The biggest collapses in NBA playoff history

Winning an NBA playoff series is no easy feat, so it isn't surprising when even favored teams falter on basketball's biggest stage. Join us now as we look back at the five biggest collapses in NBA playoff history.

5. Dallas Mavericks vs. Miami Heat (2006 NBA Finals)

Dallas won the first two games of the series, and with Dirk Nowitzki dominating they were cruising to a 3-0 series lead. Leading by 13 points in Game 3 with just six minutes remaining, Dwyane Wade took over the game, scoring 42 points to help the Heat rally back in the final minutes. Gary Payton’s jumper with 9.3 seconds left later sealed the two-point comeback win.

From there, it was all Wade as he scored 115 points over the next three games to bury the Mavericks. After a dominant victory in Game 4, Miami yet again came back to win Game 5 by one point in overtime, and then overcame a 14-point deficit to win by three points in Game 6, thereby wrapping up the series.

4. Los Angeles Clippers vs. Houston Rockets (2015 Western Conference Semifinals)

After splitting the first two games in Houston, the Clippers game home and won Games 3 and 4 in blowout fashion, winning each by at least 25 points. Leading 3-1 heading back to Houston for Game 5, they were rocked by 21 points, but still had an opportunity to end the series at home in Game 6.

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Clippers were ahead by 13 points and ready to advance to the conference finals as Rockets’ star James Harden was out of the game. Instead, the Clippers were outscored 40-15 in the final stanza. They returned to Houston for Game 7, where the Rockets finished off the series with a commanding 13-point wire-to-wire win.

3. Seattle SuperSonics vs. Denver Nuggets (1994 Western Conference Quarterfinals)

Back in the 1990s, the quarterfinals were a five-game series rather than a seven-game series. Prior to 1994, a No. 1 seed had never lost one of these series to a No. 8 seed. Leading the series 2-0, Seattle was set to roll over the Nuggets and make their way to the conference semifinals. However, Denver had other plans.

A 17-point win at home in Game 3 for Denver was followed by a nine-point overtime win in Game 4, where Seattle scored just three points in the extra period. Big man Dikembe Mutombo blocked a combined 14 shots in the two victories.

In the deciding game in Seattle, Mutombo swatted another eight shots as the Nuggets were able to pull out the win again in overtime, stunning the Sonics and making history in the process. 

2. Los Angeles Clippers vs. Denver Nuggets (2020 Western Conference Semifinals)

The final two on the list are both epic, but this one ranks second because of the craziness that was the COVID-19 bubble. The Clippers were the favorites to win the title after the restart, and just like in 2015 they had a 3-1 lead heading into Game 5. Kawhi Leonard was playing well, and everyone expected the Clippers to cruise to a fourth victory.

Unfortunately, they were obliterated over the next three games by Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets duo averaged 53 points combined through the final three games of the series, and Jokic was a monster on the glass.

The Clippers led by 13 points late in the third quarter of Game 5 before falling by six, and then lost Game 6 by 13 points. In the deciding Game 7, Murray scored 40 points and Jokic grabbed 22 rebounds as the Nuggets outscored the Clippers 50-33 after halftime to win by 15.

1. Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (2016 NBA Finals)

When people say "you blew a 3-1 lead," this is the series most of them are referencing. The Warriors came into the 2016 NBA Finals with the best regular-season record in history, losing just nine games in the regular season and dropped just two games in the first two rounds before getting past Oklahoma City 4-3 in the Western Conference Finals.

Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson were all dominant as the Warriors jumped out to a 3-1 lead over the Cavs in the Finals and were already being crowned champions by most pundits.

LeBron James was not going to go down without a fight, however, and he played perhaps his best series ever as became the only player in NBA Finals history to lead both teams in points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals. LeBron and Kyrie Irving each scored 41 points in a 15-point Game 5 victory, and then Game 6 was over early when the Warriors fell behind 31-11 after the first quarter.

In Game 7, the game went back and forth for nearly the entire contest as James posted just the third Game 7 triple-double in history. With the title still in sight for Golden State, the Warriors failed to score in the final 4:39 of the game and lost by four.

The defining play of the series was LeBron’s chase-down block of Andre Iguodala with less than two minutes to play that would have given the Warriors a lead.