Biggest NBA Upset? 8 Seed Nuggets Beat 1 Seed Sonics

On May seventh, nineteen ninety four. The NBA's top seed in the West, the Seattle SuperSonics were a powerhouse loading up after a sixty three win season, ready to take on the chance to win an NBA title. With the dreaded Michael Jordan now playing baseball, the title was open for the taking and they were just one went away from getting out of the first round for their chance to win. But a pesky upstart team that barely made the playoffs, the Denver Nuggets, came in as the eighth seed and pulled off the unthinkable. For the first time in NBA history, an eight seed had toppled the number one. Using grit heart, they were able to come out of nowhere to win this with no scoring star on their team, they took down Legends of Seattle in one of the greatest upsets in NBA history. Joined us as we relive these games in this series that changed everything for these two teams. Today on Daisy Sports History. Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Reese, your guide as you daily learn more about sports history, increasing your sports knowledge. Now, first, let's dive into these two teams. In nineteen ninety three, the Seattle SuperSonics were a powerhouse. They led the league with sixty three wins, winning both their division and the Western Conference, giving them the number one seed. Their offense was electric, was fifth in the NBA, averaging one hundred and five points a game, and they had a great defense, finishing sixth in the NBA with ninety six points a game given up. Led by legendary head coach George carl the roster was talented. They went all in knowing that Michael Jordan, who had just retired the year before after winning three straight ring It left the door open for both East and West teams for the chance to actually win a title, as it seemed almost impossible to beat Michael Jordan, but he wasn't around to open the door. They were by Gary Payton, a Hall of Famer, was an All NBA All Defensive player and finished sixth in the MVP voting, averaging sixteen points, six assists, and two point three steals a game, and his running mate Sean Kemp was averaging eighteen points, tim rebounds, two blocks, and almost two steals a game, earning him All NBA honors as well, and was a force at both ends of the floor. And they added even more to their team. They returned Sam Perkins, a steady sinner who provided offensive inveter leadership. Nate McMillan was a defensive specialist and led the league with three steals a game coming off the bench. Was also named to the All NBA Defensive Team. And they brought in two ringers who could score at will in Debtless Shrimp, a versatile forward who could score inside and out, and Kindle Gill, a slasher who could help boost their perimeter attack. This team, on paper, looked fantastic. They were deep, They had players on the bench that could start across the league. They had two All Stars, two All NBA players, coach Carl Coach Carl coached the All Star Game, and they had finished the season winning seven of their last eight games. They were ready for this moment. They had set up everything to go after a championship. Now they were facing the number eight seed Denver Nuggets. In contrast, they went forty two and forty, barely having a winning record, and they had a losing record away, winning only fourteen games on the road all year, but they were very good at home. To give him a little bit of advantage, they were led by coach Dan El and the team was in a transition. They were building around youth and athleticism rather than star power. The only name you probably remember from this team unless you were a big fan back in the nineties was to Kimbe Montambo. He was a defensive anchor and shot blocking sensation, but he wasn't a scorer. He's not a star in the main sense that we think of today as a scorer. A guy that you look to to hit that final shot. That's not my Timbo. He's that guy you look for to block that final shot. So a unique guy that really deterred everything on defense. They also had Lafonso Ellis, who's a versatile forward that could score and rebound. Robert pack came off the bench and it was a high energy guy and had great clutch play, and Reggie Williams provided scoring in veteran leadership on the wing. But they had no all stars, very little playoff experience, and they were widely dismissed that the Seattle would just blow them out, as Seattle had swept the regular season series against Demver and no eight seed had ever beaten a number one seed in NBA history. It's a true David versus Goliath, but no one was backing David, so Game one came on April twenty eighth, nineteen ninety four, in Seattle, and the series opened at the Seattle Center Coliseum, where the Seattle SuperSonics looked every bit the dominant top seed as they crushed the Nuggets, winning by twenty four points hun six to eighty two. Seattle's defense was suffocating. It wasn't just a great offensive third defense was great as well, as they held Denver to thirty seven percent shooting from the field. Debtlft Shrimp led the team with twenty one points, with Shawn Camp and Sam Perkins adding help off the boards, each having nine rebounds. Denver Young Corps struggled. Brian Williams led the team with just fifteen points and to Kimmi Madambo was able to get nine rebounds despite being below his average for the season, and at this time in the nineteen nineties, the first round was just five games, so winning Game one your odds went up tremendously, and Game two happened two days later, again in Seattle. Gary Payton led the way with eighteen points and six assists, with Shawn Camp dominating on the glass with twelve rebounds as they won by ten points, ninety seven to eighty nine. Denver's offense again sputtered as Lafonso Ellis was able to get eighteen points, but they were not able to close the gap, going down two to oh. Being a two to zero in this time was almost a death Sence would go to Denver next, where Denver played better at home, but many saw it as just a blip on the radar. Seattle was gonna win and move on and with their great odds to win the title that year, so they came to Denver at the McNicholas Sports Arena and the Nuggets came out alive in this game. Reggie Williams exploded for thirty one points and eight assists. Matumbo came down with thirteen rebounds anchoring the defense, and they came out swinging in the first quarter, winning forty one to twenty six that quarter, and they never looked back. Their backs were against the wall. They had nothing left to lose, and they gave everything in front of their fans, winning one ten to ninety three. The following game happened on May fifth, nineteen ninety four, where still one game was all the Sonics needed to finish this out, and then Sonics had a chance to win it. They were up in the final seconds, but the Nuggets called their way and tied it up to send the game into overtime on the backs of Lafonso Ellis, who again had a monster game, scoring twenty seven points and having seventeen rebounds, and despite Gary Payton and Debtlas Shrimp having twenty points at piece, they struggled in the overtime period, being outscored twelve to three, with the Nuggets winning ninety four to eighty five. Mutumbo was a game changer on defense, having six blocks in the first game where they held the Sonics below ninety points, and he was able to hold Sean Kemp down and they won this game decisively, sending it back to Seattle, but with all the momentum on the backs of the Nuggets, but Seattle wasn't going to go down even though the Nuggets climbed back. They were back at home and they wanted to finish this off. The first half of the game was tight from the outset. Denver's defense set the tone as this was going to be a defensive battle and every shot was being boxed out like no other. Everyone wanted the chance to score, and Gary Payton struggled to find his rhythm playing through a foot injury, and Sehn Kemp couldn't get around to Kimbe Motumbo to have any offensive staying power in this series. And Mtumbo was a beast in this final game, blocking eight shots in just this game alone, and we're finished with fifteen rebounds, anchoring the entire game in forty five minutes and a new perky energy off the bench. Robert pack who went undrafted, played a role in this game, having twenty three points and ten in the fourth quarter alone, and Brian Williams had a massive double double in this game, showing that even people you've never heard of could do amazing things as he had seventeen points and nineteen rebounds. That Denver got down and dirty in this game to help offset what was going on. They out rebounded the Sonics fifty eight to thirty six, limiting their second chance and controlling the tempo throughout the game. And with the game tied late, Gary Payton had a chance down two to hit a running shot, but he air bawled it, but luckily it was caught by Kendall Gill for a putback at the last second to help force an overtime, but the Sonics couldn't capitalize in overtime either. They missed a final desperate attempt to tie the game. They were down four with just seconds left, and they made it a final attempt, but again missed. With Mutumbo grabbing the last rebound, he fell to the floor as time expired, holding the ball with all his might in a picture you may have seen and will post on our social medias if you haven't. In true enjoyment and love of the game, he had left everything out on that court. Gave them a chance, and they took down probably the best team in the NBA, ruining the Sonics chance at their NBA title, which they still have not won an NBA title since nineteen seventy nine, and Denver would move on in the playoffs, facing the Utah Jazz, another team that was really on the cusp of something with Karl Malum john sucked and playing in their prime, and they fought hard, taking them to seven games as well, but unfortunately the Jazz won and went on to face the Houston Rockets, who would have beat the eventual champions that year, but this really showed how a team could come together and really have a lot of success. But Tumbo was a star at this point, but an unusual star, a guy that you could use along a scoring start and wouldn't take away from that, and he was used throughout his career like that, a guy that would help anchor your defense, get you rebounds, but you didn't need him to score. The following year, again the Nuggets would be a five hundred team, making the eighth spot in the playoffs, despite drafting a scorer in Jalen Rose, but he was just a rookie and they didn't have the same luck in the playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs, losing in three straight games and then Dinnyver. Nuggets had struggled for years even after this. It wasn't until two thousand and six when they finally won a division again, and it wasn't until twenty twenty three that they won their very first conference title, making their first final and winning their first championship. They'd been a long road from the ABA to them to win their championship, but moments like this winning the eighth seed was huge. The Seattle SuperSonics continued to have success throughout the nineties. The following year, they would finish fourth in the West, but lose in the first round to the Lakers. In the year after that, in nineteen ninety six, they would finally make it to the NBA Finals, but Michael Jordan came back and they had lost in a six game series. Still waiting for that championship to come back around, as in two thousand and eight they had moved to Oklahoma City, where they had a lot of success when Kevin Durant was there, but again still looking for that championship, but luckily they have won. I want to thank you for listening to Today's Daily Sports History. If you want more Nuggets content, check out Chicken and the Nuggets podcasts, where two Denver based comedians sit down and enjoy a meal of chicken as they discuss the Denver Nuggets. It's a good time to get all you want to know about the Denver Nuggets in and we'll put a link in the description below for you to check them out. And if you like Today's Daily Sports History, give us a rating or review. Wherever you're listening. 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