National Basketball Association

NBA Playoffs: The quick history of superstar sweeps

Published Apr. 27, 2022 4:32 p.m. ET

The Boston Celtics broke out their brooms as they swiftly swept the Brooklyn Nets out of their home gym on Monday, closing a four-game pounding with a 116-112 Game 4 victory.

It was a shocking end to a rollercoaster season for Brooklyn — not solely because of its first-round exit — but the way in which it was forced out of the postseason.

It was the first time stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant had suffered a sweep in the postseason. But as much as that might sting for the dominant duo, they're hardly the first top-tier players to suffer such a fate.

"Of all the legends, I probably got swept the most," Shaquille O'Neal said Monday night on TNT's "Inside the NBA" following the loss. "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."

In fact, O'Neal is far from the only Hall of Famer who has been on the wrong end of a sweep. The list includes:

Michael Jordan

— Swept twice by Boston, 3-0, in 1986 and 1987

— Swept another team nine teams

— Was never swept in a best-of-seven series

LeBron James

— Swept twice, once in the 2007 NBA Finals vs. San Antonio Spurs and again in the 2018 Finals by the Golden State Warriors

— Has swept another team 12 times

— 12 sweeps in best-of-seven playoff series are the most by any player in NBA history

Kobe Bryant

— Swept by three separate teams

— Swept seven opponents

Shaquille O’Neal

— Swept by six different opponents

— Swept an opponent eight times

— Tied with Pau Gasol for the most times being swept of any player in NBA history

Magic Johnson

— Swept by two opponents

— Swept another team 12 times (some of these sweeps were in best-of-five series, which is why LeBron James holds the record for seven-game-series sweeps)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

— Swept three separate times

— Swept another team 13 times (not all were seven-game series)

Larry Bird

— Swept by another team once (1983 East semis vs. Milwaukee Bucks)

— Swept another team six times

Charles Barkley

— Swept by another team once (1989 East first round, 3-0, to New York Knicks)

— Swept another team five times

Wilt Chamberlain

— Swept by another team once (1961 East semis, 3-0, to Syracuse Nationals)

— Swept another team two times