10 Lowest Seed To Ever Win NBA Finals [Houston Rockets]

Houston Rockets led by Hakeem Olajuwon in the 1994/95 season is the NBA lowest seed to win finals. Rockets were the defending champions.

Despite winning the title in the 1993/94 season, Houston struggled to find consistency in the following year. Something needed to change as they made a gutsy move trading Otis Thorpe for Clyde Drexler.

The pairing of Olajuwon and Drexler did wonders as they began with a deciding game triumph over 3rd seed Utah Jazz. It followed with an extremely hard-fought 4-3 series victory over second-seed Phoenix Suns led by Charles Barkley.

Houston continued their winning streak defeating SA Spurs by 4-0 as they ensured a grand final against Orlando Magic and Shaquille O'Neal.

Hakeem starred with the MVP performance as the Rockets did the improbable and swept Orlando 4-0 en route to consecutive NBA Championship titles. 

Boston Celtics is the only fourth seed in NBA history to win the championship. Celtics magnificently sealed the NBA Finals in 1969.

Boston absolutely dominated the 1960s decade winning eight out of the nine titles, thanks to the fantastic Bill Russell - Sam Jones duo.

Amidst all of it, it looked very unlikely that Celtics would clinch the 1968-69 championship. They were not up to the mark compared to previous seasons but everything started to click once they reached the playoffs.

Boston created an upset over second-seed Philadelphia by 4-1 and third-seed New York Knicks by 4-2 en route to securing the finals berth. 

With the 2-0 start in the final, it seemed obvious that the number one seed LA Lakers inspired by Jerry West will clinch the championship.

However, Celtics found a way back thanks to Havlicek, Jones and Russell as they triumphed over the Lakers by 4-3 in a hard-fought series.

The 3rd seed Golden State Warriors won the NBA Championship in 2022. Steph Curry also got his first MVP Finals accolade during the triumph.

Despite having a core group of players intact, GSW was not playing to their potential for more than the first half of the season. However, once the playoffs started, the Warriors charged up as they went past Nuggets 4-1 in the first round. 

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson starred as GSW defeated second-seed Memphis Grizzlies to book their place in the Conference Finals. Curry yet again led the scoring charts in four out of five games en route to leading GSW to the finals. 

Although the Warriors were twice on the trail losing the first and third games of the series, they fought to ultimately clinch the 2022 NBA Finals with a sensational 4-2 triumph over Jayson Tatum and Boston Celtics.

The Mavericks won the 2011 NBA Finals with a sensational victory over second seed Miami Heat. It remains the sole championship title for Dallas.

Mavs coached by Rick Carlisle finished the regular season with a decent 57-25 record. They started with a remarkable 4-2 victory over Portland in the first round.

The formidable duo of Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd looked in great touch as Dallas thrashed second-seeded LA Lakers in the conference semi-final. They were brewing with confidence and registered a resounding 4-1 series win over Oklahoma City to secure the finals berth.

Up next was the tournament favorites Miami led by Lebron James and Udonis Haslem. They had convincingly beaten the first-seed Chicago Bulls en route to the finals.

Miami took the early lead in the series and the score read 2-2 at the end of the fourth game. Nowitzki put on a fabulous MVP Finals performance as Dallas won the next two games and won the first-ever NBA title in the franchise's history.

SA Spurs won their fourth NBA championship in 2007 under the tutelage of Gregg Popovich. They finished the regular season with a record of 58-24.

It started with a 4-1 victory for San Antonio over Denver as they set up a conference semifinal clash with Phoenix Suns. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker starred en route to beating the Suns.

The highly spirited Spurs roster looked in great touch as they registered yet another resounding 4-1 triumph over Utah Jazz in the conference finals. 

What followed in the NBA Finals was hard to believe as the Spurs put on an absolute masterclass thumping Cleveland Cavaliers led by LeBron James 4-0. Tony Parker was awarded the 2007 MVP Finals while power forward Duncan also made the All-NBA first team.

Detroit won their third NBA Championship in 2004. The Pistons were the third seed for playoffs as they completed the regular season 54-28.

After acquiring Larry Brown as the head coach, Detriot continued justifying their nickname The Bad Boys with a tough defensive unit which proved to be a major headache for the rival teams.

The playoff campaign started with a 4-1 series win over Milwaukee Bucks. Despite taking an early 2-0 lead, Pistons lost three consecutive games in the conference semifinal against New Jersey.

Thanks to the fantastic trio of Ben Wallace, Richard Hamilton and Billups, they won the last two games and set up a conference finals clash with Indiana Pacers, which they ultimately won 4-2.

Pistons clinched the coveted NBA trophy beating the star-studded Lakers team comprising Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. The 6 feet 3 inches tall Chauncey Billups was rightly awarded the 2004 NBA Finals MVP. 

LA clinched the 2002 NBA Championship albeit finishing with a mediocre third seed in the Western Conference. Shaquille O'Neal won the MVP Finals award.

The Lakers came into the tournament seeking their third consecutive title triumph having won it in 2000 and 2001. They finished the regular season 58-24 despite having gotten to a phenomenal 16-1 start.

LA embarked on the playoff journey with a clean sweep over Portland and continued the winning streak over San Antonio as well. Kobe and Shaq came to the fore as they came back from 2-3 down to triumph against Sacramento in the conference finals. 

Lakers sensationally rolled over New Jersey with a stunning 4-0 clean sweep to wrap up the 2002 NBA Finals. Spurs star Tim Duncan won the overall MVP whereas Pau Gasol walked away with the Rookie of the Year award.

Washington Bullets won their first NBA title in 1978. The Bullets triumphed over first-seed Philadelphia 76ers in the conference finals.

Dick Motta coached the Wizards to finish third in the Eastern Conference with a regular season record of 44-38, which remains the lowest win total of any NBA title-winning team to date.

However, Washington started playoffs brightly walking past Atlanta in the first round and 2nd seed San Antonio in the conference semifinals.

Elvin Hayes stood out with his phenomenal scoring abilities alongside rebounds as the Bullets secured the NBA finals berth with a convincing 4-2 series win against the 76ers.

Washington went down thrice in the 1978 NBA Finals clash against Seattle SuperSonics with scores of 0-1, 1-2 and 2-3. Kudos to the Bullets as they ultimately clinched the championship 4-3 owing to the vital contributions of Wes Unseld, Bob Dandridge and Elvin Hayes.

Portland won their only NBA Championship in 1977 after finishing the regular season in third position at the Western Conference. 

The Blazers started playoffs with a 2-1 series win over Chicago Bulls and followed it with a 4-2 victory over Denver Nuggets. Brewing with high confidence, they clean-swept LA Lakers in the conference finals.

Portland defeated first-seed Philadelphia 76ers in six games to win the first NBA Championship in franchise history. Although Blazers lost the opening two games, they fought back to win the next four consecutive games and clinch the coveted title.

Bill Walton won the Finals MVP as he led the scoring and rebound charts. Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was declared the most valuable player of the 1976/77 season.  

NY Knicks became the first-ever 3rd seed team to win the NBA Championship in 1973. Knickerbockers defeated LA Lakers in the Finals under the tutelage of Red Holzman.

New York finished the regular season with a win percentage of .695 whereby they had a 57-25 record. They triumphed over Baltimore by 4-1 in the conference semi-finals.

The 1973 conference finals went the distance as Knicks defeated first-seed Boston by 4-3. The 6 feet 4 inches tall Walt Frazier completely stole the show top scoring for NY in all seven games.

Although the 1973 NBA Finals started with a loss for the Knicks, they emerged victorious in the next four consecutive games. Willis Reed won the Finals MVP whereas teammates Dave DeBusschere and Walt Frazier made the illustrious NBA All-Defensive First Team.