NBA Facts
Only two 8th seeded teams have managed to beat the top seeded team? The Denver Nuggets eliminated the Seattle Supersonics 3-2 in 1994 and the New York Knicks beat the Miami Heat in 1999. The Knicks also became the first 8th seeded team to reach the NBA finals.
The Houston Rockets are the only low seeded team to reach the NBA finals and win. In 1995, they swept the Orlando Magic in four games. That season, the Rockets were a collective 5-0 in games when they faced playoff elimination.
The Boston Celtics possess the most overall NBA Finals series wins with an overall record of 16-3. The Lakers have played in the most NBA Finals series (28), with an overall record of 14-14.
Hall of Famer and Celtics great Bill Russell has 11 championship rings.
Future Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal's teams are a collective 25-0 in all NBA playoff series when his teams have won the first game of a series.
The LA Lakers hold the record for the most Playoff games won at 360. The Boston Celtics come in second with 281 wins and the Philadelphia 76ers are third with 197.
With 36, the Chicago Bulls hold the record for the most Turnovers in a single Playoff game. This was achieved in their April 17, 1977 game against the Portland Trailblazers.
Reggie Miller holds the record for the most number of three-pointers attempted in Playoff history. He's attempted 690 three-pointers in all his Playoff appearances.
With 2,356, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds the record for the most Field Goals made in the history of the NBA Playoffs.
Michael Jordan holds the record for the most number of career points scored by a single player in Playoff history. He's scored 5,987 points in all his Playoff appearances. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is in second spot with 5,762 points while Karl Malone is in third with 4,519.
At 395, Scottie Pippen has logged the most steals by any player in NBA Playoff history. Michael Jordan comes in second with 376 steals and Magic Johnson is a close third with 358.
Coach Phil Jackson won the most number of Playoff games wit 162. Pat Riley comes in second with 155 wins and Red Auerbach is in third with 99 games won.
Automobile piston magnate Fred Zollner launched the Pistons franchise in 1941. The team joined the National Basketball League (NBL) as the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons where they posted strong regular season performances. Following the 1949 NBL-BAA merger that resulted in the formation of the NBA, the Pistons were placed in the highly-competitive Central Division.
The Lakers franchise is older than the NBA. Minneapolis was the Lakers' first home and they first saw action during the 1947-1948 season of the NBL, a forerunner of the NBA.
The Denver Nuggets started out as the Denver Rockets in 1967 when they entered the American Basketball Associations (ABA), a rival league of the NBA. After seven seasons, and as NBA entry loomed, the team was renamed "Nuggets" after the 19th century mining boom in Colorado when people rushed to the area in search of gold and silver nuggets.
The Indiana Pacers first saw action in the 1967-1968 season of the ABA. The Pacers were a dominant force in the ABA . The team joined the NBA in 1976, along with the Denver Nuggets, New York Nets and the San Antonio Spurs.
The Rockets debuted in the NBA as the San Diego Rockets in 1967. The team performed disappointingly during their first few seasons. The Rockets subsequently moved to Houston after four seasons.
The roots of the Utah Jazz can be traced to New Orleans . The New Orleans Jazz were formed in 1974, then moved to Utah in 1979 as they struggled through a decade at the bottom before emerging as perennial contenders in the late 1980s and early 1990s.