NBA
Have both NBA Conference Finals ever ended in 4-0 sweeps in the same season?
After the Celtics clinched a 4-0 series win over the Pacers on Monday, the Mavericks can now follow suit in their Western Conference Final against the Timberwolves.
In Game 4 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Dallas Mavericks can complete an unprecedented double in the history of the NBA Conference Finals. If Dallas beat the Timberwolves to seal a series triumph, it will be the first time ever that both the Western and Eastern Conference Finals have been settled by series whitewashes in the same NBA postseason.
Following Sunday’s 116-107 win in Game 3, the Mavericks host the Timberwolves today with a 3-0 lead in the teams’ Western Conference Final, and are on the verge of booking their place in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011. The Texans are chasing the second championship in franchise history, having lifted their only Larry O’Brien trophy 13 years ago.
In this year’s Eastern Conference Finals, the Boston Celtics thumped the Indiana Pacers 4-0, rubber-stamping their dominant series victory with a 105-102 Game 4 win in Indianapolis on Monday. The Bostonians will be appearing in the NBA Finals for the second time in three seasons, as the 17-time title winners seek to secure their first championship since 2008.
Which NBA Conference Finals have ended 4-0?
Since the Conference Finals were first played in the NBA back in 1971, the Celtics’ victory over the Pacers was the 18th 4-0 sweep that the round has witnessed. Far more one-sided series have taken place in the Western Conference, which leads the whitewash count 12-6.
The Los Angeles Lakers are the team with the most 4-0 Conference Finals wins to their name, with four. Curiously, the Lakers have also been on the receiving end of the most crushing defeats: having lost 4-0 in three Conference Finals, they hold that record jointly with the San Antonio Spurs.
The NBA's Conference Finals sweeps: full list
Eastern Conference Finals:
- 2024: Boston Celtics 4-0 Indiana Pacers
- 2015: Cleveland Cavaliers 4-0 Atlanta Hawks
- 2003: New Jersey Nets 4-0 Detroit Pistons
- 1996: Chicago Bulls 4-0 Orlando Magic
- 1991: Chicago Bulls 4-0 Detroit Pistons
- 1986: Boston Celtics 4-0 Milwaukee Bucks
Western Conference Finals:
- 2023: Denver Nuggets 4-0 Los Angeles Lakers
- 2019: Golden State Warriors 4-0 Portland Trail Blazers
- 2017: Golden State Warriors 4-0 San Antonio Spurs
- 2013: San Antonio Spurs 4-0 Memphis Grizzlies
- 2001: Los Angeles Lakers 4-0 San Antonio Spurs
- 1999: San Antonio Spurs 4-0 Portland Trail Blazers
- 1998: Utah Jazz 4-0 Los Angeles Lakers
- 1989: Los Angeles Lakers 4-0 Phoenix Suns
- 1987: Los Angeles Lakers 4-0 Seattle SuperSonics
- 1982: Los Angeles Lakers 4-0 San Antonio Spurs
- 1977: Portland Trail Blazers 4-0 Los Angeles Lakers
- 1974: Milwaukee Bucks 4-0 Chicago Bulls
Mavericks vs Timberwolves: Game 4 start time, how to watch
Today’s clash between the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves is scheduled for 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm PT, and TV viewers in the United States can watch the game on TNT. You can also stream Game 4 live on the online platform fuboTV, which offers new users a free trial.
Enjoy the Timberwolves vs the Mavericks on fuboTV.
Now-defunct Division Finals did see double 4-0
While the Conference Finals have not yet thrown up sweeps in both East and West in the same season, this did occur in the round’s predecessor as the penultimate stage of the NBA Playoffs.
At a time when the league was still divided into two divisions - rather than the current set-up of four divisions spread across two conferences - both series in the 1957 Division Finals saw the losers fail to win a game. In the Eastern Division, the Boston Celtics dispatched the Syracuse Nationals 3-0, while in the West the St Louis Hawks inflicted the same scoreline on the Minneapolis Lakers. (The series were played in a best-of-five format.)