Four Game Sweeps in the NBA Playoffs
Posted by Andrew McKillop on May 10, 2011
Correction: Thank you to blog reader Dan who pointed out that the Lakers didn’t average a 38 point margin in their sweep of the Spurs in 2001 (instead 22.3). The high number should have made me question the accuracy of my data entry. Dan also pointed out that the Orlando Magic-Atlanta Hawks series sweep in 2010 had the greatest average point margin (25.3 points/per game).
The Dallas Mavericks sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers was the 59th 4-game series sweep in NBA playoff history. It’s only the second time in Mavericks team history that they have pulled off a 4-game sweep. However it was only the 12th time in NBA playoff history that a team with the worse of the seeds in the series pulled off the 4-game series sweep. Check out the chart below breaking down all the 4-game sweeps in NBA playoff history.
Legend: Sd (Seed), Pts Mar (Points Margin per Game).
| Year | Round | Sd | Won | Sd | Lost | Pts Mar |
| 1959 | Finals | 1 | Celtics | 2 | Lakers | 10.3 |
| 1968 | Div Finals | 2 | Lakers | 3 | Warriors | 10.3 |
| 1969 | Div Semi | 3 | Knicks | 1 | Bullets | 9.5 |
| 1970 | Div Finals | 2 | Lakers | 1 | Hawks | 8.8 |
| 1971 | Finals | 1 | Bucks | 1 | Bullets | 12.3 |
| 1972 | Conf Semi | 1 | Lakers | 2 | Bulls | 10.0 |
| 1974 | Conf Finals | 1 | Bucks | 2 | Bulls | 14.3 |
| 1975 | Finals | 1 | Warriors | 2 | Bullets | 4.0 |
| 1977 | Conf Finals | 3 | Blazers | 1 | Lakers | 5.8 |
| 1978 | Conf Semi | 1 | Sixers | 5 | Knicks | 18.8 |
| 1980 | Conf Semi | 1 | Celtics | 4 | Rockets | 18.5 |
| 1981 | Conf Semi | 1 | Celtics | 5 | Bulls | 8.3 |
| 1982 | Conf Semi | 1 | Lakers | 5 | Suns | 12.8 |
| 1982 | Conf Finals | 1 | Lakers | 2 | Spurs | 8.8 |
| 1983 | Conf Semi | 2 | Bucks | 3 | Celtics | 11.8 |
| 1983 | Finals | 1 | Sixers | 1 | Lakers | 10.0 |
| 1983 | Conf Semi | 1 | Sixers | 5 | Knicks | 5.5 |
| 1985 | Conf Semi | 3 | Sixers | 2 | Bucks | 10.0 |
| 1986 | Conf Finals | 1 | Celtics | 2 | Bucks | 15.0 |
| 1987 | Conf Finals | 1 | Lakers | 7 | Sonics | 11.3 |
| 1989 | Conf Semi | 1 | Lakers | 4 | Sonics | 10.0 |
| 1989 | Conf Finals | 1 | Lakers | 3 | Suns | 5.5 |
| 1989 | Finals | 1 | Pistons | 1 | Lakers | 6.8 |
| 1989 | Conf Semi | 1 | Pistons | 5 | Bucks | 11.8 |
| 1991 | Conf Finals | 1 | Bulls | 3 | Pistons | 11.5 |
| 1993 | Conf Semi | 2 | Bulls | 3 | Cavaliers | 8.5 |
| 1995 | Finals | 6 | Rockets | 1 | Magic | 7.0 |
| 1996 | Conf Finals | 1 | Bulls | 2 | Magic | 16.8 |
| 1996 | Conf Semi | 1 | Sonics | 5 | Rockets | 11.8 |
| 1998 | Conf Finals | 1 | Jazz | 3 | Lakers | 13.5 |
| 1999 | Conf Semi | 8 | Knicks | 4 | Hawks | 10.0 |
| 1999 | Conf Semi | 2 | Pacers | 6 | Sixers | 5.3 |
| 1999 | Conf Semi | 1 | Spurs | 4 | Lakers | 8.0 |
| 1999 | Conf Finals | 1 | Spurs | 2 | Blazers | 10.3 |
| 2001 | Conf Semi | 2 | Lakers | 3 | Kings | 9.3 |
| 2001 | Conf Finals | 2 | Lakers | 1 | Spurs | 22.3 |
| 2002 | Finals | 3 | Lakers | 1 | Nets | 9.3 |
| 2003 | Conf Semi | 2 | Nets | 6 | Celtics | 10.0 |
| 2003 | Conf Finals | 2 | Nets | 1 | Pistons | 9.0 |
| 2004 | First Round | 2 | Nets | 7 | Knicks | 12.8 |
| 2004 | First Round | 1 | Pacers | 8 | Celtics | 16.8 |
| 2004 | First Round | 3 | Spurs | 6 | Grizzlies | 14.0 |
| 2005 | First Round | 1 | Heat | 8 | Nets | 12.8 |
| 2005 | Conf Semi | 1 | Heat | 5 | Wizards | 9.0 |
| 2005 | First Round | 1 | Suns | 8 | Grizzlies | 11.0 |
| 2006 | First Round | 4 | Mavericks | 5 | Grizzlies | 14.0 |
| 2007 | First Round | 5 | Bulls | 4 | Heat | 11.0 |
| 2007 | First Round | 2 | Cavaliers | 7 | Wizards | 8.8 |
| 2007 | First Round | 1 | Pistons | 8 | Magic | 9.0 |
| 2007 | Finals | 3 | Spurs | 2 | Cavaliers | 6.0 |
| 2008 | First Round | 1 | Lakers | 8 | Nuggets | 13.3 |
| 2009 | First Round | 1 | Cavaliers | 8 | Pistons | 15.5 |
| 2009 | Conf Semi | 1 | Cavaliers | 4 | Hawks | 18.0 |
| 2010 | Conf Semi | 1 | Lakers | 5 | Jazz | 7.3 |
| 2010 | First Round | 2 | Magic | 7 | Bobcats | 9.3 |
| 2010 | Conf Semi | 2 | Magic | 3 | Hawks | 25.3 |
| 2010 | Conf Semi | 3 | Suns | 7 | Spurs | 9.3 |
| 2011 | First Round | 3 | Celtics | 6 | Knicks | 8.5 |
| 2011 | Conf Semi | 3 | Mavericks | 2 | Lakers | 14.0 |
The Lakers have pulled off the 4-game sweep on 13 occasions, the most by any NBA team.
| Team | # of 4-Game Sweeps |
| Lakers | 13 |
| Celtics | 5 |
| Spurs | 4 |
| Bulls | 4 |
| Sixers | 4 |
| Bucks | 3 |
| Cavaliers | 3 |
| Pistons | 3 |
| Nets | 3 |
The Lakers have also been swept in 4-game series on 7 occasions, also the most by any NBA team.
| Team | # of Times Swept in a 4-Game Series |
| Lakers | 7 |
| Hawks | 4 |
| Knicks | 4 |
| Magic | 3 |
| Grizzlies | 3 |
| Bulls | 3 |
| Pistons | 3 |
| Bucks | 3 |
| Bullets | 3 |
| Spurs | 3 |
| Celtics | 3 |
Some more notes:
The 1989 Los Angeles Lakers, and 2007 Cleveland Cavaliers are the only teams to have pulled off a 4-game sweep and be swept in a 4-game series in the same playoff year.
On average the team that pulls off a 4-game series sweep, has an 11.4 points per game advantage over their opponent.
Nine of the last twenty (45%) NBA champions pulled off a 4-game series sweep at some point(s) during their playoff run.
When applicable (exception with the Finals) a team that pulls off a 4-game sweep in the NBA playoffs has a 56% chance of winning their next series. However when the team coming off a 4-game sweep meets a team coming off of a series with 6 or more games, the above mentioned winning percentage bumps up to 70%. A substantial advantage for the team with more rest. This is important to keep in mind as the Mavericks future opponent in the Conference Finals is headed for at least a 6-game series.
Reference: Basketball-Reference
Cort said
Good stuff
Dan said
Just found your site and I appreciate your work. I was surprised to see the Lakers’ 38.0-point average margin of victory over the Spurs in the 2001 Western Conference semifinals. I thought I remembered seeing that the Magic’s sweep of the Hawks in 2010 was the biggest, so I checked (http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_2001.html) and the average margin in the Lakers-Spurs was 22.25. A couple of blowouts, but not as high as your chart. Thanks again for your hard work.
Andrew McKillop said
Thanks Dan for the correction. I’m going to double check all matchups. I don’t know what happened there. Maybe I tagged a game from another series, or something. I’m always nervous with point margins because there is a lot of data entry, and sometimes typos occur. I think there important though, so I try to put them into my research when applicable.
Jay said
Thanks for putting this list together. I was wondering what were the worst sweeps in NBA history after the Thunder just eliminated the Mavericks. I remember the Magic-Hawks series being the worst and the Lakers-Spurs WCF series the second worst.
Out of all these blowouts, by far the worst to me was the Lakers’ demolition of the Spurs in 2001, en route to a record 15-1 postseason. Though it wasn’t an NBA Finals, it may have well been for all intents and purposes given how weak the East was.
Andrew McKillop said
From what I heard, most people would consider the 2001 Lakers blowout of the Spurs, one of the greatest four-game sweeps.