In the history of the NBA playoffs, there have been a number of teams that defied the odds and went on a deep run. From the ’96 Houston Rockets winning the NBA Finals as the sixth seed in the Western Conference, to the ’23 Miami Heat surviving the play-in and making it all the way to the championship series, the phenomenon of Cinderella playoff runs has been around for a long time.
This year, there are a number of teams whose playoff positioning doesn’t tell the whole story. These squads are capable of surprising powerhouses and eventually punching their ticket to the Finals.
3 NBA Teams That Could Go on a Cinderella Playoff Run
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves are no stranger to flipping the script and busting fantasy brackets. They have clinched a berth in the Western Conference Finals for the past two seasons, and just last year, Anthony Edwards and his crew did so as the no. 6 team in the West.
At the end of the 2025-26 regular season, the Wolves once again found themselves in the no. 6 position. However, Minnesota is not to be trifled with as they have the eighth best defensive rating in the league, and they also happen to be no. 7 in true shooting percentage.
Toronto Raptors
Another top-10 defensive squad that appears to be flying under the radar is the Toronto Raptors. Wielding two All-Star forwards in Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram, this young team has bought into the system of first-year head coach Darko Rajakovic, and the results speak for themselves.
In the first round, the Raptors could go the distance with the Cleveland Cavaliers and prey upon the infamous Game 7 shortcomings of James Harden to pull off an upset victory. Then, in the second round, the Raptors might be facing a Detroit Pistons squad led by a star whose health could still be a question mark by that point.
Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks didn’t even make it to the playoffs last season, and this year, they have a shot at an incredible turnaround. Thanks to Jalen Johnson’s All-Star emergence and the addition of valuable assets like CJ McCollum and Jonathan Kuminga, the Hawks have posted the third-best record in the NBA after the All-Star break, going 20-6 in the latter part of the season.
The Hawks also happen to be 10th in defensive rating, and they’ll certainly be capitalizing on this strength as they try to work their way through a tough Eastern Conference.
