Where do the 2025 Pacers rank among the most random finals teams ever?

[Po pimp]

81 Rockets

If I’m not mistaken, they’re the only team to make the Finals with a losing record

 

[WhoShotCha]

In retrospect, given they made the ECF last season, it's really hard to categorize them as being "random". They ran it back with the same playoff rotation and they made it one step further this time around.

Surprising, sure, but not random.

This.

 

[Piff Huxtable]

I don't get the premise when the Mavs last year and the Heat the year before were more shocking

 

[Illin Degenerate]

27-8 over their last 35 games, 63.2 win pace or over a longer stretch 53-22 over their last 75 games, 57.9 win pace. for the overall season the pacers were 13th in srs and 12th in net rating, by those metrics they would probably be the worst team to win an nba title and with okc having arguable goat metrics this would be the biggest upset in finals history.

ppl will use whichever of the above data to say the result and competitiveness of the finals should have been expected. im inclined to look at the 58 and 63 win pace and say they have a legit shot to pull off the upset.

 

[O.iatlhawksfan]

Idk how it’s random werent they in the ECF last season

 

[Soldier]

2019 raptors

The Raptors from 2014 to 2020 were very very good.
In 2014, 15, 16, 18, 19, and 20 they won the Atlantic division title

In 2016, the raps were the second seed and made the conference finals but lost to the powerful top seeded Cavs.

2018 they finished first in the eastern conference standings.
In 2020, despite kawhi Leonard leaving for the clippers in free agency the previous summer, they were still good enough to finish second in the east without him. They easily swept the nets in round 1 but they lost a hard fought, close seven game series to the Celtics in round 2. If Siakam played just at a mediocre level instead of being bad, Toronto wins that series.

 

[Baka's Weird Case]

If I’m not mistaken, they’re the only team to make the Finals with a losing record

‘59 Lakers also and ‘57 Hawks too

 

[Cladyclad]

The Miami heat went to two finals in the last 5 years

that don’t sound real

 

[UpAndComing]

The 2025 Pacers are only "random" to Knicks fans