The 2023 NBA playoffs are coming to an end, as the Finals series is almost halfway through. To fans’ surprise, a curse has been spelled over this year’s postseason, namely the ‘Taylor Swift Curse’. Taylor Swift is currently in the middle of her tour, which spans all over the US. The Eras Tour began on March 17th and the final show is set to take place on August 9th. The curse however began at the beginning of the tour itself.
This curse is not applicable to players, as it directly affects the whole team. Apparently, the cities Taylor had visited or will be visiting for her shows will have their associated team eliminated from the postseason.
Taylor Curse Swift#NBAFinalspic.twitter.com/YoOzzRSXN3
— Dr. Strangelove 𒌐 (@DrStran33) June 6, 2023
This pattern was given out by a Reddit user, and it was later made popular when several sources reported it. The pattern seemed pretty convincing, as teams could be more worried about Taylor’s tour schedule than the competition itself.
The Miami Heat could be the only team spared by the Eras Tour
Taking a wider look at the pattern, we see that all the cities visited by Taylor had the associated teams face elimination. The tour included three shows in Atlanta, from April 28th-30th.
The Hawks were eliminated in Game 6 of the first round versus the Celtics on April 27th, right before the tour would resume in Atlanta. The best proof of the curse would be the show in Philadelphia. The show dates for Philadelphia were from May 12th-14th. The day before, the Sixers lost Game 6 to the Celtics, as well as Game 7 on the day of the last show.
Though the curse won’t end there, as the tour’s schedule was set for Foxborough, a town in Massachusetts, around 18 miles away from Boston, from May 19th-21st. The first show overlapped with Game 2 of the Conference Finals between Miami and Boston. The Celtics would lose Games 2 and 3, eventually being eliminated after seven games of action.
The Denver Nuggets seem to be in trouble, as Eras tour will have its two shows from July 14th-15th. Though it would be well after the end of the Finals, the curse does apply to the cities to be visited. Miami however is not on the list. The closest destination to Miami the tour has been to was Tampa in mid-April.
By the looks of it, Miami seems to be safe from the curse. The curse would only be considered real if the Nuggets are to fall to the Heat, despite being the favorites.