9 Times NBA Finals Ended In Sweeps: The Last Was In 2018 When Kevin Durant And The Warriors Beat LeBron James And The Cavaliers

Making the NBA Finals is everyone’s dream. It means that you were one of the last two teams in the league to play out the full season. It also means that you get a chance to win a championship. It’s a dream of any professional basketball player to achieve. While making the Finals is one of the greatest ways to end the season, losing the Finals is an ache that can last the entire offseason.

That ache can be prolonged pretty hard if the loss results in a sweep. Losing in the Finals is something that most can understand. You have to be a loser in sports. Losing in a sweep is emotionally deflating. It is one of the worst ways to lose at the end of the season in a player’s eyes. In the history of the Finals, a sweep has occurred just nine times.

Here are the nine times that an NBA Finals ended in a sweep.

1959 NBA Finals

Boston Celtics vs. Minneapolis Lakers 4-0

Finals MVP: None

The first sweep in the Finals came in 1959, which was also the same year that the Boston Celtics started a streak of eight consecutive NBA championships. It also remains the most recent appearance for a team based in Minnesota to make the NBA Finals. It also remains one of two times where a losing team made the NBA Finals with a losing record after the Lakers finished the season 33-39.

The Lakers lost two close games in the series. That started with the Celtics overcoming 34 points from Elgin Baylor to win Game 1 by a score of 118-115. The Celtics also won Game 4 in a close margin of 118-113 while overcoming 30 points from Baylor. Bill Sharman led the team in scoring in Game 2, while Bill Russell rebounded all four games, including three straight games of 30 rebounds in Games 2-4.

1971 NBA Finals

Milwaukee Bucks vs. Washington Bullets 4-0

Finals MVP: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (27.0 PPG, 18.5 RPG, 2.8 APG)

The Milwaukee Bucks made quick work of winning their first championship. The Bucks were founded as an expansion team three years earlier and were led by their young star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. As for the Bullets, the team made the NBA Finals by dethroning the defending NBA champion New York Knicks in the Conference Finals.

The Bullets were exhausted from their seven-game series. The team had to play the Bucks just 48 hours after defeating New York in Game 7. Then, the team waited four days before playing Game 2. It was the last time that the NBA alternated home games before changing to a new format. Abdul-Jabbar led all scorers in scoring and rebounding, posting 31 points and 17 rebounds in Game 1 and 27 points and 24 rebounds in Game 2. Then, Bob Dandridge stepped up with 29 points in Game 3, while Oscar Robertson closed out the series in Game 4 with 30 points.

1975 NBA Finals

Golden State Warriors vs. Washington Bullets 4-0

Finals MVP: Rick Barry (29.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 5.0 APG, 3.5 SPG, 0.8 BPG)

The Bullets were swept again in the 70s, but this time by the Warriors. The Bullets won 12 more games than the Warriors in the regular season and were considered the heavy favorites. Instead, Rick Barry put on a show to help the Warriors sweep the Bullets. On top of that, the Warriors had to play their home games in a different location because of scheduling conflicts with their normal home court in Oakland Arena.

The Warriors won Game 1 despite Elvin Hayes leading all scorers with 29 points. Barry’s 36 points helped the Warriors win Game 2 by a narrow 92-91 margin. Barry scored 38 points in a 109-101 win in Game 3. On the road, the Warriors stole Game 4 by a score of 96-95, with Barry scoring 20 points and playing 43 minutes.

1983 NBA Finals

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Los Angeles Lakers 4-0

Finals MVP: Moses Malone (25.8 PPG, 18.0 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.5 SPG, 1.5 BPG)

The 76ers had flirted with winning an NBA title before, but the final piece of the puzzle was when the team added Moses Malone before the season. The 76ers won 65 games during the regular season and lost just one game on their way to the Finals. The 76ers defeated the Knicks and Bucks on their way to playing the Showtime Lakers.

The core of Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney, Bobby Jones, and their Finals MVP in Malone scorched the Lakers in four games. That started with Malone’s 27 points and 18 rebounds in Game 2. Malone added 24 points and 12 rebounds in a 10-point win in Game 2. Malone added 28 points and 19 rebounds in a 111-94 Game 3 win, but he saved his best for last with 24 points and 23 rebounds in a 115-108 win. In Game 4, Erving’s three-point play to give Philly the lead for good sealed the win with 59 seconds.

1989 NBA Finals

Detroit Pistons vs. Los Angeles Lakers 4-0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukaz_ytfzcs

Finals MVP: Joe Dumars (27.3 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 6.0 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.3 BPG)

Along with the 1983 NBA Finals, it was the only two times during the 80s that the Lakers or Celtics did not win. During the season, Magic Johnson claimed the MVP Award, while Abdul-Jabbar was playing at the age of 42 years old. The Pistons won 63 games and dominated the Eastern Conference. The Pistons defeated the Bulls and Michael Jordan in a highly competitive matchup to make the NBA Finals.

The Pistons made easy work of the Lakers, who were battling a slew of injuries. Joe Dumars won Finals MVP after leading the team in scoring in three of the four wins. His highlights included scoring 33 points in a 108-105 win in Game 2. He followed that with 31 points in a 114-110 Game 3 win. He capped the series with 23 points in a 105-97 win to sweep the Lakers. It was also the first time the Finals ended in a sweep since the league adopted the 2-3-2 home court format.

1995 NBA Finals

Houston Rockets vs. Orlando Magic 4-0

Finals MVP: Hakeem Olajuwon (32.8 PPG, 11.5 RPG, 5.5 APG, 2.0 SPG, 2.0 BPG)

The series had a lot of hype around it, with star centers Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O’Neal. The two drew comparisons to 30 years ago when Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain would battle it out. This battle was easily won by Olajuwon, who had one of the best overall stat lines we have ever seen in four games. The Rockets also became the first team in NBA history to defeat four teams that had won at least 50 games on route to winning the championship.

The Rockets became the first team to repeat as NBA champions, having won the title in 1994 by completing a sweep. The Magic will always remember Game 1, where Nick Anderson missed four straight free throws in the closing seconds. Kenny Smith’s game-tying three-pointer sent the game to overtime, where the Rockets won 120-118. The Rockets easily won Game 2 and then took a narrow Game 3 by a score of 106-103, with Olajuwon leading the way with 31 points and 14 rebounds. In the clincher, Olajuwon recorded 35 points and 15 rebounds in a 113-101 win.

2002 NBA Finals

Los Angeles Lakers vs. New Jersey Nets 4-0

Finals MVP: Shaquille O’Neal (36.3 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 3.8 APG, 0.5 SPG, 2.8 BPG)

The 2002 championship meant a lot to the Lakers. The team had won the 2000 and 2001 championships, which meant the team was playing for a chance to secure the three-peat. With their four-game sweep over the Nets, the Lakers became the first team to three-peat since Michael Jordan and the Bulls. The Lakers also remain the last team to complete a three-peat.

Finals MVP Shaquille O’Neal led the way. O’Neal led the team in scoring and rebounding in three of the four games. That included 36 points and 16 rebounds in a 99-94 win in the opener. O’Neal followed that with 40 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists in a blowout 106-83 victory. The Lakers needed 36 points from Kobe Bryant to overcome Jason Kidd’s 30 points in a Game 3 106-103 win. In the final game, O’Neal used 34 points and 10 rebounds to push the Lakers past New Jersey 113-107.

2007 NBA Finals

San Antonio Spurs vs. Cleveland Cavaliers 4-0

Finals MVP: Tony Parker (24.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.3 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.0 BPG)

The Cavaliers made their first trip to the NBA Finals in franchise history. It was also the fourth year in the league for LeBron James, who had already risen to stardom. However, the celebration was cut short when the Cavaliers ran into a team with a championship pedigree in the Spurs. The combination of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili had already won a title together and was ready to win another.

Both teams emphasized defense. The largest margin for victory was 11 points. Tony Parker used 27 and 30 points, respectively, to help the Spurs win 86-76 and 103-92. In the third game, the Spurs won a low-scoring contest 75-72, with LeBron James leading all scorers with 25 points. In Game 4, Ginobili led the Spurs with 27 points, while Duncan added 15 rebounds to hold off the Cavaliers 83-82 with a clincher in Cleveland.

2018 NBA Finals

Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers 4-0

Finals MVP: Kevin Durant (28.8 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 7.5 APG, 0.8 SPG, 2.3 BPG)

With the win, the Warriors became the seventh franchise in league history to repeat as an NBA champion. For the second time in his career, LeBron James was swept in the NBA Finals. Outside of Game 1, this series was not very close. James scored 51 points in Game 1, but his most infamous moment was his reaction to J.R. Smith forgetting the game’s score and not getting a shot off in the closing seconds of regulation. This led to the Warriors outscoring the Cavaliers 17-7 to win the game. 

Between Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, the Cavaliers could not stop either superstar. Curry led the Warriors with 33 points in Game 2, while Durant led the team with 43 points in Game 3. The final game saw a deflated Cavaliers team get blown out on their home court 108-85. Curry scored 37 points, while Durant recorded a triple-double of 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists. It marked the last game for James as a Cavalier, while it also remains the last Finals that concluded in a four-game sweep. 

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