How do NBA Teams Fare Down 0-2 in a Seven-Game Playoff Series?

NBA playoff series are a whirlwind of momentum swings and unpredictable drama. Coaching adjustments and critical injuries can play a huge factor as the postseason rolls along. Teams that find themselves in a dreaded 0-2 hole are usually a great bet to be eliminated.

The odds of clawing back from an 0-2 deficit are slim. Only about 7% of teams in NBA history have manage to win a seven-game series after losing the first two games. A measly 33 teams out of 447 series.

With the 2024 NBA playoffs underway, here’s a look at the NBA teams that have come back after going down 0-2 in a best-of-seven series:

NBA teams that have won the series after trailing 0-2: Recent History Looks Bright

Shockingly, six teams have stormed back from a 0-2 deficit over the last three years. Removing those six from the equation, only 26 teams have overcome an 0-2 deficit in an NBA playoff series prior to 2021. Winning on the road, in the playoffs, as the pace of the game slows down is easier said than done. Home teams have a significant advantage, as evidenced by squads going a perfect 11-0 SU from their own friendly confines so far in these year's festivities.

Each of the most recent examples of overcoming the 0-2 deficit have one common denominator. Superstar(s), often multiple, as leaders of their franchise. In fact, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, Luka Doncic, and Steph Curry will likely all go down as top-50 players in NBA history when their respective careers wrap up. Their impact in these playoff turnarounds cannot be overlooked.

One conclusion from the above table is clear: don't bother wasting your money on a team without a top-10 talent in the Association to overcome an 0-2 deficit. The results aren't pretty. Here's a few of the most recent examples.

2021 Milwaukee Bucks

Returning from a two-game deficit is a supremely rare feat. Yet, the Bucks did it twice in one playoff. First, Milwaukee knocked off the Nets in the East semis, then raged back to snuff the Suns and secure an NBA championship victory. What a run by Giannis Antetokounmpo and co.

2021 Los Angeles Clippers

At the same time the Bucks were wilding out, the Clippers had a sizzling stretch of their own. This 2021 run was arguably L.A.'s peak in the Kawhi Leonard-Paul George partnership.  Eventually, injuries dragged Kawhi down, but not before that '21 Clippers squad secured 2-0 comebacks over the Mavericks and Jazz. 

2023 Golden State Warriors

"A 50-POINT GAME 7 FOR STEPH CURRY!"#PLAYOFFMODE ACTIVATED IN GAME 7.

WARRIORS/KINGS ON ABC. pic.twitter.com/zny9xgn4ge

— NBA (@NBA) April 30, 2023

Steph Curry's Golden State Warriors are the latest team to overcome the 0-2 deficit. All-star De'Aaron Fox and the young and hungry Kings finally looked ready to end years of misery at the Warriors expense. Sacramento stormed out to a 2-0 lead in the series, while fans and analysts alike began to question if this is the end of Golden State's dynasty. Alas, it wasn't to be for the Kings, as the Warriors won three straight games to advance. Steph Curry's memorable 50-point game is the most ever scored in a game 7 in NBA history.

NBA Teams Down 3-0: A Sad, Sad History

One order of pain and despair, please, shaken, not stirred. 

There's nothing more dreadful than watching your favorite team fall behind a series 3-0. That sucks. But then the ecstasy that follows when they even it up 3-3? That's sweet. In the NBA, though, that joy disappears quickly, as no team has ever successfully won a series after trailing 3-0. Four teams have forced a Game 7. 

Here are a few squads that came close.

2023 Boston Celtics

This wound is still fresh in Beantown. The Celtics were the NBA championship chalk for most of the regular season, and after two series victories, they crumbled in the Eastern Finals. But first, the C's put their fans through a real rigamarole. 

JIMMY AND THE HEAT GET THEIR REVENGE ON THE CELTICS 😤 pic.twitter.com/WPxpiwAs0O

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 30, 2023

Jaylen Brown swore his team needed just one win, and he was right. The Celtics, on the brink of elimination, rattled off three in a row but couldn't stop the buzzsaw Miami Heat. And, in the end, all Celtics fans got was a puddle of tears. Perhaps Boston can take some revenge in this year's first round series.

2003 Portland Trail Blazers

The Trail Blazers almost achieved history, and that would've counted for something, even in a menial first-round series.

The Dallas Mavericks were good that year, operating under a flawless pick-and-roll tandem of Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash. So when the Blazers fell behind, it looked like a sure thing. Damon Stoudamire, Zach Randolph and the boys clawed back, but they just couldn't squeeze out that elusive Game 7 win.