List of NBA game sevens
In the National Basketball Association (NBA), a game seven is the final game of a best-of-seven series in the NBA playoffs. Based on the playoffs format arrangement,[a] it is played in the venue of the team holding home-court advantage for the series. The necessity of a game seven is not known until the outcome of game six is determined, assuming that a series reaches that far. In other words, game seven is the only one in a series that is not guaranteed more than one game in advance. Due to the decisive nature of game sevens, they are often "played more conservatively" and receive more media and fan attention.[1]
The NBA Finals has always employed a best-of-seven series format. The Conference (or Division) Finals have used this format since 1958;[2] the Conference (or Division) Semifinals since 1968;[3] and the First Round since 2003.[4][5] During the 1947 and 1948 playoffs, in which teams from different divisions met each other in the opening rounds, the first-place teams from each division played a best-of-seven series against each other before one advanced to the league finals. The other teams in the playoffs competed against each other in three best-of-three series to determine the other spot in the finals.[6]
Since the inception of the NBA, 133 game sevens have been played. Of those, six went into overtime, and one into double overtime. Twenty-eight game sevens have been won by the road team.[7] Every active NBA franchise has played in at least one game seven. There have been 12 playoff seasons in which no game sevens were played: 1947, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1967, 1972, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1991, and 1999. The 1994, the 2014 and the 2016 postseasons held the record for most game sevens played, with five. In 1979, 1981, 1988, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2018 and 2020 four game sevens were played. The Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks both hold the record for most game sevens played in a single postseason, having played three game sevens in 1988 and 1994, respectively, the maximum possible at that time.
Key
OT | Overtime (the number in front indicates the number of overtime periods played, if there were more than one) |
* | Indicates a game seven that was won by the road team |
Year (X) | Indicates the number of games seven played in that year's postseason Each year is linked to an article about that particular NBA season |
∞ | Indicates a game seven that was hosted at a neutral site |
† | Indicates the team that won a game seven after coming back from an 0–3 series deficit |
§ | Indicates the team that lost a game seven after coming back from an 0–3 series deficit |
Team (#) | Indicates team and the number of game sevens played by that team at that point |
^ | Indicates game seven in the NBA Finals |
All-time game sevens
All-time standings
Notes
- a The home-and-away format in every round of the playoffs is the 2–2–1–1–1 format (the team with the better regular season record plays on their home court in games one, two, five and seven). The format of the finals from 1984–2013 used the 2–3–2 format (the team with the better regular season record plays on their home court in games one, two, six and seven).[119] In the past, there have been several other formats used in the playoffs.
- b Won as the designated road team at a neutral-site game.
References
- General
- "All-Time Game Seven Road Winners". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved May 9, 2009.
- "Breakdown of Game 7s in NBA playoff history". NBA.com. June 8, 2012. Archived from the original on September 29, 2012. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
- Specific
- McCallum, Jack (May 24, 2004). "It's That Time Again: Everything changes when you get to Game 7. The air is different. The noise is different. And there's so much weight". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
- Newmann, Peter (May 30, 2007). "Jazz–Spurs research notes". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
- Hickok, Ralph (February 18, 2009). "NBA 1967–68 Season". HickokSports.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
- Abrams, Jonathan & Beck, Howard (May 2, 2009). "An Unforgettable Series, and They've Only Just Begun". The New York Times. Retrieved May 15, 2009.
- Anderson, Corrie and Rob Reheuser, et al (2006). Sporting News Official 2006–2007 NBA Guide. Sporting News Books. ISBN 0-89204-854-9.
- Rosen, Charley (2008). The First Tip-Off: The Incredible Story of the Birth of the NBA. Mc-Graw Hill. pp. 211–212. ISBN 0-07-148785-9.
- "NBA serves up rare Game 7 feast". USA Today. May 21, 2006. Retrieved May 12, 2009.
- "1948 BAA Playoff Summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
- "1951 NBA Playoff Summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
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- "1966 NBA Playoff Summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
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- "1969 NBA Playoff Summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
- "1970 NBA Playoff Summary". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on May 24, 2008. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
- "1971 NBA Playoff Summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
- "1973 NBA Playoff Summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
- "1974 NBA Playoff Summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
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- "1976 NBA Playoff Summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
- "1977 NBA Playoff Summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
- "1978 NBA Playoff Summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
- "1979 NBA Playoff Summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
- "1980 NBA Playoff Summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
- "1981 NBA Playoff Summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
- "1982 NBA Playoff Summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
- "1984 NBA Playoff Summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
- "1986 NBA Playoff Summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
- "1987 NBA Playoff Summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
- "1988 NBA Playoff Summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
- "1990 NBA Playoff Summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
- "1992 NBA Playoff Summary". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
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- "Boxscore – Utah vs. Denver". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – New York vs. Chicago". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – New York vs. Indiana". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Houston vs. New York". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Houston at Phoenix". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Indiana at New York". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Orlando vs. Indiana". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Seattle vs. Utah". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Houston vs. Seattle". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Miami vs. New York". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Chicago vs. Indiana". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – New York at Miami". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – L.A. Lakers vs. Portland". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Philadelphia vs. Toronto". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
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- "Boxscore – Dallas vs. Portland". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Detroit vs. Orlando". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Dallas vs. Sacramento". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Miami vs. New Orleans". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Minnesota vs. Sacramento". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Detroit vs. New Jersey". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Indiana at Boston". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Dallas vs. Houston". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Detroit at Miami". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – San Antonio vs. Detroit". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Phoenix vs. L.A. Lakers". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Detroit vs. Cleveland". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Dallas at San Antonio". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Phoenix vs. L.A. Clippers". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Utah at Houston". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Boston vs. Atlanta". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Boston vs. Cleveland". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on May 21, 2008. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – San Antonio at New Orleans". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
- "Boxscore – Boston vs Chicago". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 8, 2009.
- "Boxscore – Atlanta vs. Miami". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 8, 2009.
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- "Boxscore – Orlando at Boston". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
- "Boxscore – Milwaukee at Atlanta". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
- "Boxscore – Boston at Los Angeles". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
- "Boxscore – Memphis at Oklahoma City". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 14, 2011.
- "Boxscore – Denver at Los Angeles". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
- "Boxscore – L.A. Clippers at Memphis". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
- "Boxscore – Philadelphia at Boston". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
- "Boxscore – Boston at Miami". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
- "Boxscore – Chicago at Brooklyn". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
- "Boxscore – Indiana at Miami". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
- "Boxscore – San Antonio at Miami". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
- "Boxscore – Atlanta at Indiana". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
- "Boxscore – Memphis at Oklahoma City". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
- "Boxscore – Golden State at Los Angeles". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
- "Boxscore – Brooklyn at Toronto". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
- "Boxscore – Dallas at San Antonio". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
- "Boxscore – San Antonio at Los Angeles". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
- "Boxscore – Los Angeles at Houston". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
- "Boxscore – Charlotte at Miami". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
- "Boxscore – Indiana at Toronto". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
- "Boxscore – Miami at Toronto". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
- "Boxscore – Oklahoma City at Golden State". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
- "Boxscore – Cleveland at Golden State". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
- "Boxscore – Utah at Los Angeles". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
- "Boxscore – Washington at Boston". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
- "Boxscore – Milwaukee at Boston". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
- "Boxscore – Indiana at Cleveland". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
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- "Boxscore – Houston at Golden State". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
- "Boxscore – San Antonio at Denver". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- "Boxscore – Portland at Denver". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
- "Boxscore – Philadelphia at Toronto". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
- "Boxscore – Utah at Denver". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
- "Boxscore – Oklahoma City at Houston". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
- "Boxscore – Boston at Toronto". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
- "Boxscore – Denver at Los Angeles Clippers". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
- Ryan, Bob (June 23, 2005). "Time to turn back clock on format". The Boston Globe.