The Sacramento Kings are one of the 22 teams sitting at home during the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs (courtesy of the Dallas Mavericks). So, all we can do is sit around and monitor the eight remaining teams.
With the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics both currently down two games to none, there is a chance that one (or both) of them could find themselves down 3-0. And since they are the two best teams in the Eastern Conference, it isn't out of the realm of possibility that one of them could come back from the dead.
We refer to it in such a dire matter because, to this point in NBA history, no team has ever returned from a 3-0 hole. Of the 159 NBA teams (as of May 8, 2025) that faced a 3–0 deficit, only 4 of them (2.5%) forced a game seven which they ultimately lost.
The most recent occurrence came in 2023 when, ironically, Joe Mazzula, Jayson Tatum, and many of the Celtics from this current team battled back to force a Game 7 against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Another instance where this took place was in the first round of the 2003 Western Conference playoffs. The Mavericks took a commanding lead, but the Portland Trail Blazers just wouldn't die and won three straight games to take the series to seven games. Dallas ended up finishing the job with a 107-95 victory in Game 7.
In the 1994 Western Conference semifinals, the Nuggets (who were also the first eight seed to defeat a one seed) came back from down 3-0 to the Utah Jazz before losing Game 7 91-81.
Have the Kings ever forced a Game 7 after being down 3-0?
You may be wondering when the other time a team pushed a series to seven games after falling behind 3-0 was. We saved this one for last because it involves the Kings.
In 1951, the Rochester Royals (who are now the Kings) took a 3-0 lead over the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals. The Knicks ended up winning Games 4-6 before the Royals etched out a narrow Game 7 win (79-75) en route to their first (and only) championship in franchise history. This was the first time in NBA history that a team had ever forced a Game 7 after being down 3-0. It has now been 74 years since this franchise has seen the NBA Finals (they made the conference finals in 1981 and 2002).