NBA teams to win Game 7 on the road: What history says about San Antonio’s chances vs. Thunder originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The San Antonio Spurs punched back against the Oklahoma City Thunder with their backs against the wall on Thursday. But now, arguably the more difficult challenge remains: Game 7.
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Not only are the Spurs primarily consisted of players making their first-ever playoff appearance, including Victor Wembanyama, and not only is San Antonio attempting to knock off the defending NBA champions in the Western Conference Finals — but they’ll face the dire circumstances and pressure of Game 7 on the road in Oklahoma City.
Winning a Game 7 on the road certainly isn’t easy, but that isn’t to say it hasn’t been done before.
Here’s a look at the NBA’s history of road Game 7 winners, a list the Spurs will seek to join.
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Last NBA team to win Game 7 on the road
You won’t have to look very far to find the most recent examples of an NBA team winning a Game 7 on the road in the playoffs. In fact, it has happened twice in the 2026 postseason.
In the first round of the 2026 playoffs, the Philadelphia 76ers came into TD Garden and completed their 3-1 series comeback over the Boston Celtics, holding on late in Game 7 behind 34 points from Joel Embiid.
Additionally, in the second round, the Cavaliers and Pistons went the distance — and Cleveland upset the No. 1 seed in Game 7 in Detroit. That matchup wasn’t particularly close either, with the Cavs emerging with a 31-point win on the road.
Prior to this year’s playoffs, the Warriors also beat the Rockets in a road Game 7 in 2025.
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MORE: How 2026 tied NBA’s all-time record for most single-playoffs Game 7s
How often does the road team win Game 7?
There have been a total of 159 Game 7s in NBA playoff history. Of those Game 7s, the road team has won just 42 of them.
That’s a winning percentage of .264, which certainly does not bode well for the traveling team’s chances.
Has a road team ever won Game 7 of NBA Finals?
On the NBA’s biggest stage, the Finals, there have been four teams to win a championship on the road in Game 7.
The first instance was the 1969 Celtics, who took down the Lakers, 108-106, in Game 7 on the road. A few years later, Boston did it again, taking down the Bucks in Milwaukee in a Game 7 to win the 1974 NBA title.
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The 1978 Washington Bullets also won a road Game 7 in the NBA Finals, beating the SuperSonics in Seattle. And most recently, in 2016, LeBron James and the Cavaliers completed a 3-1 series comeback by stunning the Warriors in a Game 7 in the Bay Area, with Cleveland winning its first-ever title.
Year
Winning Road Team
Losing Home Team
Game 7 Final Score
1969
Celtics
Lakers
108-106
1974
Celtics
Bucks
102-87
1978
Bullets
SuperSonics
105-99
2016
Cavaliers
Warriors
93-89
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Has a road team ever won Game 7 of NBA conference finals?
In the conference finals/semifinal round of the NBA playoffs, there have been 12 teams to win a Game 7 on the road. That includes road Game 7 wins in what used to be the Division Finals or the Semifinals, both of which were once considered the round before the Finals.
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The two most recent instances of a team winning a road Game 7 in the conference finals both involved the Celtics and Heat. In 2022, the Celtics advanced to the Finals by taking down the Heat in Game 7 in Miami. The following year, in 2023, the teams met again in the Eastern Conference Finals — and this time, it was the Heat who won a road Game 7 in Boston, though neither team went on to win the championship.
Here’s a look at the conference finalists to win a Game 7 on the road, advancing to the Finals:
Year
Winning Road Team
Losing Home Team
Game 7 Final Score
1948
Warriors
Bombers
85-46
1968
Celtics
76ers
100-96
1971
Bullets
93-91
1973
Knicks
Celtics
94-78
1976
Suns
Warriors
94-86
1982
76ers
Celtics
120-106
2002
Lakers
Kings
112-106 (OT)
2005
Pistons
Heat
88-82
2016
Cavaliers
Celtics
87-79
2016
Warriors
Rockets
101-92
2022
Celtics
Heat
100-96
2023
Heat
Celtics
103-84
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