Top 10 biggest upsets in NBA history
The beauty of the playoffs is, its unpredictable nature and the fact that anything can happen at any time. It doesn't matter how a player or a team has performed during the regular season. This is the time of the year to perform at the highest level. If a team finds itself on a roll, or if a match-up works out in their favour, then anything is possible.
History has shown us that even if you are the league MVP, or your team has finished with the best record in NBA, success is not guaranteed.
Let us take a look at 10 such instances, which turned out to be some of the biggest upsets in NBA history :
#10 Charlotte Hornets VS Miami Heat (2000-2001)
The 2000-2001 Miami Heat team, featuring Bruce Bowen, Eddie Jones, Tim Hardaway and Alonzo Mourning, went through a rough patch at the start of the season, with their franchise player Alonzo Mourning, being diagnosed with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, a life-threatening kidney disease. But the Heat still ended up the third seed and looked strong heading into the playoffs.
Even though Alonzo Mourning was not his usual self, coming back from the injury and heading into the playoffs, the Heat should still have won the series, but they just could not handle the Hornets. The Hornets repeatedly beat the lethargic Heat in transition and dominated the boards, finally ending up sweeping Miami 3-0.
Baron Davis averaged 20.3 points, 4.7 boards, and 5 assists per game, to go along with Mashburn’s 23.7 points, 6 rebounds and 4.7 helpers, as the Hornets won by a margin of 22.3 points per game.