Coming back from a 3-1 deficit certainly isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible.
While no team in NBA history has ever won a series after trailing 3-0, a number of them have bounced back from a 3-1 deficit to advance to the next round — and in one case, win the whole thing.
The most recent team to overcome such a deficit is the Nuggets, who did it not once but twice in the 2020 NBA Playoffs. They remain the only team to date that has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit in back-to-back series.
Including those Nuggets, here’s the full list of teams to come back from a 3-1 series deficit.
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How many teams have come back from 3-1 deficit in NBA Playoffs history?
Teams have overcome a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Playoffs a total of 13 times.
The Celtics were the first team to do it, beating the 76ers in the 1968 Eastern Division Finals to advance to the Finals, where they defeated the Lakers to add another championship to their trophy case.
The Cavaliers remain the only team to recover from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals when they bested the Warriors in 2016. The Cavaliers took down a Warriors team that set an NBA record with 73 wins in the regular season and ended Cleveland’s 52-year championship drought.
Six different teams have mounted a 3-1 comeback in the playoffs since 2000. The most recent to join the list is the Nuggets, who came back from a 3-1 deficit against the Jazz in the first round and the Clippers in the second round of the 2020 NBA Playoffs.
| Year | Series | Winning team | Losing team |
| 1968 | Eastern Division Finals | Celtics | 76ers |
| 1970 | Western Division Semifinals | Lakers | Suns |
| 1979 | Eastern Conference Finals | Bullets | Spurs |
| 1981 | Eastern Conference Finals | Celtics | 76ers |
| 1995 | Western Conference Semifinals | Rockets | Suns |
| 1997 | Eastern Conference Semifinals | Heat | Knicks |
| 2003 | Eastern Conference First Round | Pistons | Magic |
| 2006 | Western Conference First Round | Suns | Lakers |
| 2015 | Western Conference Semifinals | Rockets | Clippers |
| 2016 | Western Conference Finals | Warriors | Thunder |
| 2016 | NBA Finals | Cavaliers | Warriors |
| 2020 | Western Conference First Round | Nuggets | Jazz |
| 2020 | Western Conference Semifinals | Nuggets | Clippers |
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, teams that go up 3-1 in a best-of-seven series have a 258-13 record for a winning percentage of 95.2.
Which teams are down 3-1 in this year’s playoffs?
After their loss against the Lakers in Game 4, the Warriors once again find themselves staring down the barrel of a 3-1 deficit. However, they have pulled off the comeback once before.
Golden State stunned Oklahoma City in 2016 by storming back from 3-1 down to win the Western Conference Finals in seven games. They advanced to the NBA Finals, where they built a 3-1 lead of their own against LeBron James and the Cavaliers. Of course, Cleveland ended up completing another improbable comeback to secure the title that year.
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The Knicks also face a 3-1 deficit after dropping Game 4 against Miami, but history is not on their side. They are 0-14 all-time when falling behind 3-1, while the Heat are 14-0 when taking a 3-1 series lead. Especially with a banged-up roster, it would take something special for New York to keep its season alive.