Record of “surprises” in the first round of the NBA play-offs

The Golden State Warriors’ victory in Sacramento on Sunday in Game 7 of the series between the two franchises set a new record for “surprises” in the first round of the NBA play-offs.

Sixth in the Western Conference, the defending champion Warriors eliminated third-placed Sacramento. This reversal of the regular season hierarchy is in addition to the three others recorded so far with the qualifications, still in the West, of the Los Angeles Lakers (7th), from the play-in (dams), against the Memphis Grizzlies (2nd) and, in the East, the New York Knicks (5th) against the Cleveland Cavaliers (4th) and especially the Miami Heat (8th), from the play-in, against number 1 of the season, Milwaukee.

As a result, two series of the second round, Golden State – LA Lakers and Miami – New York oppose franchises absent from the top 4 of the two Conferences.

Last year, all four seeds from each Conference qualified

Since 1984, the first season with 16 teams qualified in the final phase, never had a first round resulted in four eliminations of the highest ranked team after the regular season. Until this year, the maximum number of series in the first round toppling the hierarchy was three, a scenario that has occurred twelve times since 1984, the last in 2014.

Last year, the hierarchy had not been shaken and the four seeds of each Conference had qualified for the second round. On average per season, according to ESPN, there are 1.5 eliminations among the highest ranked in the first round.