How difficult is it to lose only 1 game in the playoffs? NBA history has only 3 times, and even the strongest wins of the Bulls 72 times

As we all know, every season in the NBA is a long marathon. There are as many as 82 games in the regular season alone, and the period also includes back-to-back, home and away schedules, which will increase the difficulty of winning. Therefore, in this case, even the strongest team will find it difficult to maintain the winning posture. Not to mention the playoffs, every team works hard to make it into the top eight of the division for a season, and they definitely want to go the farther they want, especially considering the cases of "Black Eight" and "Black Seven" in history, and those teams that failed to get the home advantage of the playoffs, they will not give up easily.

With everyone giving their all in the playoffs, it is difficult to win the championship itself, and it is obviously even more "hell-style difficulty". Like the championship Thunder, last season, they once played the best 67 wins in the team history in the regular season, but there were still series that almost failed in the playoffs. They were forced to reach the Nuggets and Pacers before they were almost promoted. Especially when facing the Pacers, if Halliburton's G7 had not been injured, it would be impossible to say who would win in the end.

In addition to this year's Thunder, there was also the 72-win Bulls that year. They also failed to continue their dominance in the regular season in the playoffs. Even though they still have the league's number one player, Jordan, they both won the Knicks and the Supersonics in the playoffs that year when they faced them. However, in history, there are not many teams that can meet the conditions for losing only 1 game in the playoffs. Then we will take a look at their performance in the first championship season!

1. Philadelphia 76ers (1982-1983 season)

Playoff record: 12 wins and 1 loss

As an NBA team that was founded earlier, the 76ers had many top stars at the time. In the 1982-1983 season, they even had two superstars, Moses Malone and Julius Irving. In addition, there are players like Morris Chicks and Andrew Tony as supporters in the lineup, so their paper lineup is very luxurious, and they did play dominant in that season.

The 76ers won 65 wins and 17 losses in the regular season. As the star of the game, Moses Malone also won the MVP with his average of 24.5 points, 15.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 2 blocks. There are also the second leader Irving, who averaged 22.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.8 blocks per game during the regular season. With the concerted efforts of the whole team, the 76ers naturally became the favorite to win the championship, so Malone also shouted the classic sentence before the start of the playoffs: "four, four, four", which means that they will easily sweep their opponents in each round of the series and successfully win the championship.

But unfortunately, Ma Long broke his promise in the end. The 76ers failed to sweep all their opponents, but obviously no one would question their dominance that year. After all, they only lost one game in the entire playoffs. At that time, the 76ers first swept the Knicks led by Bernard King, and in the second round, the gentleman swept the Bucks and the Bucks 4-1. Finally, facing the giants Lakers, the 76ers successfully took revenge and directly "breaked" their opponents with a 4-0 score.

In this round of the series, Malone completely suppressed Jabbar in the inside. He averaged 25.8 points, 18 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per game, so he was elected FMVP without any suspense. In the end, under his leadership, the Sixers became the first team in history to win the championship with only one game in the playoffs.

2. Los Angeles Lakers (2000-2001 season)

Playoff record: 15 wins and 1 loss

In 1996, the Lakers signed O'Neal and traded Kobe again. As time went by, the two men gradually reached their peak, and their chemistry was getting better and better. In the 1999-2000 season, led by this OK combination, the Lakers successfully won the championship of the season, but they still encountered many setbacks this year. The Kings in the first round and the Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Finals both brought them quite a lot of trouble.

In comparison, the Lakers were undoubtedly more dominant in the 2000-2001 season. In addition to O'Neal and Kobe, players such as Fisher and Fox also performed very well this year. Therefore, even though O'Neal often paddled in the regular season, they still achieved a record of 56 wins and 26 losses. In the playoffs, O'Neal started the full-strength mode, so the Lakers directly played far beyond the regular season. In the end, they also achieved a luxurious record of 11 wins and 0 losses while rushing out of the West. It can be seen that the Lakers were completely the only team in the league at that time.

In the finals, facing the 76ers, the outside world is generally optimistic about the Lakers, and most fans think they can sweep their opponents again. However, after the G1 of the finals began, the 76ers proved that they were not worthy of being the Eastern Conference champion. With Iverson's outbreak, they took the lead and won a 1-0 lead in the series. After losing G1, this gave the Lakers a warning, so they later readjusted their mentality and used all their strength again.

In the end, the Lakers did not give the 76ers another chance. They won 4 games in a row and directly won the championship, and set a new NBA record with a record of 15 wins and 1 loss in the playoffs. O'Neal averaged 30+10 per game, and he won the FMVP again without any controversy..

3. Golden State Warriors (2016-2017 season)

Playoff record: 16 wins and 1 loss

In the 1910s, the NBA ushered in the rise of the Warriors. Under the leadership of Curry and others, they not only won the championship in 2015, but also made the best record in the NBA's history with 73 wins and 9 losses in the 2015-2016 season. Unfortunately, the Warriors failed to defend their title this year. They were eventually reversed, which became the most exciting round of series in NBA history.

In order to avenge the new season in the 2016 offseason, the Warriors recruited free agent Durant, and his joining directly brought the team to a qualitative change again. When the Warriors announced, everyone knew the belonging of the championship next season. After that, the Warriors won 67 wins without any effort in the regular season, and rushed out of the Western Conference with a record of 12 wins and 0 losses without any suspense.

Facing the defending champion Cavaliers in the finals, the Warriors played against the opponents at the beginning, and they won the match point of the series after three games. Unfortunately, the G4 Cavaliers exploded in offensively. The team scored 24 three-pointers with more than 50% of the shooting rate, so the Warriors failed to achieve a sweep. However, in the end, they were able to win the championship with a record of 16 wins and 1 losses, which was not disappointing the outside world's expectations for them. Even if we look back now, the real strength of this Warriors is obviously one of the best in history.