Since the ABA and NBA merger in 1976-77, there have been some improbable NBA championship teams, although the majority of them were high seeds and pre-season favorites. In those 50 years, we have witnessed several repeat champions and even a few 3-peats, such as the 1990s Bulls (twice) and the 2000-02 L.A. Lakers. Generally, the top seeds tend to emerge victorious.
The Indiana Pacers are on the verge of reaching the 2025 NBA Finals, as they host Game 6 against the New York Knicks on Saturday. The Pacers were the No. 4 seed in the East (50-32) after finishing the regular season as one of the hottest teams in the NBA. They reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season, but few expected a repeat performance, especially since the Pacers went 7-8 in November, 7-7 in December and were 16-18 entering 2025.
Indiana is now one victory from its first NBA Finals appearance in 25 years.
The Pacers dispatched the five-seed Bucks in five games in round one, then defeated the No. 1 seed and 64-win Cleveland Cavaliers in five games. The Pacers jumped out on the Knicks in the conference finals, stealing the first two games in New York. In NBA history, four teams have erased a seven-point lead or more in the final minute of a playoff game, and this Pacers team has done it three times this postseason, including Game 1 vs. New York. A win Saturday or Monday (on the road) and the Pacers will face a 68-win Oklahoma City Thunder team in the NBA Finals beginning Thursday.
It’s safe to say if Indiana wins the NBA title it will surprise many, much less the naysayers back in January when it didn’t look like coach Rick Carlisle’s club could come close to repeating last year’s post-season run.
There have been a few surprising champions in league history and today we highlight and chronicle the top five most improbable champions in NBA history.
Will the 2025 Indiana Pacers join the list?
1. 2010-2011 Dallas Mavericks, 57-25 won-loss record, (No. 3 seed)The Mavs secured the most improbable championship of the past 50 years and one of the most incredible of the past two decades. The Mavericks faced immediate challenges when the postseason began. In the first round, they faced the Portland Trail Blazers and advanced in six games before taking on the reigning two-time defending champion L.A. Lakers. Dallas stunned the Lakers by sweeping them in four games, setting up a Western Conference Finals matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder, a young team featuring three future league MVPs.
Dallas split the first two games and then dominated, winning three straight to set up a rematch of the 2006 NBA Finals with the Miami Heat. Dallas matched up with Miami’s “Big 3” and trailed 2-1 after three games. Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas’ lone all-star, subsequently took over the series in Game 4, averaging 23.6 points and nine rebounds in leading Dallas to three straight wins and only title in franchise history. The 2011 title was the pinnacle of Dirk’s career, especially since he had to defeat eight other NBA Hall of Famers on the way to the title.
2. 1994-1995 Houston Rockets, 47-35 (No. 6 seed)The Rockets had a tough road to the title despite coming into the post-season as the defending NBA champions. The Rockets struggled early and made roster changes in the middle of the season. The key acquisition, of course, was adding future Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler, a teammate of franchise player Hakeem Olajuwon at the University of Houston. After adding Drexler, the Rockets still struggled.
Houston, however, ran the gauntlet in the playoffs, and makes this list at No. 2 as the first team in NBA history to defeat four 50-win playoff opponents on its way to the title (followed by repeat championships Lakers teams in 2001 and 2010). Rudy Tomjanovich’s gang defeated the No. 3 seeded Jazz in five games (even though guard Vernon Maxwell quit the team), defeated No. 2 seed Phoenix Suns in seven games in round two to set up a Western Conference Finals showdown with No. 1 seed San Antonio. After dispatching San Antonio in six games, Houston fell behind the young Orlando Magic in Game 1 by as many as 20 points before rallying behind a key 3-pointer from Kenny Smith that forced overtime, where it won the game on Dream’s tip-in in the closing seconds. After the game one thriller, Houston rolled to the sweep as Tomjanovich told the world, “Don’t ever underestimate the heart of a champion!”
3. 2003-2004 Detroit Pistons, 54-28 (No. 3 seed)This team didn’t have a superstar, but made a key acquisition in acquiring Rasheed Wallace before the trade deadline. It went on to win 16 of its final 19 regular season games and went into the playoffs with confidence. Detroit beat Milwaukee in five games in round one, and then matched up with the No. 2 seed New Jersey Nets in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Detroit’s defense was the key in the seven game thriller, holding the Nets to 83.2 ppg.
The Pistons then took on the top seeded Indiana Pacers, and beat them in six games to roll in to the NBA Finals vs. the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers. Defense was the name of the game, as the Pistons allowed only 75 points in a Game 1 win and went on to capture the title with a “gentleman’s sweep” of L.A. while allowing 81.8 ppg against a high-powered opponent.
4. 2018-2019 Toronto Raptors, 58-24 (No. 2 seed)A talented unit, the Raptors made significant roster changes in the summer of 2018. Toronto traded away DeMar DeRozan for what turned out to be a rental of Kawhi Leonard. But oh what a rental The Claw was. Despite being the top seed in the East in 2018, the Raptors were swept by Cleveland in the second round. The addition of Leonard gave Toronto a different look and someone who could get the franchise over the hump.
Toronto defeated the Orlando Magic in five games in round one, leading to a matchup vs. No. 3 seeded Philadelphia. After a back-and-forth series, Toronto advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals after a mirculious corner shot buzzer bearter by Leonard in Game 7. The Eastern Conference Finals pitted Toronto against the top-seeded Bucks, led by future two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Raptors rode the momentum of the Philly series to beat Milwaukee in six games to set up a finals matchup vs. the star-studded Golden State Warriors. The Raptors dug deep against a depleted club that suffered major injuries to secure the only title in franchise history, as Leonard took home his second Finals MVP.
5. 2021-2022 Golden State Warriors, 52-39 (No. 3 seed)The fifth team on this list could have went in several different directions, but the Warriors get the nod since most NBA experts felt the dynasty was over following the dramatic injuries to Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant during the 2019 NBA Finals. Franchise leader Steph Curry missed significant time leading up to the 2021-2022 season, playing 188 total games across four seasons, and Thompson missed basically two full seasons, while Durant departed.
In one of the ultimate gut-check title runs, Golden State defeated Denver in five games, a young and hungry Memphis Grizzlies team in six games, Dallas in five games in the Western Conference Finals and met the Boson Celtics in the NBA Finals. The teams split the first two games and Golden State was down 2-1 heading into Game 4. The Warriors ran off three straight games to win the title, as Curry led the way, averaging 31.2 ppg, six rebounds and five assists as the franchise won the most improbable of its four titles in the Curry era.
