Fansided

The best NBA playoff team of all-time at every seed

By Ian Levy

ORLANDO, FL - FEBRUARY 25: (L-R) James Harden #13, Kevin Durant #35 and Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder stand on the court during the game against the Orlando Magic on February 25, 2011 at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2011 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - FEBRUARY 25: (L-R) James Harden #13, Kevin Durant #35 and Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder stand on the court during the game against the Orlando Magic on February 25, 2011 at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2011 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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PORTLAND, OR – CIRCA 1990: Kevin Johnson #7 of the Phoenix Suns dribbles against the Portland Trailblazers circa 1990 at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1990 NBAE (Photo by Brian Drake/NBAE via Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR – CIRCA 1990: Kevin Johnson #7 of the Phoenix Suns dribbles against the Portland Trailblazers circa 1990 at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1990 NBAE (Photo by Brian Drake/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The best No. 5 seed ever: Phoenix Suns, 1989-90

It was hard to pass up the 1994-95 Chicago Bulls who saw Michael Jordan return from retirement for the final 17 games of the season but the 1989-90 Suns were that good. They had the third-most efficient offense in the league, ranking sixth on defense. Their SRS (strength of schedule adjusted scoring margin) was plus-7.09, tops in the league that year. For reference, that mark is better than any team in the Western Conference this season.

This run-and-gun version of the Suns was lead by a coming-into-his-prime Kevin Johnson, who averaged 22.5 points and 11.4 assists per game. Complementing KJ was Tom Chambers, with his thunderous dunks and 27.2 points per game, Dan Marjerle’s all-around excellence and Jeff Hornacek draining jumpers and shooting better than 40 percent on 3s.

Without homecourt advantage, the Suns were still able to advance to the Conference Finals, besting the Jazz and then taking out the top-seeded Lakers before ultimately falling to the Blazers 4-2.

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