What percentage of NBA teams win a series after falling behind 2-0?

The NBA playoffs has always been full of surprises, whether it be historical performances, an upset winner, or an improbable comeback. One thing remains certain, almost every time, the winner of a seven-game series is always the better team.

Usually, a team with playoff experience, a superstar-level player, a team that plays great defense, or a team that is smarter than the opposing team, will fare well in the playoffs. Even when a team may not look like the better team, if they are up in a series then their chances of moving on will be much higher.

There are certain types of series advantages that are great for a team and sometimes can be bad for a team. For example, a team that has gone up 3-0 in a series has won the series every single time and when a team goes up 1-0, they win around 78 percent of the time.

The real question is what is the win percentage of a team that goes up 2-0 in a series.

The percentage of NBA teams winning a series after winning 2-0?

Throughout NBA history, there have been 452 total times where a team has gone up 2-0 in a series. This includes both seven game series and as well as five game series. The percentage of the teams that end up coming back from being 2-0 in a series is 7.3 percent.

This means that out of 452 series where a team fell behind 2-0 in a series, 33 have come back to win the series. Five of those teams won it in a five-game series where they had to win three straight games to win the series.

The most recent of these teams happened in the 2023 playoffs when the Warriors fell 2-0 to the Sacramento Kings. As a matter of fact, four such occurrences happened in the 2021 playoffs, two by the Los Angeles Clippers and two by the Milwaukee Bucks.

In the first round of these playoffs, five teams have gone down 2-0 in a series. Two of those teams, the New Orleans Pelicans, and Phoenix Suns, got swept. The Los Angeles Lakers lost the series in five games. As of right now, the 76ers and Magic are both down 3-2, after being down 2-0, to potentially force a game 7. Even though the 76ers and Magic both have home court in game 6, history is still not on their side to win the series.