playoffs history

#6 Denver Nuggets vs Seattle Supersonics, 1994

One of the greatest-ever NBA playoff upsets came in the first-round of the 1994 postseason. With a 9.3% chance of victory, there was no reason to suspect the Denver Nuggets were capable of progressing past the Supersonics. The latter had led the league with 63 wins in the regular season. In the end, it became one of the great upsets, with the Nuggets prevailing 3-2 in the series.

Denver finished the campaign 21 games behind the Supersonics and duly lost the opening two games of the matchup in double figures. However, with an incredible defensive effort, they held one of the best offenses in the league to under 100 points in every game after the first. The Nuggets prevailed through two overtime matchups in games 4 and 5 to take the series.

#5 Detroit Pistons vs LA Lakers, 2004

The Detroit Pistons overcame the star-studded Lakers in 2004

Even with the likes of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, the LA Lakers were unable to overcome the underdog Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals. Returning to their 'Bad Boy' style of play from the 80s and 90s, the Pistons were utterly dominant on defense. They held the Lakers under 100 points in every matchup and under 90 in four of them.

Future Hall of Fame inductee Ben Wallace led the Pistons, along with point guard Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince, all elite defenders. The 4-1 series win was so dominant in fact that it later became known as the 'Five-game sweep'.

#4 LA Lakers vs Seattle Supersonics, 1995

The Seattle Supersonics appear again on our list after they were humbled by the Lakers in 1995 who had an 8% chance of success in the four-game series. After asserting their dominance in game one, the Sonics were then humbled by the Lakers, who won their remaining three games in a row behind Nick Van Exel's scoring.

After dominating in the regular season, the Sonics came into the playoffs as the fourth seed, despite winning 57 matches. The Lakers, meanwhile, won nine fewer and were the underdogs heading into the series. However, they were able to hold a normally prolific offense to under 100 points in two of the matchups. They outscored the Sonics by four points in the last two games of the series.