Even the best players in NBA history have suffered the humiliation of a playoff sweep. At one point or another, many of the greatest players have found themselves on the wrong end of a playoff sweep for reasons ranging from untimely team injuries, bad postseason matchups, or run-ins with NBA dynasties.
From Michael Jordan’s early playoff struggles to LeBron James’ high-stakes NBA Finals losses, here are the top 10 NBA players who have been swept in the playoffs.
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#10 Pau Gasol
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NBA legend Pau Gasol, inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023, is tied for the most playoff sweeps with six. He spent the first six and a half seasons of his career with the Memphis Grizzlies, where he was swept in the first round three times.
Gasol was swept as a member of the LA Lakers twice, and finally as part of the San Antonio Spurs in 2017. The Spaniard, regarded as one of the greatest international players in history, has career averages of 17.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.6 blocks per game.
#9 Kevin Durant
Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant, widely regarded as a future Hall of Famer and one of the greatest scorers in NBA history, has been swept twice in the playoffs.
Durant’s first playoff sweep came in 2022 when he played for the Brooklyn Nets. The Boston Celtics eliminated them in the first round. His most recent sweep was in 2024, when the Phoenix Suns were crushed by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round.
Durant will enter the 2026-27 season ranked No. 5 on the league’s all-time scoring list with 32,597 points.
#8 Larry Bird
Three-time NBA MVP Larry Bird was swept once in the playoffs. During the 1983 Eastern Conference second round, the Milwaukee Bucks swept Bird and the Celtics. He got revenge the following year, winning the first of his three straight MVP awards while leading Boston to the 1984 championship.
Bird spent his entire 13-year career with the Celtics and delivered three NBA championships. He was inducted into the HoF twice: for his individual career in 1998 and as a member of the 1992 US Olympic “Dream Team” in 2010.
#7 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Six-time NBA champion and six-time league MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was swept three times in his 20-year career. The LA Lakers legend was first swept in the 1977 Western Conference finals against the eventual champion Portland Trail Blazers, led by Bill Walton.
Abdul-Jabbar was then swept twice in the NBA Finals: in 1983 against the Philadelphia 76ers and in his final season in 1989 against the Detroit Pistons.
Abdul-Jabbar is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and held the NBA scoring record from 1984 until 2023.
#6 Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson was Abdul-Jabbar’s Lakers teammate from 1979 until 1989. Johnson was part of the LA teams that were swept in the NBA Finals in 1983 and 1989.
Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar won five championships together (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988). Johnson also earned three NBA Finals MVP awards and three league MVP awards. Like his Celtics rival and friend, Larry Bird, he was inducted into the HoF twice, as an individual and as a member of the “Dream Team.”
#5 Tim Duncan
Tim Duncan led the San Antonio Spurs to success during the 2000s and the 2010s. Despite his many achievements, he was swept twice. In 2001, the Lakers eliminated the Spurs in the Western Conference finals, and in 2010, the Phoenix Suns swept San Antonio in the second round.
Duncan led San Antonio to five NBA championships in his 19-year career and is widely regarded as one of the greatest power forwards in history.
#4 Shaquille O’Neal
Shaquille O’Neal is tied with Gasol for the most playoff sweeps, with six apiece. Most notably, he got swept five times before winning his first NBA championship in 2000. He was swept in his first playoff appearance in 1994 with the Orlando Magic, followed by sweeps in the 1995 NBA Finals and 1996 East finals.
As a member of the Lakers, O’Neal got swept in back-to-back seasons in 1998 and 1999. The following season, he won MVP and led LA to the first of its three straight titles. His sixth career sweep came in 2007, when his Miami Heat, then the defending champions, were eliminated by the Chicago Bulls in the first round.
“Out of all the legends, I probably got swept the most,” O’Neal said in a 2022 episode of his “Inside the NBA” show. “When you’re a superstar, they expect you to win. My father used to bring me home (and say), ‘What happened? Shut up! There’s no excuses. You have to get better.’ I got swept six times in my 19 years.”
#3 Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant, O’Neal’s co-star with the Lakers, was on teams that were swept in the 1998 conference finals by the Utah Jazz and in the 1999 second round by the Spurs.
Bryant was a teammate of Gasol when the Lakers were swept by the eventual champion Dallas Mavericks in the second round of the 2011 playoffs. In 2013, the Spurs swept LA in the first round, but Bryant did not play because of a torn Achilles tendon.
Bryant won five titles in his 20-year career with the Lakers. He is often in the conversation about the greatest NBA players of all time. He was posthumously inducted into the HoF in 2020 for his individual career and in 2025 as a member of the 2008 US Olympic “Redeem Team.”
#2 Michael Jordan
Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan was swept in two of his first three playoff appearances. In back-to-back postseasons in 1986 and 1987, the Celtics swept Jordan and the Bulls in three games. The NBA used a best-of-five series format in the first round from 1984 until 2002.
Jordan led a dominant Bulls dynasty to six NBA championships in the 1990s. His accolades include six Finals MVP awards and five league MVP nods.
#1 LeBron James
LeBron James has been swept four times in his NBA-record 23 seasons. The most recent instance was last season when the OKC Thunder eliminated LA in the second round. As a member of the Lakers, he was also eliminated by the eventual champion Denver Nuggets in the 2023 West finals.
The four-time NBA champion was also swept in the NBA Finals in 2007 and 2018 as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In 2026-27, James is expected to remain among the league’s top players. In addition to being the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, he holds records for most seasons played, most games played, most minutes played and most field goals made.
Edited by Arvind Sriram
