How many times has an No. 8 seed upset a No. 1 seed in the NBA playoffs?

On Wednesday, the Miami Heat did something in the NBA playoffs that has only happened five other times before.

Jimmy Butler and the Heat defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 128-126 in overtime, advancing to round two. Butler now faces off against his old coach Tom Thibodeau and the New York Knicks.

With the win, the Heat became the first-play in tournament team to win a series and only the sixth team in NBA playoff history to upset a number one-seeded team.

After the No. 8 in East Miami Heat's thrilling series win…

Look back at all of the No. 8 seeds who have advanced past Round 1 in NBA history! #NBAVault pic.twitter.com/wBWdM1vAC8

— NBA History (@NBAHistory) April 27, 2023

When has a No. 8 seed upset a No. 1 seed in the NBA playoffs?

Denver Nuggets

The first time an eight-seed upset was in 1994 when the Denver Nuggets beat the now-defunct Seattle Supersonics. What’s even more impressive, the Nuggets were down 0-2, winning three straight games and knocking out the 63-win Sonics from the playoffs.

New York Knicks

Five years later, it happened again. In the lockout-shortened season, the No. 8 Knicks matched up with the No. 1 Heat in the first round. In dramatic fashion, the series came down to the wire, with Allan Houston hitting a game and series-winner in the final seconds of Game 5. The Knicks would go on to become the first, and only eighth seed to advance to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the San Antonio Spurs.

Golden State Warriors

Fans had to wait nearly 10 years for the next upset when the Golden State Warriors had everyone believing. The Dallas Mavericks were coming off of an NBA Finals appearance the year prior and 67 wins in the regular season. But, they were matched in the first-round against their former coach Don Nelson and his “We Believe” Warriors, led by Barron Davis and Stephen Jackson.

The Warriors took Game 1 on the road on their way to a 4-2 series win.

Memphis Grizzlies

The Western Conference isn’t what it used to be. At the eighth seed, the Grizzlies still won 48 games in 2011, matching up with the San Antonio Spurs. The “Grit-N-Grind” Grizzlies would go on to win the series 4-2, their first playoff series win as a franchise.

Philadelphia 76ers

As a Chicagoan, this is the toughest to write and the last time before Thursday an eighth seed upset the top team. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, the Chicago Bulls had a team competing regularly with the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat near the top of the Eastern Conference.

But in 2012, the tide changed for Chicago. After securing the number one seed, the Bulls matched with the 76ers in what many expected to be an easy win for Chicago. Then, guard Derrick Rose tore his ACL in the final minutes of Game 1. While the Bulls would go on to win the first game of the series, the 76ers were able to take advantage of a Rose-less Bulls, taking the series 4-2.

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