Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- In all, 69 of the past 79 NBA titles were won by either the first or second seed in either conference. But that doesn't mean a low seed can't captivate us all.
- No seven-seed has ever made the NBA Finals, but LeBron and the 2023 Lakers came close. Jimmy Butler and the Heat did make it in the same year as an eight-seed.
- These deep runs by longshots and underdogs should give fans hope, no matter where your team is seeded this year.
The 2026 NBA Playoffs are nearly upon us, which has everyone thinking about who will take home the NBA Championship. We still some seeding situations that need to figure themselves out, but for the most part, all of our playoff hopefuls (remember, we still have the Play-In Tournament) have an idea of where they will be placed on the bracket.
Historically, the NBA Champion is usually a first or second seed, as 69 of the past 79 teams (87.3 percent) that took home the title came from one of those two spots. However, as we will soon see, there is still hope for a deep playoff run even if you didn't have the best regular season.
So, in honor of this optimism, lets look at the best playoff team of all-time for each seed.
No. 1: 1995-96 Chicago Bulls
This is going to be the most controversial selection as the best number one seed is, in theory, also the best team of all-time. For this, we had three real contenders: the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors and the 2016-17 Warriors.
Despite winning the most regular season games in NBA history (73), we had to eliminate the 2015-16 Warriors because it just didn't feel right giving this honor to a team that didn't go the distance when we have 53 other one seeds that did.
As for the 2016-17 Warriors, while they do tout the greatest postseason record of all-time (16-1), they weren't the regular season juggernaut (fifth all-time in net rating) that the Bulls were. In the end, we went with Chicago because they had the best of both words: a great regular season record (72-10 and the best net rating in league history) and a dominant postseason run (15-3).
No. 2: 2000-01 Los Angeles Lakers
It may seem a little hypocritical to put the 2000-01 Los Angeles Lakers here because they went 15-1 in the playoffs after snubbing the 2016-17 Warriors (who were better in the regular season than the 2000-01 Lakers). But the 2000-01 Lakers also didn't have the 72-win Bulls and Michael Jordan to compete with. So, the hypocrisy feels warranted.
No. 3: 2003-04 Detroit Pistons
The 2001-02 Lakers and 2006-07 San Antonio Spurs had better regular season net ratings than the 2003-04 Detroit Pistons (plus-6.6). However, by looking at raw net rating, you miss a key piece of context: Detroit was a completely different team after trading for Rasheed Wallace. After starting 34-23, the Pistons went 20-5 once Wallace entered the rotation. According to Cleaning the Glass, Detroit had a plus-19 per 100 possessions point differential when he was the floor (100th percentile). From there, Detroit suffocated opponents all the way to an NBA title.
No. 4: 1968-69 Boston Celtics
Six four seeds have gone on to make it to the NBA Finals. However, only one of them -- the 1968-69 Boston Celtics -- have actually finished the job once they got there. Back then, teams only had to go through three rounds to win it all. But since this was the last of Bill Russell's 11 rings (and he was also the team's head coach), it feels okay giving them the top spot here. It also helps their case that they had to beat three all-time greats (Wilt Chamberlian, Jerry West, and Elgin Baylor) in a seven-game series to climb this mountain.
No. 5: 2023-24 Dallas Mavericks
Only two fifth seeds have ever made it to the NBA Finals: the 2019-20 Miami Heat and 2023-24 Dallas Mavericks. Neither of them were able to win their series, as both teams fell to the two greatest franchises in NBA history (the Lakers and Celtics, respectively). So, we have to turn to arbitrary means to differentiate.
I hate to be one of those asterisks dudes, but the 2019-20 Heat made the Finals during The Bubble. And while it was a major achievement, there was a lot of weird variables (like there being no fans) that make it unlike any other run in NBA history. By that logic, it feels like the Mavericks deserve a tad bit more credit for getting as far as they did. And like the 2003-04 Pistons, it helps that Dallas turned into a completely different team after trading for Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington, finishing the regular season winning 24 of their last 33 games.
No. 6: 1994-95 Houston Rockets
Only one team that did not have homecourt advantage in their first round series (since the league expanded their postseason format to 16 teams) won it it all, and that is the 1994-95 Rockets. And man, did Houston have to grind to get their second straight title. They beat the Utah Jazz's dynamic duo of Karl Malone and John Stockton. Then, they escaped Charles Barkley and Kevin Johnson in a seven-game series. David Robinson and the San Antonio Spurs were next, before punctuating their run with a 4-0 sweep of Shaquille O'Neal, Anfernee Simons, and the Orlando Magic.
No. 7: 2022-23 Los Angeles Lakers
Weirdly enough, while two eighth seeds have made it to the NBA Finals, no seventh-seed has ever been able to win three playoff series. In fact, only two seventh seeds (the 1986-87 Seattle SuperSonics and 2022-23 Los Angeles Lakers) have ever made the conference finals. The Lakers had the better record, net rating, and they beat the defending-champions (the Warriors) to get to the conference finals. Plus, it would feel weird if there wasn't at least one LeBron James-led team on this list.
No. 8: 2022-23 Miami Heat
As we said earlier, only the 2022-23 Miami Heat and 1998-99 New York Knicks have ever been an eighth seed and made it all the way to the NBA Finals. Both of them were discarded in a gentleman's sweep once they got there. So, no easy tiebreaker on that front.
We ultimately chose the Heat because the Knicks were an eighth seed during a lockout season where only 50 regular season games were played and there was only a six game difference between the first and eighth seed. Meanwhile, Miami was as true of an eighth seed as it gets, finishing 14 games behind the first-seed Milwaukee Bucks and needing to win a do-or-die play-in game against the Bulls to clinch their postseason bid.