Data story · NBA Playoffs

NBA playoff Game 7s since 2011: is home court worth anything?

Home teams won 59% of the 54 Game 7s from 2011 to 2026, almost exactly their rate in every other playoff game. After the first round, they won fewer than half.

Every strip on this page is a real NBA Playoffs strip from the Huezle app, drawn by the app’s own code. More about NBA Playoffs.

How to read the strips

Each strip is one game, tip-off on the left and the final buzzer on the right. Each band is one minute and shows the score at the end of it: purple when the away team was leading, gold when the home team was leading, and pale when it was close. Game 7 is played at the home of the team with home-court advantage, so gold is the home crowd’s colour.

Home court, round by round

RoundGame 7sHome team wonAway team won
First Round25187
Conference Semifinals1899
Conference Finals835
NBA Finals321
All rounds543222

Home teams won 803 of all 1,339 playoff games in the data, 60%, and 32 of the 54 Game 7s, 59%. A Game 7 at home is worth what any home playoff game is worth, and no more. The first round carries the whole edge: from the conference semifinals on, home teams are 14–15. One likely reason is that the teams still playing by then are closer in strength.

The close ones

Fourteen of the 54 were decided by five points or fewer. On a strip, a Game 7 that was close the whole way is pale from end to end, with the colour flicking between sides.

2016 NBA Finals, Game 7: Cavaliers at WarriorsNever more than seven points apart at the end of any minute, and level at the end of the 44th, 45th, 46th and 47th. Cleveland won 93–89 on the road.
Tip-offFinal Buzzer
  • Away Leading
  • Tied
  • Home Leading
2021 East semifinals, Game 7: Hawks at 76ersThe closest Game 7 by the average gap: under two points across the 48 minute marks. Atlanta won 103–96, another road win.
Tip-offFinal Buzzer
  • Away Leading
  • Tied
  • Home Leading
2021 East semifinals, Game 7: Bucks at NetsThe only Game 7 in the data to go to overtime: 53 bands instead of 48. Milwaukee won 115–111.
Tip-offFinal Buzzer
  • Away Leading
  • Tied
  • Home Leading

All three are road wins, which is the round-by-round table in miniature. The three Finals Game 7s each have their own story in every NBA Finals Game 7.

The ones that were over early

Twelve of the 54 were won by 20 points or more, and in eleven the winner did not trail at the end of a single minute. Four of the 20-point wins came on the road.

2022 West semifinals, Game 7: Mavericks at SunsPurple almost from the start. Dallas led by 30 at halftime and by as much as 46 at a minute mark, and won 123–90 in Phoenix: the joint-biggest Game 7 margin in the data.
Tip-offFinal Buzzer
  • Away Leading
  • Tied
  • Home Leading

The comeback

2024 West semifinals, Game 7: Timberwolves at NuggetsGold building to a 20-point Denver lead early in the third quarter, then purple from the 39th minute on. Minnesota won 98–90.
Tip-offFinal Buzzer
  • Away Leading
  • Tied
  • Home Leading

Halftime is usually a good guide in a Game 7: the team ahead at the break won 39 of the 54, and one was tied. Minnesota’s recovery is the largest comeback in any Game 7 in the data; the next largest is 18. More like it in the biggest playoff comebacks.

A strip shows the score, not the drama. Each band is the margin at the end of a minute, so a run that came and went inside one minute does not appear.

Every day Huezle draws one real game like these. See if you can tell a Game 7 from its strip.

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Questions

How often does the home team win Game 7 in the NBA playoffs?

From 2011 to 2026, home teams won 32 of 54 Game 7s, 59%. That is about the same as their 60% record in all playoff games over the same years, and after the first round they won 14 and lost 15.

How many Game 7s have there been in the NBA Finals since 2011?

Three: 2013 (Miami beat San Antonio), 2016 (Cleveland beat Golden State) and 2025 (Oklahoma City beat Indiana).

What is the biggest blowout in a Game 7?

In the 2011–2026 data, two Game 7s were won by 33 points: Miami over Charlotte in 2016 and Dallas at Phoenix in 2022.

Has a Game 7 gone to overtime?

Once in this data: Milwaukee beat Brooklyn 115–111 in overtime in the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals.

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