Throughout the history of the NBA playoffs and since the 1983-84 season, when the league began with the 16-team postseason competition, only five 8-seed teams have defied the NBA odds and defeated the No. 11-seeded teams in the first round. The first team to ever do it was the 1994 Denver Nuggets when they eked out a 3-2 series victory over the Seattle SuperSonics.
On this day in 1994… Dikembe Mutombo and the Nuggets became the first No. 8 seed to win a Playoff series! #NBA75 pic.twitter.com/f6a9QH4wxv
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) May 7, 2022