Preface
Over the past 76 years of NBA history, there have been countless iconic moments, and as the NBA slogan used back then, "Where Amazing Happens," nothing is impossible. For fans, the most important game in the NBA every year is naturally the finals, after all, winning the championship is the dream of countless basketball players, but after all, the strength of the competitive game speaks, if you want to compete for the championship, you must first enter the finals, and there are still many teams in the NBA that have never entered the finals stage. Of course, these teams don't need to be discouraged, there is no shortage of famous scenes in the history of the NBA where the weak beat the strong, and there are even some teams that have not been able to win more than 50 wins in the normal 82 regular season games, and still reach the Finals, and there are still championship moments, let's take a look at which teams are!
1.22-23 season: Miami Heat
Team record: 44-38
First of all, we want to introduce the Heat, who created a miracle last season, only 44-38, they lost to the Hawks in the playoffs first, and were on the verge of elimination by going home to fish, but fortunately, with Butler's outburst of 31 points, helping the team beat the Bulls and get the last ticket to the Eastern Conference playoffs. Before the playoffs began, almost everyone thought that the Heat's journey this season was over, after all, their opponent was the powerful Bucks, the first team in the East, but Butler played an epic performance like Jordan, he averaged 37.6 points, 6 rebounds, 4.8 assists per game, shooting 59.7% from the field and 44.4% from three-point range, leading the Heat to complete the Black Eight Miracle with a score of 4:1.
After facing the Knicks in the second round, they once again defeated their opponents with a score of 4:2 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, and when they faced the Green Army again, they once played a 3:0 big score to start the game, although they were stubbornly equalized by the opponent, but the Heat still defeated the opponent in the tiebreaker and entered the Finals as the eighth in the East. It's a pity that in the face of the Nuggets led by Jokic, the Heat had little to fight back, and Butler also suffered from injuries, and finally lost to the Nuggets 1:4, but they still made their own history and won the respect of countless fans.
2. 17-18 season: Cleveland Cavaliers
Team record: 50-32
Back in the '17-18 season, LeBron James and his Cavaliers were in a difficult position, even though they won the championship in 2016 against a 73-win Warriors, and even though they had a team of Derrick Rose, Thomas Jr., Dwyane Jr. and Dwyane Jr. before the start of that season. Wade and many other star players, but the team has been hit by injuries, and these players are more or less old, and finally only got a 50-32 record in the fourth place in the East, but fortunately they still have James.
In the playoffs, the 33-year-old James began to go on a rampage, and in the first round, he blasted 34.4 points, 10 rebounds, and 7.7 assists to help the Cavaliers beat the Pacers in a seven-game robbery, in which he scored 45 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals, which became the key to the team's victory. In the second round against the Raptors, James once again dominated the game, sweeping Lowry and DeRozan with a clean 4-0, while his statistics were still an astonishing 34 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 11.3 assists. In the Eastern Conference Finals, he faced the re-emerging Celtics, and he once again used 33.6 points, 9 rebounds, and 8.4 assists to help the team get through the danger and finally reach the Finals.
It's a pity that they couldn't get a win against a mighty Warriors, which was a pity for James, especially in the first game, when he scored 51 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists, but a short-circuit in JR's brain at the end of the game buried the game and the entire series.
3.09-10 season: Boston Celtics
Team record: 50-32
Although the current Celtics are strong, they have never been able to win the championship after 2008, so many fans are also very nostalgic for the "Big Three" era of the Green Army, between 08 and 10 years, the Green Army entered the finals twice, won a championship, and created another glorious era for the team, and the most regrettable for fans is in 2010, when the team only had a record of 50 wins, but the performance played was far from being covered by the record. At that time, the division of labor of the Green Army was extremely detailed, Pierce and Ray Allen focused on mid-range shooting and three-point shooting respectively, while Garnett focused on the low post, under the basket, and reasonably guarded the restricted area with Perkins, plus Rondo's control of the court, the Green Army defeated Wade's Heat, James's Cavaliers and Howard's Magic respectively, and entered the Finals strongly. Facing the bitter enemy Lakers, the Green Army once led 3:2 in the big score, but unfortunately Perkins' injury made the Green Army empty inside, and finally lost to the Lakers in the seven-game battle and lost the championship, and this season has also become a season for many Green Army fans.
4.06-07 season: Cleveland Cavaliers
Team record: 50-32
The Cavaliers are the only team on this list to be on the list twice, back in the 06-07 season, when the four-year-old James has become one of the top superstars in the league, he can average 27.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6 assists per game, helping the Cavaliers get a 50-32 record, due to the overall strength of the East at that time, so the Cavaliers also came to the second place in the East.
And during the playoffs, James also played a phenomenal performance, facing his old rival Wizards, he averaged 27.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game, leading the Cavaliers to sweep the opponent. In the second round against the Nets, although he was limited a lot, he was still able to contribute 24.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.5 assists, and once again helped the Cavaliers defeat the Nets with a score of 4-2.
And in the Eastern Conference Finals, their opponent was the Pistons, the overlord of the East at that time, despite losing the big book, but around Prince, Rasheed Wallace, they still built an airtight defensive system, and James did feel the biggest defensive pressure since entering the NBA, but even so he still helped the Cavaliers and the Pistons to play a 2:2 draw on the big score, the key battle of Kings Mountain, James scored 29 of the team's last 30 points, and scored 48 points. Nine rebounds and seven assists helped the team win a crucial game. In the end, the Cavaliers also took advantage of the situation to defeat their opponents in Game 6 to advance to the Finals, but against the strong and experienced Spurs, they did not win a single game and were finally swept away.
5.02-03 season: New Jersey Nets
Team record: 49-33
After Michael Jordan announced his retirement for the second time in 1998, an interesting phenomenon occurred in the NBA, that is, it showed a situation where the West was strong and the East was weak, the most direct manifestation of which was that since 1998, out of a total of 25 championships, Western teams have won a staggering 17, which is twice as many as the East. In addition, at the beginning of the new century, in the East, even if many teams have fewer wins than defeats, they can still enter the playoffs, which is also the envy of Western teams.
In the 02-03 season, Jason Kidd led the Nets to a 49-33 record, but they still ranked second in the East, and in the three rounds of the playoffs in the East, in addition to the first round and the Bucks in 6 games to advance, whether it was facing the Celtics in the second round or the Pistons in the East finals, they swept the opponent with a neat 4:0 and dominated the East for the second year in a row.
It is true that having Jason Kidd, the NBA's No. 1 point guard at the time, was a key to their victory, but more importantly, the overall strength of the East lagged behind. In the end, in the Finals, they became the backdrop for Duncan and his Spurs, especially in Game 6, Duncan played 21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists and 8 blocks that had never been seen in the history of the NBA Finals, completely defeating the Nets, and then winning the championship for the second time in team history.
6. 94-95 season: Houston Rockets
Team record: 47-35
The above five teams, whether they performed well or badly, eventually broke into the Finals, which may have been quite a remarkable performance for them, but there is such a team in NBA history, they only got a 47-35 record that season, but they defeated several legendary teams along the way, and finally won the championship, creating an unprecedented miracle, and I am afraid it is also a miracle that has never been seen before, that is, the Rockets in the 94-95 season.
At that time, the Rockets were the defending champions, but they were struggling, but fortunately, the team traded Clyde Drexler in the middle of the season, instantly freeing up Hakiem Olajuwon on the inside. And during the playoffs, they began the road of counterattack, the first round faced John Stockton, Carl Malone led the Jazz team, the two sides fought fiercely to grab five sides before the Rockets won, the second round faced the Suns led by Charles Barkley, the Rockets once fell behind with a score of 1:3, but under the leadership of Olajuwon, the team regrouped and completed an epic reversal, and Eli's "kiss of death" at the last moment of the tie-break battle has also become a classic scene. Facing Admiral David Robinson's Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, Olajuwon completely turned the series into an offensive and defensive drill, and finally the Rockets entered the Finals for the second year in a row.
And when facing the Magic led by young O'Neal and Hardaway, Olajuwon taught these youngsters a lesson with a perfect "dream foot", and finally won the championship in a sweeping way. In the playoffs, he averaged 33 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.8 blocks per game.