From Warriors to Lakers: Greatest Playoff Runs in NBA History

• We are up and running in the 2022/2023 NBA playoffs
• The Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors have the greatest playoff runs in NBA history
• They both won the NBA title by losing just one game, but what other teams have made outstanding runs in the postseason?

The NBA playoffs are an opportunity for teams and players to etch themselves in history with memorable and record-breaking performances.

Most teams have won by dominating every team in the playoffs, while others have reached the finals through classic slugfests. But who has won the title without facing much adversity?

The 2022/23 NBA playoff matchups are intriguing, meaning for a team to reach the final, they will need to beat some of the best players in the NBA.

There have been legendary playoff runs in NBA history. Sports Brief looks at the best runs in the postseason.

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7. Boston Celtics (1986)

Win/Loss record: 15-3

The 1986 Boston Celtics is regarded as one of the best teams of all time. The team had three-time MVP Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Bill Walton (Sixth Man of the Year) and Robert Parish. They had won 67 regular season games.

Come playoff time; they went through Hall of Famers Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Sidney Moncrief, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Ralph Sampson to win the title. Since 1986, the Celtics have won just one NBA title (2008).

6. San Antonio Spurs (1999)

Win/Loss record: 15-2

After Michael Jordan’s unprecedented dominance ended in 1998, the San Antonio Spurs were ready to pounce. They boasted Hall of Famers David Robinson and Tim Duncan, per Bleacher Report.

They dropped one game to Kevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves before winning 12 straight games. In that run, they swept Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant's Lakers. They lost Game 3 of the finals to the New York Knicks, but that didn’t stop them from sealing their first-ever NBA title.

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5. Chicago Bulls (1996)

Win/Loss record: 15-3

Michael Jordan was the best player in the NBA in the 1990s. In 1996 he led the Bulls to 72 regular season wins, a record that stood for 20 years. They lost one game in the semifinals of the Eastern Conference to the New York Knicks.

They swept Shaquille O’Neal’s Orlando Magic in the Eastern finals but dropped two games in the finals against the Seattle SuperSonics. Jordan and the Bulls would eventually win the series 4-2.

On their way to winning their fourth championship, they beat Alonzo Mourning, Patrick Ewing, Shaquille O'Neal, and Gary Payton.

4. Detroit Pistons (1989)

Win/Loss record: 15-2

Before Michael Jordan and the Bulls emerged as a force in the NBA, Isaiah Thomas and the Detroit Pistons had a brief dominant period in the late 1980s and early 1990s, per Vintage Detroit. The 1989 Bad Boy Pistons were the best team in the league. They dropped just two games to Jordan’s Bulls.

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They swept the Celtics and then the Bucks in the semifinals before losing twice to the Bulls in the Eastern finals. They went on to sweep the Lakers in the finals. They went through Hall of Famers Dennis Johnson, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, and James Worthy.

3. Chicago Bulls (1991)

Win/Loss record: 15-2

1991 was the beginning of Jordan’s ascendance to superstardom. He breezed past two NBA icons, Patrick Ewing and Charles Barkley, before coming up against arch-rivals Detroit Pistons. The Pistons had eliminated the Bulls in three straight postseasons and sweeping them in the 1991 conference finals was the sweet revenge.

The Bulls lost Game 1 to the Los Angeles Lakers but could not be stopped after that. They also dropped one game to Ewing’s Philadelphia 76er. This was the beginning of a dominant era by Jordan and the Bulls, per NBC Sports.

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2. Golden State Warriors (2017)

Win/Loss record: 16-1

The Golden State Warriors were coming off a 73-9 season and a gigantic collapse in the 2016 NBA finals, where they blew a 3-1 lead to the Cleveland Cavaliers. They responded by adding Kevin Durant, a former MVP and one of the game’s best-ever scorers.

They finished the season with a 67-15 record. They went 12-0 in the Western Conference. They won their first 15 games in the postseason that year. It took a record-breaking performance from the Cavaliers in Game 4 for them to win one game. However, the Warriors sealed the deal in Game 5 at home, per NY Times.

1. Los Angeles Lakers (2001)

Win/Loss record: 15-1

Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant were a force to be reckoned with in the early 2000s. They are the last NBA team to three-peat. In the 2001 playoffs, they faced four 50-win teams and never lost a game in regulation.

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It took a 48-point effort from Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of the finals. The Lakers did not look back after Game 1. They remain one of the greatest teams of all time, Bleacher Report.

Greatest playoff upsets

Sports Brief earlier reported on the greatest playoff upsets in NBA history.

The Warriors pulled off one of the greatest upsets in NBA playoff history in 2007, but they were not the first team to do so.

The Pistons shocked the world when they beat the Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals. The Cavaliers also pulled off a historic 3-1 comeback to win their first-ever NBA title.