The 2013-14 NBA season was a weird, transitional bridge between two different eras of basketball. Honestly, it was the last time the league felt "old school" before the Golden State Warriors turned everything into a three-point shooting contest. If you look back at the nba 2014 season standings, you see a league dominated by the San Antonio Spurs’ "Beautiful Game" and the final gasps of the LeBron-era Miami Heat "Big Three."
It was a grind.
In the East, things were top-heavy. In the West? A total bloodbath. You had teams winning 48 games and still missing the playoffs entirely. It was brutal. People forget how high the bar was just to get a seed in the Western Conference that year.
The Western Conference Gauntlet
The San Antonio Spurs finished at the absolute top of the pile. They went 62-20. Popovich was resting guys constantly, yet they still managed to look like a well-oiled machine every single night. Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Tim Duncan were the anchors, but this was the year Kawhi Leonard started morphing into a superstar.
Behind them, the Oklahoma City Thunder weren't far off. Kevin Durant was on an absolute tear, winning the MVP award and giving that famous "You're the real MVP" speech to his mom. They finished 59-23. People always argue about whether that Thunder team should have won a ring, and looking at those standings, it’s hard not to wonder "what if" Russell Westbrook hadn't dealt with those early-season knee issues.
The rest of the West was just chaos. The Clippers won 57 games under Doc Rivers. The Rockets and Blazers both hit 54 wins.
Think about the Phoenix Suns for a second. They won 48 games. In most years, 48 wins gets you a 5th or 6th seed and home-court hopes. In 2014? They finished 9th. They missed the playoffs. Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe were playing out of their minds, but the West was just too deep. It was statistically one of the most competitive conferences in the history of the modern NBA.
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Why the Southwest Division Was a Nightmare
The Southwest Division alone sent four teams to the playoffs: the Spurs, Rockets, Grizzlies, and Mavericks. Every night was a rivalry game. The Grizzlies were in their "Grit and Grind" prime with Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, finishing with 50 wins but only getting the 7th seed.
It’s kind of wild to look back at.
The Leveled-Out Eastern Conference
Over in the East, the story was way different. It was basically a two-horse race between the Indiana Pacers and the Miami Heat. For a long time, it looked like Indiana was going to run away with it. Roy Hibbert was an All-Star (yeah, remember that?), and Paul George was ascending to elite status. They finished with 56 wins, securing the number one seed.
But the Heat were lurking.
Miami finished 54-28. They looked tired, honestly. Four straight years of going to the Finals takes a toll on your legs. Dwyane Wade was managing his knees, missing 28 games that season. LeBron James was still LeBron, averaging about 27 points a night, but the supporting cast was starting to show its age. Ray Allen and Shane Battier were at the end of the road.
Below the top two, the drop-off was steep. The Toronto Raptors emerged as a surprise 3-seed with 48 wins—the same amount of wins as the 9th-place Suns in the West. It highlights the massive disparity in talent between the conferences at the time.
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The Bottom Feeders and the Tank Race
The 2014 season was also the year of the "Riggin' for Wiggins" sweepstakes. Teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers were effectively racing to the bottom. Milwaukee won a miserable 15 games. Philly wasn't much better at 19. It was the peak of "The Process" starting to take shape, where losing was the goal to secure a high draft pick in what was hyped as a legendary 2014 Draft class.
Statistical Anomalies and MVP Dominance
Kevin Durant’s 2013-14 season was something else. He averaged 32 points per game. He had a streak of 41 consecutive games scoring 25 or more points, which broke Michael Jordan’s modern record. When you look at the nba 2014 season standings, OKC's 59 wins were almost entirely on his back while Westbrook missed chunks of time.
Then there’s the Spurs’ bench. They didn't have a single player average over 30 minutes per game. Not one. It was the ultimate "team" effort. Boris Diaw was playing point-center, Patty Mills was hitting huge shots, and Marco Belinelli was winning the Three-Point Contest.
- Top Scorer: Kevin Durant (32.0 PPG)
- Top Rebounder: DeAndre Jordan (13.6 RPG)
- Top Assists: Chris Paul (10.7 APG)
- Best Record: San Antonio Spurs (62-20)
The Playoffs: A Reflection of the Regular Season
The standings told us exactly what would happen, mostly. The Spurs steamrolled through the West, though they did have a massive scare in the first round against the 8th-seeded Mavericks. That 7-game series was arguably the best of the whole playoffs. Vince Carter hit a game-winner that still haunts Spurs fans.
In the East, the Heat eventually flipped the switch and handled the Pacers in the Conference Finals. It was the end of that Pacers core; Lance Stephenson blowing in LeBron’s ear became the defining meme of the era, but it couldn't stop the inevitable.
But the Finals? The Finals were a massacre.
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The Spurs’ 62-win regular season translated into the most dominant Finals performance in history by point differential. They outplayed Miami so badly that LeBron decided to go home to Cleveland that summer. The 2014 standings were essentially the prologue to the end of the Heatles.
Looking Back: What We Can Learn
When you dive into the data from that year, a few things stand out that modern fans usually overlook.
First, the New York Knicks finished 37-45. They missed the playoffs by just one game. Carmelo Anthony was in his absolute prime, scoring 62 points in a single game against Charlotte. It’s crazy that a guy playing that well couldn't even sniff the 8th seed in a weak Eastern Conference.
Second, the Golden State Warriors were "just" a 6-seed. They won 51 games. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson were there, but Mark Jackson was still the coach. They lost in the first round to the Clippers. One year later, Steve Kerr would arrive and they’d win 67 games. The 2014 standings show a sleeping giant that hadn't quite figured out how to use its superpowers yet.
How to Use This Data Today
If you're a basketball historian or a bettor looking at historical trends, the 2014 season is the gold standard for "Conference Imbalance."
- Analyze the 48-win threshold: Use the 2014 Phoenix Suns as the benchmark for why "wins" don't always equal "playoff berth." Context matters.
- Study the "Beautiful Game" Spurs: If you're coaching, watch the 2014 Spurs film. They proved that 60+ wins are possible without a single player logging heavy minutes.
- Evaluate MVP Value: Look at Durant’s win shares compared to the rest of the league. It provides a blueprint for what a "carry job" actually looks like.
The 2014 NBA season wasn't just about the numbers on a page. It was about the shift from the physical, isolation-heavy ball of the 2000s to the pace-and-space movement we see now. The standings reflect a league in flux, where the old guard (San Antonio) gave one last masterclass before the new era took over.
Check the win-loss columns again. You'll see the 16-game win streak the Spurs had in March. You'll see the 76ers' 26-game losing streak. It was a season of extremes. Whether you were a fan of the Heat's star power or the Spurs' chemistry, the 2014 season stands as one of the most statistically fascinating years in basketball history.