The 2024 postseason is in relatively uncharted territories between the NBA & NHL playoffs. Both sports have seen one team dominate the scoreboard on the way to significant series advantages heading into their Game 4 of the 2024 NBA Finals and the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Finals over the next two evenings.
With basketball’s Boston Celtics and hockey’s Florida Panthers each holding a 3-0 series lead in their respective Finals, the sports world has not witnessed in this “newer” third millennium.
The “Double Sweep” Last Occurred in the 1995 Postseason
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According to Yahoo Sports, the rare situation occurred in both 1995 and 1996, but the pesky Seattle Super Sonics won Game 4 in the latter year denying history. Seattle would lose to Chicago in six games.
This leads us back to the last time an NBA team and an NHL hockey club had their league trophies with a 4-0 series sweep happening way back in 1995. Toy Story hit movie theaters…. y’know the place we millennials used to go watch movies before they let us just do that from home?
Anyway, the Houston Rockets took the magic out of Orlando. Meanwhile, the New Jersey Devils dispatched Detroit to complete the “Double Sweep” for only the second time ever.
Wait….The Second Time You Say?
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Yes, kind reader. The second time! The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers to claim the Larry O’Brien trophy, while the New York Islanders won the final title of their Islanders’ four-year dynasty in 1983 marking the inaugural occasion of the “Double Sweep”.
The New York Islanders claimed the Stanley Cup Playoffs four straight seasons from 1980-1983 in a display of hockey that has not really been matched since. Unfortunately for the team on Long Island, 1983 was also the last championship for the franchise to date.
Coincidently, it is also the last time the Philadelphia 76ers have won an NBA Championship. The Sixers of the era had the opposite luck of those NHL’s Islanders. The 1983 Finals was the third straight appearance for Philly after losing in the previous two seasons of the NBA’s final round.
2024 Postseason History Comes Calling
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Now, almost 50 years later, the sports world awaits to see if the 2024 Boston Celtics and the 2024 Florida Panthers can join just four other teams on this illustrious list.
First up, the Boston Celtics need to vanquish the Dallas Mavericks in Game 4 at American Airlines Arena. Former Celtic, Kyrie Irving and his pals will certainly do their best to prevent their team from being entered into the history book on the unfortunate losing side of the column.
IF the Boston Celtics claim the NBA Championship on Friday night, the Florida Panthers will have the opportunity the following evening to claim their own sweep. The Cats, who prior to this 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Finals have never led in a Finals series, will have the opportunity to lift the Stanley Cup for the first time this weekend.
By the end of the weekend, we might just have the next entry in the obscure facts database. Six total teams can lay claim to having completed a “Double Sweep” in the same postseason.
About The Author
Christopher Babos is a genuine sports & entertainment journalist with diverse credentials in writing, broadcasting, and digital media. He can be located on X for real-time takes (@CBabosWrites). With various roles in the sports industry over two decades, Chris can speak with authority on the topics he covers.
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