The 2010 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2009–10 season. The playoffs started on April 17, 2010 with ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, and NBA TV broadcasting the games in the United States. Eight teams from each of the league's two conferences qualified for the playoffs, all seeded 1 to 8 in a tournament bracket, with all rounds in a best-of-seven format.

The Cleveland Cavaliers clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference by posting their second consecutive (and second ever) 60-win season; they also won the Central Division for the second year in a row. They also clinched the best record in the NBA on April 5, which guaranteed them home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

For the second time in three seasons and the first time since the 2008 postseason, all 8 Western Conference playoff teams had at least 50 wins. The 7 games separating 1 from 8 was also tied for the smallest margin, also from the 2008 playoffs.

Cleveland's 61 in the NBA was the least win total for the best record since the Indiana Pacers won 61 games in 2003–04. The Cavaliers' second round playoff exit (2–4 vs. Boston Celtics) was the earliest for the top seed since the Dallas Mavericks' first round loss to the Golden State Warriors in 2007.

Several teams would also avenge previous losses by defeating teams who defeated them in recent years. The Spurs would defeat the Mavericks who defeated them twice in the previous 4 seasons. The Cavaliers would defeat the Bulls for the first time since The Shot. The Suns would defeat the Spurs who won the previous 4 meetings in the last decade. The Lakers would defeat the Suns who defeated them in the first round in 2006 and 2007. The Celtics would defeat the Magic who eliminated them last year. And in the finals, the Lakers defeated the Celtics who defeated them in the 2008 finals.

Game 5 of the Magic-Celtics Conference Finals was the last game played at Amway Arena (formerly Orlando Arena and TD Waterhouse Centre). The Magic, who last year upset the top-seeded Cavaliers in six games after they went 8-0 through the first two rounds, also went 8-0 through two playoff series, only to suffer the same fate as the Cavaliers last year, losing to the Celtics in six games.

The Charlotte Bobcats made their first playoff appearance in franchise history. However, they failed to win a single playoff game in a loss to the Magic in the first round.

The Celtics-Cavaliers second round series marked the first time that each team lost a home playoff game by record margins: the Celtics lost by 29, 124-95, in Game 3 (May 7), while the Cavaliers lost by 32, 120-88, in Game 5 (May 11).

The Oklahoma City Thunder made their first playoff appearance under that name; their last appearance was 2005 as the Seattle SuperSonics. Games 3, 4 and 6 were the first playoff games played at Ford Center (the arena's former tenants, the New Orleans Hornets, didn't play a single playoff game in the building). The Thunder (and especially Kevin Durant) would make the most of their debut playoff appearance, pushing the eventual champion Lakers to six games.

The Dallas Mavericks would hold the dubious distinction of losing three first round series while holding the top two playoff seeds. The Mavericks lost to the seventh-seeded San Antonio Spurs in six games. They have also lost a playoff series against the Seattle SuperSonics (1987, as the second seed) and the Golden State Warriors (2007, as the top seed).

Format

The 3 division winners and 5 other teams with the most wins from each conference qualified for the playoffs. The seedings are based on each team's record; however, a division winner is guaranteed to be ranked at least fourth, regardless of their record.

Tiebreak procedures

The tiebreakers that determine seedings were: # Division leader wins tie from team not leading a division # Head-to-head record # Division record (if the teams are in the same division) # Conference record # Record vs. playoff teams, own conference # Record vs. playoff teams, other conference # Point differential, all games

If there were more than two teams tied, the team that wins the tiebreaker get the highest seed, while the other teams were "re-broken" from the first step until all ties were resolved. Since the three division winners were guaranteed a spot in the top four, ties to determine the division winners had to be broken before any other ties.

Playoff qualifying

Eastern Conference

{|class=wikitable style="font-size:95%; text-align:center;" width=70% |- !rowspan=2|Seed !!rowspan=2|Team !!rowspan=2|Wins !!colspan=4|Clinched |- !Playoff berth !! Division title !! Best record in Conference !! Best record in NBA |- | 1 || align=left | Cleveland Cavaliers ||61 || March 8 || March 17 || April 2 || April 4 |- | 2 || align=left | Orlando Magic ||59 || March 16 || April 5 || — || — |- | 3 || align=left | Atlanta Hawks || 53 || March 21 || — || — || — |- | 4 || align=left | Boston Celtics || 50 || March 24 || March 26 || — || — |- | 5 || align=left | Miami Heat || 47 || April 6 || — || — || — |- | 6 || align=left | Milwaukee Bucks || 46 || April 6 || — || — || — |- | 7 || align=left | Charlotte Bobcats || 44 || April 6 || — || — || — | — |- | 8 || align=left | Chicago Bulls || 41 || April 14 || — || — || — | — |}

Western Conference

{|class=wikitable style="font-size:95%; text-align:center;" width=70% |- !rowspan=2|Seed !!rowspan=2|Team !!rowspan=2|Wins !!rowspan=2|Tiebreaker !!colspan=3|Clinched |- !Playoff berth !! Division title !! Best record in Conference |- | 1 || align=left | Los Angeles Lakers ||57 || — || March 19 || April 3 || April 9 |- | | 2 || align=left | Dallas Mavericks ||55 || — || March 26 || April 9 || — |- | 3 || align=left | Phoenix Suns ||54 || — || March 30 || — || — |- | 4 || align=left | Denver Nuggets || 53 || 3–1 vs. UTA || March 28 || April 14 || — |- | 5 || align=left | Utah Jazz ||53 || 1–3 vs. DEN || March 28 || — || — |- | 6 || align=left | Portland Trail Blazers ||50 || 6–1 vs. SA and OKC || March 31 || — || — |- | 7 || align=left | San Antonio Spurs ||50 || 3–4 vs. POR and OKC || April 4 || — || — |- | 8 || align=left | Oklahoma City Thunder ||50 || 2–6 vs. POR and SA || April 3 || — || — |} ''— = Not Applicable''

Home-court advantage

The team with the better record earned the home-court advantage through any playoff round, regardless of seeding. (The NBA is the only one of the four major North American leagues that awards home advantage based strictly on record.) {|class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:center;" width=50% |- !rowspan=1|Rank !!rowspan=1|Team !!rowspan=1|Conference !!rowspan=1|Division !!rowspan=1|Wins !!rowspan=1|Losses |- | 1 || Cleveland Cavaliers || Eastern || Central || 61 || 21 |- | 2 || Orlando Magic || Eastern || Southeast || 59 || 23 |- | 3 || Los Angeles Lakers || Western || Pacific || 57 || 25 |- | 4 || Dallas Mavericks || Western || Southwest || 55 || 27 |- | 5 || Phoenix Suns || Western || Pacific || 54 || 28 |- | 6 || Denver Nuggets || Western || Northwest || 53 || 29 |- | 7 || Atlanta Hawks || Eastern || Southeast || 53 || 29 |- | 8 || Utah Jazz || Western || Northwest || 53 || 29 |- | 9 || Boston Celtics || Eastern || Atlantic || 50 || 32 |- | 10 || Portland Trail Blazers || Western || Northwest || 50 || 32 |- | 11 || San Antonio Spurs || Western || Southwest || 50 || 32 |- | 12 || Oklahoma City Thunder || Western || Northwest || 50 || 32 |- | 13 || Miami Heat || Eastern || Southeast || 47 || 35 |- | 14 || Milwaukee Bucks || Eastern || Central || 46 || 36 |- | 15 || Charlotte Bobcats || Eastern || Southeast || 44 || 38 |- | 16 || Chicago Bulls || Eastern || Central || 41 || 41 |}

Bracket

Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Home court advantage in the NBA Finals does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record (for example, the 4th seed in the Western Conference could have a better regular season record than the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference and would therefore have home court advantage if the two met in the Finals); teams with home court advantage are shown in italics.

Eastern Conference

:''All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)''

First Round

(1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (8) Chicago Bulls

{{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=April 17 |time=3:00 pm |place=Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio |TV=ABC |team1=Chicago Bulls |score1=83 |team2=Cleveland Cavaliers |score2=96 |report=Recap |Q1=18–32 |Q2=23–24 |Q3=19–17 |Q4=23–23 |points1=Derrick Rose 28 |points2=LeBron James 24 |rebounds1=Hinrich, Noah 8 each |rebounds2=Anderson Varejão 15 |assist1=Derrick Rose 10 |assist2=Mo Williams 10 |attendance=20,562 |referee=Eddie Rush, Bob Delaney, John Goble }} {{Basketballbox|date=April 19 |time=8:00 pm |place=Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio |TV=TNT |team1=Chicago Bulls |score1=102 |team2=Cleveland Cavaliers |score2=112 |report=Recap |Q1=22–28 |Q2=28–24 |Q3=27–25 |Q4=25–35 |points1=Joakim Noah 25|points2=LeBron James 40 |rebounds1=Joakim Noah 13|rebounds2=LeBron James 8 |assist1=Derrick Rose 8 |assist2=LeBron James 8 |attendance=20,562 |referee=Joe Crawford, Ron Garretson, Eric Lewis }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=April 22 |time=7:00 pm |place=United Center, Chicago, Illinois |TV=TNT |team1=Cleveland Cavaliers |score1=106 |team2=Chicago Bulls |score2=108 |report=Recap |Q1=21–32 |Q2=24–24 |Q3=23–23 |Q4=38–29 |points1=LeBron James 39 |points2=Derrick Rose 31 |rebounds1=Antawn Jamison 11 |rebounds2=Joakim Noah 15 |assist1=LeBron James 8 |assist2=Derrick Rose 7 |attendance=22,991 |referee=Monty McCutchen, Jason Phillips, Tony Brothers }} {{Basketballbox|date=April 25 |time=3:30 pm |place=United Center, Chicago, Illinois |TV=ABC |team1=Cleveland Cavaliers |score1=121 |team2=Chicago Bulls |score2=98 |report=Recap |Q1=24–21 |Q2=38–31 |Q3=37–24 |Q4=22–22 |points1=LeBron James 37 |points2=Noah, Rose 21 each |rebounds1=LeBron James 12 |rebounds2=Joakim Noah 20 |assist1=LeBron James 11 |assist2=Derrick Rose 5 |attendance=22,991 |referee=Bennett Salvatore, Derrick Stafford, Mike Callahan }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=April 27 |time=8:00 pm |place=Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio |TV=TNT |team1=Chicago Bulls |score1=94 |team2=Cleveland Cavaliers |score2=96 |report=Recap |Q1=26–27 |Q2=22–28 |Q3=23–18 |Q4=23–23 |points1=Derrick Rose 31 |points2=Antawn Jamison 25 |rebounds1=Taj Gibson 11 |rebounds2=LeBron James 10 |assist1=Derrick Rose 6 |assist2=LeBron James 9 |attendance=20,562 |referee=Ken Mauer, Bill Kennedy, Zach Zarba |series=Cleveland wins series, 4–1 }} ;Regular-season series Teams were tied 2–2 in the regular-season series: {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = November 5, 2009 | report = | team1 = Chicago Bulls |score1=86 | team2 = Cleveland Cavaliers |score2=85 | place = Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio }} {{basketballbox | date = December 4, 2009 | report = | team1 = Chicago Bulls |score1=87 | team2 = Cleveland Cavaliers |score2=101 | place = Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio }} {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = March 19, 2010 | report = | team1 = Cleveland Cavaliers |score1=92 | team2 = Chicago Bulls |score2=85 | place = United Center, Chicago, Illinois }} {{basketballbox | date = April 8, 2010 | report = | team1 = Cleveland Cavaliers |score1=108 | team2 = Chicago Bulls |score2=109 | place = United Center, Chicago, Illinois }}

Last Playoff Meeting: 1994 Eastern Conference First Round (Chicago won 3-0)

(2) Orlando Magic vs. (7) Charlotte Bobcats

{{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=April 18 |time=5:30 pm |place=Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida |TV=TNT |team1=Charlotte Bobcats |score1=89 |team2=Orlando Magic |score2=98 |report=Recap |Q1=20–31 |Q2=23–28 |Q3=23–17 |Q4=23–22 |points1=Gerald Wallace 25 |points2=Jameer Nelson 32 |rebounds1=Gerald Wallace 17 |rebounds2=Dwight Howard 7 |assist1=Raymond Felton 4 |assist2=Jameer Nelson 6 |attendance=17,461 |referee=Dan Crawford, Tony Brothers, Sean Wright }} {{Basketballbox|date=April 21 |time=7:00 pm |place=Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida |TV=TNT |team1=Charlotte Bobcats |score1=77 |team2=Orlando Magic |score2=92 |report=Recap |Q1=14–18 |Q2=16–23 |Q3=25–34 |Q4=22–17 |points1=Stephen Jackson 27 |points2=Vince Carter 19 |rebounds1=Boris Diaw 7 |rebounds2=Dwight Howard 9 |assist1=Diaw, Felton 4 each |assist2=Jameer Nelson 5 |attendance=17,461 |referee=Bennett Salvatore, Rodney Mott, Bill Spooner }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=April 24 |time=2:00 pm |place=Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, North Carolina |TV=TNT |team1=Orlando Magic |score1=90 |team2=Charlotte Bobcats |score2=86 |report=Recap |Q1=29–27 |Q2=12–19 |Q3=25–20 |Q4=24–20 |points1=Jameer Nelson 32 |points2=Stephen Jackson 19 |rebounds1=Gortat, Howard 8 each |rebounds2=Gerald Wallace 8 |assist1=Barnes, Howard, Lewis, Nelson 3 each |assist2=Diaw, Felton 6 each |attendance=19,596 |referee=Joe Crawford, Ed Malloy, Leon Wood }} {{Basketballbox|date=April 26 |time=8:00 pm |place=Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, North Carolina |TV=TNT |team1=Orlando Magic |score1=99 |team2=Charlotte Bobcats |score2=90 |report=Recap |Q1=23–25 |Q2=20–20 |Q3=28–23 |Q4=28–22 |points1=Vince Carter 21 |points2=Tyrus Thomas 21 |rebounds1=Dwight Howard 13 |rebounds2=Tyrus Thomas 9 |assist1=Carter, Nelson 4 each |assist2=Stephen Jackson 8 |attendance=19,086 |referee=Joe DeRosa, Sean Corbin, Marc Davis |series=Orlando wins series, 4–0 }} ;Regular-season series The Orlando Magic lead games 3–1 in the regular-season series: {{basketballbox | bg=#fffa | date = November 10, 2009 | report = | team1 = Orlando Magic |score1=93 | team2 = Charlotte Bobcats |score2=81 | place = Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, North Carolina }} {{basketballbox | date = November 16, 2009 | report = | team1 = Charlotte Bobcats |score1=91 | team2 = Orlando Magic |score2=97 | place = Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida }} {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = January 23, 2010 | report = | team1 = Orlando Magic |score1=106 | team2 = Charlotte Bobcats |score2=95 | place = Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, North Carolina }} {{basketballbox | date = March 14, 2010 | report = | team1 = Charlotte Bobcats |score1=96 | team2 = Orlando Magic |score2=89 | place = Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida }}

Last Playoff Meeting: Not available (first playoff series)

(3) Atlanta Hawks vs. (6) Milwaukee Bucks

{{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=April 17 |time=5:30 pm |place=Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia |TV=ESPN |team1=Milwaukee Bucks |score1=92 |team2=Atlanta Hawks |score2=102 |report=Recap |Q1=17–34 |Q2=23–28 |Q3=30–19 |Q4=22–21 |points1=Brandon Jennings 34 |points2=Joe Johnson 22 |rebounds1=Kurt Thomas 9 |rebounds2=Josh Smith 10 |assist1=Brandon Jennings 3 |assist2=Joe Johnson 5 |attendance=18,729 |referee=Ken Mauer, Ron Garretson, Sean Corbin }} {{Basketballbox|date=April 20 |time=7:00 pm |place=Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia |TV=NBA TV |team1=Milwaukee Bucks |score1=86 |team2=Atlanta Hawks |score2=96 |report=Recap |Q1=20–28 |Q2=26–24 |Q3=16–24 |Q4=24–20 |points1=John Salmons 21 |points2=Joe Johnson 27 |rebounds1=Ersan İlyasova 15 |rebounds2=Josh Smith 14 |assist1=Delfino, Salmons 4 each |assist2=Josh Smith 9 |attendance=18,938 |referee=Dan Crawford, Derrick Collins, Ed Malloy }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=April 24 |time=7:00 pm |place=Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin |TV=ESPN |team1=Atlanta Hawks |score1=89 |team2=Milwaukee Bucks |score2=107 |report=Recap |Q1=19–36 |Q2=21–16 |Q3=17–26 |Q4=32–29 |points1=Joe Johnson 25 |points2=John Salmons 22 |rebounds1=Josh Smith 12 |rebounds2=Kurt Thomas 13 |assist1=Crawford, Johnson 4 each |assist2=John Salmons 10 |attendance=18,717 |referee=Monty McCutchen, Tony Brothers, James Capers }} {{Basketballbox|date=April 26 |time=8:30 pm |place=Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin |TV=NBA TV |team1=Atlanta Hawks |score1=104 |team2=Milwaukee Bucks |score2=111 |report=Recap |Q1=25–28 |Q2=25–26 |Q3=24–31 |Q4=30–26 |points1=Joe Johnson 29 |points2=Brandon Jennings 23 |rebounds1=Josh Smith 9 |rebounds2=Kurt Thomas 9 |assist1=Joe Johnson 9 |assist2=Brandon Jennings 6 |attendance=18,717 |referee=Eddie F. Rush, Tom Washington, Tom Goble }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=April 28 |time=8:00 pm |place=Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia |TV=TNT |team1=Milwaukee Bucks |score1=91 |team2=Atlanta Hawks |score2=87 |report=Recap |Q1=24–23 |Q2=19–23 |Q3=18–23 |Q4=30–18 |points1=Brandon Jennings 25 |points2=Al Horford 25 |rebounds1=Ersan İlyasova 7 |rebounds2=Al Horford 11 |assist1=John Salmons 5 |assist2=Joe Johnson 6 |attendance=19,304 |referee=Joe DeRosa, Dick Bavetta, Marc Davis }} {{Basketballbox|date=April 30 |time=7:00 pm |place=Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin |TV=ESPN |team1=Atlanta Hawks |score1=83 |team2=Milwaukee Bucks |score2=69 |report=Recap |Q1=16–19 |Q2=15–15 |Q3=29–11 |Q4=23–24 |points1=Jamal Crawford 24 |points2=Carlos Delfino 20 |rebounds1=Al Horford 15 |rebounds2=Kurt Thomas 9 |assist1=Joe Johnson 6 |assist2=John Salmons 4 |attendance=18,717 |referee=Bennett Salvatore, Mike Callahan, Zach Zarba }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=May 2 |time=1:00 pm |place=Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia |TV=ABC |team1=Milwaukee Bucks |score1=74 |team2=Atlanta Hawks |score2=95 |report=Recap |Q1=13–20 |Q2=27–33 |Q3=20–20 |Q4=14–22 |points1=Brandon Jennings 15 |points2=Jamal Crawford 22 |rebounds1=Ersan İlyasova 11 |rebounds2=Al Horford 15 |assist1=Brandon Jennings 5 |assist2=Jamal Crawford 6 |attendance=19,241 |referee=Joe Crawford, Scott Foster, Greg Willard |series=Atlanta wins series, 4–3 }} The Atlanta Hawks quickly took control of the series by winning the first 2 games against the Milwaukee Bucks, without star center Andrew Bogut. But the Bucks managed to take the next 3 games, including a shocking Game 5 win in Atlanta, where they overcame a 9-point deficit in the final 4 minutes. However, Atlanta managed to stave off elimination in front of a raucous Bradley Center crowd, coming away with a 83–69 Game 6 victory. The Hawks then finished off the Bucks in Game 7 and advanced to the next round. ;Regular-season series The Atlanta Hawks lead games 2–1 in the regular-season series: {{basketballbox | bg=#fffa | date = February 28, 2010 | report = | team1 = Milwaukee Bucks |score1=102 | team2 = Atlanta Hawks |score2=106 | place = Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia }} {{basketballbox | date = March 22, 2010 | report = | team1 = Atlanta Hawks |score1=95 | team2 = Milwaukee Bucks |score2=98 | place = Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin }} {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = April 12, 2010 | report = | team1 = Atlanta Hawks |score1=104 | team2 = Milwaukee Bucks |score2=96 | place = Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin }}

Last Playoff Meeting: 1989 Eastern Conference First Round (Milwaukee won 3-2)

(4) Boston Celtics vs. (5) Miami Heat

{{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=April 17 |time=8:00 pm |place=TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts |TV=ESPN |team1=Miami Heat |score1=76 |team2=Boston Celtics |score2=85 |report=Recap |Q1=29–28 |Q2=15–13 |Q3=22–23 |Q4=10–21 |points1=Dwyane Wade 26 |points2=Paul Pierce 16 |rebounds1=Jermaine O'Neal 9 |rebounds2=Kevin Garnett 9 |assist1=Dwyane Wade 6 |assist2=Rajon Rondo 10 |attendance=18,624 |referee=Joe DeRosa, Dick Bavetta, Ed Malloy }} {{Basketballbox|date=April 20 |time=8:00 pm |place=TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts |TV=TNT |team1=Miami Heat |score1=77 |team2=Boston Celtics |score2=106 |report=Recap |Q1=23–23 |Q2=10–26 |Q3=26–36 |Q4=18–21 |points1=Dwyane Wade 29 |points2=Ray Allen 25 |rebounds1=Michael Beasley 7 |rebounds2=Kendrick Perkins 9 |assist1=Dwyane Wade 5 |assist2=Rajon Rondo 12 |attendance=18,624 |referee=Eddie Rush, Bob Delaney, Marc Davis }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=April 23 |time=7:00 pm |place=American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida |TV=ESPN |team1=Boston Celtics |score1=100 |team2=Miami Heat |score2=98 |report=Recap |Q1=27–29 |Q2=21–20 |Q3=32–23 |Q4=20–26 |points1=Paul Pierce 32 |points2=Dwyane Wade 34 |rebounds1=Kendrick Perkins 12 |rebounds2=Udonis Haslem 8 |assist1=Rajon Rondo 8 |assist2=Dwyane Wade 8 |attendance=19,500 |referee=Bennett Salvatore, Eric Lewis, Bill Spooner }} {{Basketballbox|date=April 25 |time=1:00 pm |place=American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida |TV=ABC |team1=Boston Celtics |score1=92 |team2=Miami Heat |score2=101 |report=Recap |Q1=18–31 |Q2=25–18 |Q3=34–22 |Q4=15–30 |points1=Rajon Rondo 23 |points2=Dwyane Wade 46 |rebounds1=Kevin Garnett 12 |rebounds2=Udonis Haslem 11 |assist1=Rajon Rondo 9 |assist2=Wade, Chalmers 5 each |attendance=19,520 |referee=Ken Mauer, Bill Kennedy, Greg Willard }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=April 27 |time=7:00 pm |place=TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts |TV=NBATV |team1=Miami Heat |score1=86 |team2=Boston Celtics |score2=96 |report=Recap |Q1=21–29 |Q2=17–19 |Q3=27–23 |Q4=21–25 |points1=Dwyane Wade 31 |points2=Ray Allen 24 |rebounds1=Udonis Haslem 10 |rebounds2=Garnett, Rondo 8 each |assist1=Dwyane Wade 10 |assist2=Rajon Rondo 12 |attendance=18,624 |referee=Scott Foster, Derrick Stafford, James Capers |series=Boston wins series, 4–1 }} ;Regular-season series The Boston Celtics lead games 3–0 in the regular-season series: {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = November 29, 2009 | report = | team1 = Boston Celtics |score1=92 | team2 = Miami Heat |score2=85 | place = American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida }} {{basketballbox | date = January 6, 2010 | report = | team1 = Boston Celtics |score1=112 | team2 = Miami Heat |score2=106 | place = American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida }} {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = February 3, 2010 | report = | team1 = Miami Heat |score1=102 | team2 = Boston Celtics |score2=107 | place = TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts }}

Last Playoff Meeting: Not available (first playoff series)

Conference Semifinals

(1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (4) Boston Celtics

{{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=May 1 |time=8:00 pm |place=Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio |TV=TNT |team1=Boston Celtics |score1=93 |team2=Cleveland Cavaliers |score2=101 |report=Recap |Q1=26–20 |Q2=28–23 |Q3=24–36 |Q4=15–22 |points1=Rajon Rondo 27 |points2=LeBron James 35 |rebounds1=Kendrick Perkins 11 |rebounds2=Antawn Jamison 9 |assist1=Rajon Rondo 12 |assist2=LeBron James 7 |attendance=20,562 |referee=Eddie F. Rush, Bill Spooner, Jason Phillips }} {{Basketballbox|date=May 3 |time=8:00 pm | place=Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio |TV=TNT |team1=Boston Celtics |score1=104 |team2=Cleveland Cavaliers |score2=86 |report=Recap |Q1=26–22 |Q2=26–26 |Q3=31–12 |Q4=21–26 |points1=Ray Allen 22 |points2=LeBron James 24 |rebounds1=Kevin Garnett 10 |rebounds2=James, Varejão 7 each |assist1=Rajon Rondo 19 |assist2=Mo Williams 7 |attendance=20,562 |referee=Dan Crawford, Dick Bavetta, Ed Malloy }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=May 7 |time=7:00 pm |place=TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts |TV=ESPN |team1=Cleveland Cavaliers |score1=124 |team2=Boston Celtics |score2=95 |report=Recap |Q1=36–17 |Q2=29–26 |Q3=31–27 |Q4=28–25 |points1=LeBron James 38 |points2=Kevin Garnett 19 |rebounds1=Antawn Jamison 12 |rebounds2=Rajon Rondo 5 |assist1=James, Williams 7 each |assist2=Rajon Rondo 8 |attendance=18,624 |referee=Bennett Salvatore, Ken Mauer, Zach Zarba }} {{Basketballbox|date=May 9 |time=3:30 pm | place=TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts |TV=ABC |team1=Cleveland Cavaliers |score1=87 |team2=Boston Celtics |score2=97 |report=Recap |Q1=22–31 |Q2=23–23 |Q3=27–20 |Q4=15–23 |points1=LeBron James 22 |points2=Rajon Rondo 29 |rebounds1=LeBron James 9 |rebounds2=Rajon Rondo 18 |assist1=LeBron James 8 |assist2=Rajon Rondo 13 |attendance=18,624 |referee=Joe DeRosa, Mike Callahan, Michael Smith }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=May 11 |time=8:00 pm | place=Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio |TV=TNT |team1=Boston Celtics |score1=120 |team2=Cleveland Cavaliers |score2=88 |report=Recap |Q1=20–23 |Q2=30–21 |Q3=30–19 |Q4=40–25 |points1=Ray Allen 25 |points2=Shaquille O'Neal 21 |rebounds1=Paul Pierce 11 |rebounds2=Anderson Varejão 8 |assist1=Rondo, Pierce 7 each |assist2=LeBron James 7 |attendance=20,562 |referee=Joe Crawford, Marc Davis, Greg Willard }} {{Basketballbox|date=May 13 |time=8:00 pm | place=TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts |TV=ESPN |team1=Cleveland Cavaliers |score1=85 |team2=Boston Celtics |score2=94 |report=Recap |Q1=22–25 |Q2=27–26 |Q3=18–25 |Q4=18–18 |points1=LeBron James 27 |points2=Kevin Garnett 22 |rebounds1=LeBron James 19 |rebounds2=Kevin Garnett 12 |assist1=LeBron James 10 |assist2=Rajon Rondo 12 |attendance=18,624 |referee=Monty McCutchen, Bob Delaney, Eddie F. Rush |series=Boston wins series, 4–2 }}

The Cavaliers were considered heavy favorites coming in, but had to rally from an 11-point halftime deficit to win in Game 1. The Celtics took home-court in Game 2, as Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo's 19 assists powered them past the Cavaliers to an 18 point victory. The Cavaliers struck back in Game 3 and handed the Celtics their worst home-playoff loss in franchise history. Cavaliers forward Lebron James scored 21 points in the first quarter alone and 38 for the game. Antawn Jamison added another 20. Celtics forward Paul Pierce called the loss "embarrassing". Rajon Rondo's triple-double (29 points, a career playoff high 18 rebounds and 13 assists) pushed the Celtics to a Game 4 victory. The Celtics reciprocated their Game 3 humiliation with a 32 point victory in Cleveland during Game 5. Lebron James was held to 3 of 14 shooting. The Celtics clinched the series in Game 6, holding James to 8 of 21 shooting.

The Cavaliers early-exit led to James's departure for the Miami Heat during the offseason. Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert then accused James of quitting on the team during the series and also alleged that he did the same thing the previous year's Conference Finals. ;Regular-season series Teams were tied 2–2 in the regular-season series: {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = October 27, 2009 | report = | team1 = Boston Celtics |score1=95 | team2 = Cleveland Cavaliers |score2=89 | place = Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio }} {{basketballbox | date = February 25, 2010 | report = | team1 = Cleveland Cavaliers |score1=108 | team2 = Boston Celtics |score2=88 | place = TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts }} {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = March 14, 2010 | report = | team1 = Boston Celtics |score1=93 | team2 = Cleveland Cavaliers |score2=104 | place = Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio }} {{basketballbox | date = April 4, 2010 | report = | team1 = Cleveland Cavaliers |score1=113 | team2 = Boston Celtics |score2=117 | place = TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts }}

Last Playoff Meeting: 2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals (Boston won 4-3)

(2) Orlando Magic vs. (3) Atlanta Hawks

{{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=May 4 |time=8:00 pm |place=Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida |TV=TNT |team1=Atlanta Hawks |score1=71 |team2=Orlando Magic |score2=114 |report=Recap |Q1=23–25 |Q2=10–28 |Q3=11–32 |Q4=27–29 |points1=Josh Smith 14 |points2=Dwight Howard 21 |rebounds1=Johnson, Pachulia 7 each |rebounds2=Dwight Howard 12 |assist1=Bibby, Johnson 3 each |assist2=Jameer Nelson 5 |attendance=17,461 |referee=Joe DeRosa, Bob Delaney, Tom Washington }} {{Basketballbox|date=May 6 |time=8:00 pm |place=Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida |TV=ESPN |team1=Atlanta Hawks |score1=98 |team2=Orlando Magic |score2=112 |report=Recap |Q1=27–32 |Q2=30–17 |Q3=26–35 |Q4=15–28 |points1=Al Horford 24 |points2=Dwight Howard 29 |rebounds1=Marvin Williams 11 |rebounds2=Dwight Howard 17 |assist1=Joe Johnson 5 |assist2=Lewis, Nelson 6 each |attendance=17,461 |referee=Monty McCutchen, Mike Callahan, Marc Davis }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=May 8 |time=5:00 pm |place=Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia |TV=ESPN |team1=Orlando Magic |score1=105 |team2=Atlanta Hawks |score2=75 |report=Recap |Q1=28–18 |Q2=24–15 |Q3=27–22 |Q4=26–20 |points1=Rashard Lewis 22 |points2=Jamal Crawford 22 |rebounds1=Dwight Howard 16 |rebounds2=Josh Smith 11 |assist1=Jameer Nelson 4 |assist2=Al Horford 3 |attendance=18,729 |referee=Ed Malloy, Dan Crawford, Eddie F. Rush }} {{Basketballbox|date=May 10 |time=8:00 pm |place=Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia |TV=TNT |team1=Orlando Magic |score1=98 |team2=Atlanta Hawks |score2=84 |report=Recap |Q1=34–23 |Q2=19–22 |Q3=22–21 |Q4=23–18 |points1=Vince Carter 22 |points2=Jamal Crawford 18 |rebounds1=Anderson, Howard 8 each |rebounds2=Josh Smith 8 |assist1=Jameer Nelson 9 |assist2=Joe Johnson 5 |attendance=18,729 |referee=Bennett Salvatore, Bill Spooner, Derrick Stafford |series=Orlando wins series, 4–0 }}

The Magic's victory was the most lopsided four game sweep in playoff history.

;Regular-season series The Orlando Magic lead games 3–1 in the regular-season series: {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = November 26, 2009 | report = | team1 = Orlando Magic |score1=93 | team2 = Atlanta Hawks |score2=76 | place = Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia }} {{basketballbox | date = January 9, 2010 | report = | team1 = Atlanta Hawks |score1=81 | team2 = Orlando Magic |score2=113 | place = Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida }} {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = January 30, 2010 | report = | team1 = Atlanta Hawks |score1=86 | team2 = Orlando Magic |score2=104 | place = Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida }} {{basketballbox | date = March 24, 2010 | report = | team1 = Orlando Magic |score1=84 | team2 = Atlanta Hawks |score2=86 | place = Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia }}

Last Playoff Meeting: 1996 Eastern Conference Semifinals (Orlando won 4-1)

Conference Finals: (2) Orlando Magic vs. (4) Boston Celtics

{{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=May 16 |time=3:30 pm |place=Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida |TV=ABC |team1=Boston Celtics |score1=92 |team2=Orlando Magic |score2=88 |report=Recap |Q1=22–14 |Q2=19–18 |Q3=33–26 |Q4=18–30 |points1=Ray Allen 25 |points2=Vince Carter 23 |rebounds1=Kevin Garnett 11 |rebounds2=Dwight Howard 12 |assist1=Rajon Rondo 8 |assist2=Carter, Howard, Lewis, Nelson 2 each |attendance=17,461 |referee=Dan Crawford, Ken Mauer, Michael Smith }} {{Basketballbox |date=May 18 |time=8:30 pm |place=Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida |TV=ESPN |team1=Boston Celtics |score1=95 |team2=Orlando Magic |score2=92 |report=Recap |Q1=27–28 |Q2=26–23 |Q3=25–19 |Q4=17–22 |points1=Paul Pierce 28 |points2=Dwight Howard 30 |rebounds1=Kevin Garnett 9 |rebounds2=Dwight Howard 8 |assist1=Rajon Rondo 8 |assist2=Lewis, Nelson, Redick 4 each |attendance=17,461 |referee=Joe DeRosa, Marc Davis, Bill Kennedy }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=May 22 |time=8:30 pm |place=TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts |TV=ESPN |team1=Orlando Magic |score1=71 |team2=Boston Celtics |score2=94 |report=Recap |Q1=12–27 |Q2=22–24 |Q3=13–24 |Q4=24–19 |points1=Carter, Nelson 15 each |points2=Glen Davis 17 |rebounds1=Dwight Howard 7 |rebounds2=Paul Pierce 9 |assist1=Barnes, Carter, Redick 2 each |assist2=Rajon Rondo 12 |attendance=18,624 |referee=Bennett Salvatore, Bill Spooner, Greg Willard }} {{Basketballbox |date=May 24 |time=8:30 pm |place=TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts |TV=ESPN |team1=Orlando Magic |score1=96 |team2=Boston Celtics |score2=92 |overtime=OT |report=Recap |Q1=31–26 |Q2=20–21 |Q3=16–21 |Q4=19–18 |OT=10–6 |points1=Dwight Howard 32 |points2=Paul Pierce 32 |rebounds1=Dwight Howard 16 |rebounds2=Kevin Garnett 12 |assist1=Jameer Nelson 9 |assist2=Rajon Rondo 8 |attendance=18,624 |referee=Scott Foster, Bob Delaney, Derrick Stafford }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=May 26 |time=8:30 pm |place=Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida |TV=ESPN |team1=Boston Celtics |score1=92 |team2=Orlando Magic |score2=113 |report=Recap |Q1=27–31 |Q2=22–26 |Q3=26–27 |Q4=17–29 |points1=Rasheed Wallace 21 |points2=Jameer Nelson 24 |rebounds1=Kevin Garnett 5 |rebounds2=Dwight Howard 10 |assist1=Ray Allen 7 |assist2=Nelson, Williams 5 each |attendance=17,461 |referee=Joe Crawford, Eddie F. Rush, Tom Washington }} {{Basketballbox |date=May 28 |time=8:30 pm |place=TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts |TV=ESPN |team1=Orlando Magic |score1=84 |team2=Boston Celtics |score2=96 |report=Recap |Q1=19–30 |Q2=23–25 |Q3=19–27 |Q4=23–14 |points1=Dwight Howard 28 |points2=Paul Pierce 31 |rebounds1=Dwight Howard 12 |rebounds2=Paul Pierce 13 |assist1=Jameer Nelson 4 |assist2=Rajon Rondo 6 |attendance=18,624 |referee=Monty McCutchen, Mike Callahan, Ken Mauer |series=Boston wins series, 4–2 }} The Boston Celtics were able to hold off a late Magic rally to steal home-court advantage in Game 1. They even used that momentum to grab Game 2 in Orlando to take a 2-0 lead going into Boston. After winning back-to-back road games to begin a series for the first time in franchise history, the Celtics would go on to blow out the Magic by 23 points in Game 3 to take a 3 to nothing lead. The Magic, however, would rally for a desperate Game 4 victory in overtime to force Game 5 in Orlando. Dwight Howard poured in 32 points in that victory. The Celtics seemed to lose control of the series, as the Magic scored another victory in Game 5, making the series 3-2, to force it back to Boston. No team in NBA history has rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win a post-season series. Moreover, Orlando fell short as the Celtics were able to advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in three years with a 12-point win in Game 6. ;Regular-season series The Orlando Magic lead games 3–1 in the regular-season series: {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = November 20, 2009 | report = | team1 = Orlando Magic |score1=83 | team2 = Boston Celtics |score2=78 | place = TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts }} {{basketballbox | date = December 25, 2009 | report = | team1 = Boston Celtics |score1=86 | team2 = Orlando Magic |score2=77 | place = Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida }} {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = January 28, 2010 | report = | team1 = Boston Celtics |score1=94 | team2 = Orlando Magic |score2=96 | place = Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida }} {{basketballbox | date = February 7, 2010 | report = | team1 = Orlando Magic |score1=96 | team2 = Boston Celtics |score2=89 | place = TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts }}

Last Playoff Meeting: 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals (Orlando won 4-3)

Western Conference

:''All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)''

First Round

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (8) Oklahoma City Thunder

{{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=April 18 |time=3:00 pm |place=Staples Center, Los Angeles, California |TV=ABC |team1=Oklahoma City Thunder |score1=79 |team2=Los Angeles Lakers |score2=87 |report=Recap |Q1=13–27 |Q2=26–20 |Q3=17–17 |Q4=23–23 |points1=Kevin Durant 24 |points2=Kobe Bryant 21 |rebounds1=Nick Collison 8 |rebounds2=Pau Gasol 13 |assist1=Russell Westbrook 8 |assist2=Bryant, Gasol 3 each |attendance=18,997 |referee=Monty McCutchen, Jason Phillips, Tom Washington }} {{Basketballbox|date=April 20 |time=10:30 pm |place=Staples Center, Los Angeles, California |TV=TNT |team1=Oklahoma City Thunder |score1=92 |team2=Los Angeles Lakers |score2=95 |report=Recap |Q1=18–26 |Q2=29–19 |Q3=22–28 |Q4=23–22 |points1=Kevin Durant 32 |points2=Kobe Bryant 39 |rebounds1=Kevin Durant 8 |rebounds2=Pau Gasol 12 |assist1=Sefolosha, Westbrook 3 each |assist2=Derek Fisher 6 |attendance=18,997 |referee=Derrick Stafford, Scott Foster, Zach Zarba }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=April 22 |time=9:30 pm |place=Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |TV=TNT |team1=Los Angeles Lakers |score1=96 |team2=Oklahoma City Thunder |score2=101 |report=Recap |Q1=27–22 |Q2=23–21 |Q3=25–31 |Q4=21–27 |points1=Kobe Bryant 24 |points2=Kevin Durant 29 |rebounds1=Pau Gasol 15 |rebounds2=Kevin Durant 19 |assist1=Kobe Bryant 8 |assist2=Durant, Westbrook 4 each |attendance=18,342 |referee=Joe Crawford, Sean Wright, Marc Davis }} {{Basketballbox|date=April 24 |time=9:30 pm |place=Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |TV=ESPN |team1=Los Angeles Lakers |score1=89 |team2=Oklahoma City Thunder |score2=110 |report=Recap |Q1=17–29 |Q2=25–26 |Q3=22–31 |Q4=25–24 |points1=Bynum, Gasol 13 each |points2=Kevin Durant 22 |rebounds1=Andrew Bynum 10 |rebounds2=Jeff Green 9 |assist1=Kobe Bryant 4 |assist2=Russell Westbrook 6 |attendance=18,342 |referee=Joe DeRosa, Sean Corbin, Michael Smith }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=April 27 |time=10:30 pm |place=Staples Center, Los Angeles, California |TV=TNT |team1=Oklahoma City Thunder |score1=87 |team2=Los Angeles Lakers |score2=111 |report=Recap |Q1=16–31 |Q2=18–24 |Q3=26–33 |Q4=27–23 |points1=Kevin Durant 17 |points2=Pau Gasol 25 |rebounds1=Serge Ibaka 9 |rebounds2=Bynum, Gasol 11 each |assist1=Russell Westbrook 6 |assist2=Kobe Bryant 7 |attendance=18,997 |referee=Dan Crawford, Bob Delaney, Leon Wood }} {{Basketballbox|date=April 30 |time=9:30 pm |place=Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |TV=ESPN |team1=Los Angeles Lakers |score1=95 |team2=Oklahoma City Thunder |score2=94 |report=Recap |Q1=26–27 |Q2=27–20 |Q3=23–26 |Q4=19–21 |points1=Kobe Bryant 32 |points2=Kevin Durant 26 |rebounds1=Pau Gasol 18 |rebounds2=Nenad Krstić 11 |assist1=Derek Fisher 6 |assist2=Russell Westbrook 9 |attendance=18,342 |referee=Ken Mauer, Bill Kennedy, Greg Willard |series=L.A. Lakers win series, 4–2 }} ;Regular-season series The Los Angeles Lakers lead games 3–1 in the regular-season series: {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = November 3, 2009 | report = | team1 = Los Angeles Lakers |score1=101 | team2 = Oklahoma City Thunder |score2=98 | place = Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma }} {{basketballbox | date = November 22, 2009 | report = | team1 = Oklahoma City Thunder |score1=85 | team2 = Los Angeles Lakers |score2=101 | place = Staples Center, Los Angeles, California }} {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = December 22, 2009 | report = | team1 = Oklahoma City Thunder |score1=108 | team2 = Los Angeles Lakers |score2=111 | place = Staples Center, Los Angeles, California }} {{basketballbox | date = March 26, 2010 | report = | team1 = Los Angeles Lakers |score1=75 | team2 = Oklahoma City Thunder |score2=91 | place = Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma }}

Last Playoff Meeting: 1998 Western Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles won 4–1 over Seattle, the predecessor to Oklahoma City)

(2) Dallas Mavericks vs. (7) San Antonio Spurs

{{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=April 18 |time=8:00 pm |place=American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas |TV=TNT |team1=San Antonio Spurs |score1=94 |team2=Dallas Mavericks |score2=100 |report=Recap |Q1=18–23 |Q2=27–27 |Q3=24–26 |Q4=25–24 |points1=Tim Duncan 27 |points2=Dirk Nowitzki 36 |rebounds1=Duncan, McDyess 8 each |rebounds2=Erick Dampier 12 |assist1=Manu Ginóbili 6 |assist2=Jason Kidd 11 |attendance=20,372 |referee=Bennett Salvatore, Michael Smith, Bill Kennedy }} {{Basketballbox|date=April 21 |time=9:30 pm |place=American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas |TV=TNT |team1=San Antonio Spurs |score1=102 |team2=Dallas Mavericks |score2=88 |report=Recap |Q1=24–20 |Q2=34–26 |Q3=24–26 |Q4=20–16 |points1=Tim Duncan 25 |points2=Jason Terry 27 |rebounds1=Tim Duncan 17 |rebounds2=Dirk Nowitzki 10 |assist1=Tony Parker 8 |assist2=Jason Kidd 8 |attendance=20,728 |referee=Ken Mauer, James Capers, Mike Callahan }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=April 23 |time=9:30 pm |place=AT&T; Center, San Antonio, Texas |TV=ESPN |team1=Dallas Mavericks |score1=90 |team2=San Antonio Spurs |score2=94 |report=Recap |Q1=16–23 |Q2=28–24 |Q3=26–19 |Q4=20–28 |points1=Dirk Nowitzki 35 |points2=Tim Duncan 25 |rebounds1=Kidd, Nowitzki 7 each |rebounds2=Antonio McDyess 6 |assist1=Jason Kidd 5 |assist2=Manu Ginóbili 7 |attendance=18,581 |referee=Dick Bavetta, Dan Crawford, Rodney Mott }} {{Basketballbox|date=April 25 |time=7:00 pm |place=AT&T; Center, San Antonio, Texas |TV=TNT |team1=Dallas Mavericks |score1=89 |team2=San Antonio Spurs |score2=92 |report=Recap |Q1=17–20 |Q2=31–17 |Q3=11–29 |Q4=30–26 |points1=Butler, Nowitzki 17 each |points2=George Hill 29 |rebounds1=Dirk Nowitzki 11 |rebounds2=Tim Duncan 11 |assist1=Jason Kidd 5 |assist2=Manu Ginóbili 7 |attendance=18,581 |referee=Bob Delaney, David Jones, Scott Foster }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=April 27 |time=9:30 pm |place=American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas |TV=NBATV |team1=San Antonio Spurs |score1=81 |team2=Dallas Mavericks |score2=103 |report=Recap |Q1=21–27 |Q2=25–26 |Q3=18–29 |Q4=17–21 |points1=Tony Parker 18 |points2=Caron Butler 35 |rebounds1=DeJuan Blair 8 |rebounds2=Caron Butler 11 |assist1=Tony Parker 6 |assist2=Jason Kidd 7 |attendance=20,728 |referee=Monty McCutchen, Pat Fraher, Greg Willard }} {{Basketballbox|date=April 29 |time=8:00 pm |place=AT&T; Center, San Antonio, Texas |TV=TNT |team1=Dallas Mavericks |score1=87 |team2=San Antonio Spurs |score2=97 |report=Recap |Q1=8–22 |Q2=26–25 |Q3=29–23 |Q4=24–27 |points1=Dirk Nowitzki 33 |points2=Manu Ginóbili 26 |rebounds1=Jason Kidd 8 |rebounds2=Tim Duncan 10 |assist1=Jason Kidd 6 |assist2=Tony Parker 8 |attendance=18,581 |referee=Eddie F. Rush, Bill Spooner, Tom Washington |series=San Antonio wins series, 4–2 }} The Mavs won 55 games and the Southwest Division title, but for the 3rd time in four years, they failed to escape the first round. The 2007 Mavericks were defeated by the Golden State Warriors as a No. 1 seed, and the 2008 Mavericks lost in the 1st round to the New Orleans Hornets. The Mavs took Game 1 in Dallas, but would go on to drop the next three games (including two in San Antonio) to wind up trailing 3 to 1. Dallas won Game 5 to keep their season alive, but the Spurs managed to finish them off with a 10-point win in Game 6. ;Regular-season series The Dallas Mavericks lead games 3–1 in the regular-season series: {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = November 11, 2009 | report = | team1 = Dallas Mavericks |score1=83 | team2 = San Antonio Spurs |score2=92 | place = AT&T; Center, San Antonio, Texas }} {{basketballbox | date = November 18, 2009 | report = | team1 = San Antonio Spurs |score1=94 | team2 = Dallas Mavericks |score2=99 | place = American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas }} {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = January 8, 2010 | report = | team1 = Dallas Mavericks |score1=112 | team2 = San Antonio Spurs |score2=103 | place = AT&T; Center, San Antonio, Texas }} {{basketballbox | date = April 14, 2010 | report = | team1 = San Antonio Spurs |score1=89 | team2 = Dallas Mavericks |score2=96 | place = American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas }}

Last Playoff Meeting: 2009 Western Conference First Round (Dallas won 4-1)

(3) Phoenix Suns vs. (6) Portland Trail Blazers

{{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=April 18 |time=10:30 pm |place=US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona |TV=TNT |team1=Portland Trail Blazers |score1=105 |team2=Phoenix Suns |score2=100 |report=Recap |Q1=25–24 |Q2=19–19 |Q3=26–29 |Q4=35–28 |points1=Andre Miller 31 |points2=Steve Nash 25 |rebounds1=Marcus Camby 17 |rebounds2=Jason Richardson 10 |assist1=Andre Miller 8 |assist2=Steve Nash 9 |attendance=18,422 |referee=Scott Foster, James Capers, Derrick Stafford }} {{Basketballbox|date=April 20 |time=10:00 pm |place=US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona |TV=NBATV |team1=Portland Trail Blazers |score1=90 |team2=Phoenix Suns |score2=119 |report=Recap |Q1=26–32 |Q2=23–31 |Q3=19–31 |Q4=22–25 |points1=Martell Webster 16 |points2=Jason Richardson 29 |rebounds1=Marcus Camby 10 |rebounds2=Grant Hill 8 |assist1=Andre Miller 3 |assist2=Steve Nash 16 |attendance=18.422 |referee=Monty McCutchen, Tom Washington, Greg Willard }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=April 22 |time=10:00 pm |place=Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon |TV=NBATV |team1=Phoenix Suns |score1=108 |team2=Portland Trail Blazers |score2=89 |report=Recap |Q1=34–16 |Q2=32–21 |Q3=15–23 |Q4=27–29 |points1=Jason Richardson 42 |points2=LaMarcus Aldridge 17 |rebounds1=Jason Richardson 8 |rebounds2=Marcus Camby 10 |assist1=Steve Nash 10 |assist2=Andre Miller 9 |attendance=20,271 |referee=Joe DeRosa, Pat Fraher, Bill Kennedy }} {{Basketballbox|date=April 24 |time=4:30 pm |place=Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon |TV=TNT |team1=Phoenix Suns |score1=87 |team2=Portland Trail Blazers |score2=96 |report=Recap |Q1=27–26 |Q2=23–28 |Q3=22–20 |Q4=15–22 |points1=Amar'e Stoudemire 26 |points2=LaMarcus Aldridge 31 |rebounds1=Grant Hill 12 |rebounds2=LaMarcus Aldridge 11 |assist1=Steve Nash 8 |assist2=Andre Miller 8 |attendance=20,151 |referee=Eddie F. Rush, Derrick Collins, Ron Garretson }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=April 26 |time=10:30 pm |place=US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona |TV=TNT |team1=Portland Trail Blazers |score1=88 |team2=Phoenix Suns |score2=107 |report=Recap |Q1=28–27 |Q2=19–30 |Q3=19–27 |Q4=22–23 |points1=Andre Miller 21 |points2=Channing Frye 20 |rebounds1=Marcus Camby 11 |rebounds2=Frye, Richardson 8 each |assist1=Marcus Camby 5 |assist2=Steve Nash 10 |attendance=18,422 |referee=Joe Crawford, Jason Phillips, Bill Spooner }} {{Basketballbox|date=April 29 |time=10:30 pm |place=Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon |TV=TNT |team1=Phoenix Suns |score1=99 |team2=Portland Trail Blazers |score2=90 |report=Recap |Q1=24–17 |Q2=29–24 |Q3=21–24 |Q4=25–25 |points1=Jason Richardson 28 |points2=Martell Webster 19 |rebounds1=Grant Hill 12 |rebounds2=LaMarcus Aldridge 9 |assist1=Steve Nash 6 |assist2=Jerryd Bayless 7 |attendance=20,313 |referee=Sean Corbin, Bob Delaney, Dan Crawford |series=Phoenix wins series, 4–2 }} ;Regular-season series The Portland Trail Blazers lead games 2–1 in the regular-season series: {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = December 17, 2009 | report = | team1 = Phoenix Suns |score1=102 | team2 = Portland Trail Blazers |score2=105 | place = Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon }} {{basketballbox | date = February 10, 2010 | report = | team1 = Portland Trail Blazers |score1=108 | team2 = Phoenix Suns |score2=101 | place = US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona }} {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = March 21, 2010 | report = | team1 = Portland Trail Blazers |score1=87 | team2 = Phoenix Suns |score2=93 | place = US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona }}

Last Playoff Meeting: 1999 Western Conference First Round (Portland won 3-0)

(4) Denver Nuggets vs. (5) Utah Jazz

{{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=April 17 |time=10:30 pm |place=Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado |TV=ESPN |team1=Utah Jazz |score1=113 |team2=Denver Nuggets |score2=126 |report=Recap |Q1=28–30 |Q2=28–27 |Q3=30–31 |Q4=27–38 |points1=Deron Williams 26 |points2=Carmelo Anthony 42 |rebounds1=Paul Millsap 10 |rebounds2=Kenyon Martin 12 |assist1=Deron Williams 11 |assist2=Chauncey Billups 8 |attendance=19,155 |referee=Joe Crawford, Greg Willard, Zach Zarba }} {{Basketballbox|date=April 19 |time=10:30 pm |place=Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado |TV=TNT |team1=Utah Jazz |score1=114 |team2=Denver Nuggets |score2=111 |report=Recap |Q1=33–30 |Q2=30–21 |Q3=25–31 |Q4=26–29 |points1=Deron Williams 33 |points2=Carmelo Anthony 32 |rebounds1=Carlos Boozer 14 |rebounds2=Anthony, Nenê, Smith 6 each |assist1=Deron Williams 14 |assist2=Chauncey Billups 11 |attendance=19,155 |referee=Ken Mauer, Bill Spooner, Leon Wood }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=April 23 |time=10:30 pm |place=Energy Solutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah |TV=ESPN2 |team1=Denver Nuggets |score1=93 |team2=Utah Jazz |score2=105 |report=Recap |Q1=27–21 |Q2=21–31 |Q3=20–32 |Q4=25–21 |points1=Anthony, Billups 25 each |points2=Deron Williams 24 |rebounds1=Kenyon Martin 13 |rebounds2=Paul Millsap 19 |assist1=Billups, Carter 3 each |assist2=Deron Williams 10 |attendance=19,911 |referee=David Jones, Mike Callahan, Scott Foster }} {{Basketballbox|date=April 25 |time=9:30 pm |place=Energy Solutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah |TV=TNT |team1=Denver Nuggets |score1=106 |team2=Utah Jazz |score2=117 |report=Recap |Q1=25–31 |Q2=20–23 |Q3=23–32 |Q4=38–31 |points1=Carmelo Anthony 39 |points2=Carlos Boozer 31 |rebounds1=Anthony, Nenê 11 each |rebounds2=Carlos Boozer 13 |assist1=Chauncey Billups 4 |assist2=Deron Williams 13 |attendance=19,911 |referee=Dan Crawford, Dick Bavetta, Pat Fraher }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=April 28 |time=10:30 pm |place=Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado |TV=TNT |team1=Utah Jazz |score1=102 |team2=Denver Nuggets |score2=116 |report=Recap |Q1=27–25 |Q2=25–25 |Q3=29–36 |Q4=21–30 |points1=Deron Williams 34 |points2=Carmelo Anthony 26 |rebounds1=Carlos Boozer 16 |rebounds2=Carmelo Anthony 11 |assist1=Deron Williams 10 |assist2=Billups, Nenê 4 each |attendance=19,155 |referee=Bennett Salvatore, Ron Garretson, Ed Malloy }} {{Basketballbox|date=April 30 |time=10:00 pm |place=Energy Solutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah |TV=ESPN2 |team1=Denver Nuggets |score1=104 |team2=Utah Jazz |score2=112 |report=Recap |Q1=23–32 |Q2=31–24 |Q3=26–27 |Q4=24–29 |points1=Chauncey Billups 30 |points2=Wesley Matthews 23 |rebounds1=Carmelo Anthony 12 |rebounds2=Carlos Boozer 20 |assist1=Chauncey Billups 8 |assist2=Deron Williams 10 |attendance=19,911 |referee=Joe DeRosa, Marc Davis, Derrick Stafford |series=Utah wins series, 4–2 }} ;Regular-season series The Denver Nuggets lead games 3–1 in the regular-season series: {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = October 28, 2009 | report = | team1 = Utah Jazz |score1=105 | team2 = Denver Nuggets |score2=114 | place = Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado }} {{basketballbox | date = January 2, 2010 | report = | team1 = Denver Nuggets |score1=105 | team2 = Utah Jazz |score2=95 | place = Energy Solutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah }} {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = January 17, 2010 | report = | team1 = Utah Jazz |score1=112 | team2 = Denver Nuggets |score2=119 | place = Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado }} {{basketballbox | date = February 6, 2010 | report = | team1 = Denver Nuggets |score1=106 | team2 = Utah Jazz |score2=116 | place = Energy Solutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah }}

Last Playoff Meeting: 1994 Western Conference Semifinals (Utah won 4-3)

Conference Semifinals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Utah Jazz

{{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=May 2 |time=3:30 pm |place=Staples Center, Los Angeles, California |TV=ABC |team1=Utah Jazz |score1=99 |team2=Los Angeles Lakers |score2=104 |report=Recap |Q1=23–30 |Q2=22–23 |Q3=28–28 |Q4=26–23 |points1=Deron Williams 24 |points2=Kobe Bryant 31 |rebounds1=Carlos Boozer 12 |rebounds2=Gasol, Odom 12 each |assist1=Deron Williams 8 |assist2=Bryant, Gasol 4 each |attendance=18,997 |referee=Monty McCutchen, Mike Callahan, James Capers }} {{Basketballbox|date=May 4 |time=10:30 pm | place=Staples Center, Los Angeles, California |TV=TNT |team1=Utah Jazz |score1=103 |team2=Los Angeles Lakers |score2=111 |report=Recap |Q1=23–27 |Q2=23–31 |Q3=31–29 |Q4=26–24 |points1=Paul Millsap 26 |points2=Kobe Bryant 30 |rebounds1=Carlos Boozer 12 |rebounds2=Gasol, Odom 15 each |assist1=Deron Williams 9 |assist2=Kobe Bryant 8 |attendance=18,997 |referee=Scott Foster, Tony Brothers, Sean Corbin }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=May 8 |time=8:00 pm | place=Energy Solutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah |TV=ABC |team1=Los Angeles Lakers |score1=111 |team2=Utah Jazz |score2=110 |report=Recap |Q1=17–22 |Q2=33–32 |Q3=32–26 |Q4=29–30 |points1=Kobe Bryant 35 |points2=Deron Williams 28 |rebounds1=Pau Gasol 17 |rebounds2=Carlos Boozer 14 |assist1=Kobe Bryant 7 |assist2=Deron Williams 9 |attendance=19,911 |referee=Joe Crawford, Dick Bavetta, Greg Willard }} {{Basketballbox|date=May 10 |time=10:30 pm | place=Energy Solutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah |TV=TNT |team1=Los Angeles Lakers |score1=111 |team2=Utah Jazz |score2=96 |report=Recap |Q1=29–24 |Q2=29–17 |Q3=22–26 |Q4=31–29 |points1=Pau Gasol 33 |points2=Millsap, Williams 21 each |rebounds1=Pau Gasol 14 |rebounds2=Carlos Boozer 14 |assist1=Kobe Bryant 4 |assist2=Deron Williams 9 |attendance=19,911 |referee=Dan Crawford, Bill Kennedy, Tom Washington |series=L.A. Lakers win series, 4–0 }} ;Regular-season series The Los Angeles Lakers lead games 3–1 in the regular-season series: {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = December 9, 2009 | report = | team1 = Utah Jazz |score1=77 | team2 = Los Angeles Lakers |score2=101 | place = Staples Center, Los Angeles, California }} {{basketballbox | date = December 12, 2009 | report = | team1 = Los Angeles Lakers |score1=94 | team2 = Utah Jazz |score2=102 | place = Energy Solutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah }} {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = February 10, 2010 | report = | team1 = Los Angeles Lakers |score1=96 | team2 = Utah Jazz |score2=81 | place = Energy Solutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah }} {{basketballbox | date = April 2, 2010 | report = | team1 = Utah Jazz |score1=92 | team2 = Los Angeles Lakers |score2=106 | place = Staples Center, Los Angeles, California }}

Last Playoff Meeting: 2009 Western Conference First Round (Los Angeles won 4-1)

(3) Phoenix Suns vs. (7) San Antonio Spurs

{{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=May 3 |time=10:30 pm |place=US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona |TV=TNT |team1=San Antonio Spurs |score1=102 |team2=Phoenix Suns |score2=111 |report=Recap |Q1=22–31 |Q2=25–26 |Q3=28–28 |Q4=27–26 |points1=Manu Ginóbili 27 |points2=Steve Nash 33 |rebounds1=Tim Duncan 11 |rebounds2=Amar'e Stoudemire 13 |assist1=Manu Ginóbili 5 |assist2=Steve Nash 10 |attendance=18,422 |referee=Bennett Salvatore, Ken Mauer, Michael Smith }} {{Basketballbox|date=May 5 |time=9:00 pm | place=US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona |TV=TNT |team1=San Antonio Spurs |score1=102 |team2=Phoenix Suns |score2=110 |report=Recap |Q1=30–21 |Q2=21–30 |Q3=25–27 |Q4=26–32 |points1=Tim Duncan 29 |points2=Amar'e Stoudemire 23 |rebounds1=Duncan, Jefferson 10 each |rebounds2=Amar'e Stoudemire 11 |assist1=Manu Ginóbili 11 |assist2=Steve Nash 6 |attendance=18,422 |referee=Joe Crawford, Ron Garretson, Derrick Stafford }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=May 7 |time=9:30 pm | place=AT&T; Center, San Antonio, Texas |TV=ESPN |team1=Phoenix Suns |score1=110 |team2=San Antonio Spurs |score2=96 |report=Recap |Q1=19–28 |Q2=25–22 |Q3=27–22 |Q4=39–24 |points1=Goran Dragić 26 |points2=Manu Ginóbili 27 |rebounds1=Nash, Stoudemire 8 each |rebounds2=Tim Duncan 13 |assist1=Steve Nash 6 |assist2=Ginóbili, Parker 5 each |attendance=18,581 |referee=Scott Foster, James Capers, Bill Kennedy }} {{Basketballbox|date=May 9 |time=8:00 pm | place=AT&T; Center, San Antonio, Texas |TV=TNT |team1=Phoenix Suns |score1=107 |team2=San Antonio Spurs |score2=101 |report=Recap |Q1=19–25 |Q2=31–22 |Q3=22–24 |Q4=35–30 |points1=Amar'e Stoudemire 29 |points2=Tony Parker 22 |rebounds1=Jason Richardson 8 |rebounds2=Duncan, Jefferson 8 each |assist1=Steve Nash 9 |assist2=Manu Ginóbili 9 |attendance=18,581 |referee=Monty McCutchen, Bob Delaney, Jason Phillips |series=Phoenix wins series, 4–0 }} ;Regular-season series The Phoenix Suns lead games 2–1 in the regular-season series: {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = December 15, 2009 | report = | team1 = San Antonio Spurs |score1=104 | team2 = Phoenix Suns |score2=116 | place = US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona }} {{basketballbox | date = February 28, 2010 | report = | team1 = Phoenix Suns |score1=110 | team2 = San Antonio Spurs |score2=113 | place = AT&T; Center, San Antonio, Texas }} {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = April 7, 2010 | report = | team1 = San Antonio Spurs |score1=101 | team2 = Phoenix Suns |score2=112 | place = US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona }}

Last Playoff Meeting: 2008 Western Conference First Round (San Antonio won 4-1)

Conference Finals: (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Phoenix Suns

{{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=May 17 |time=9:00 pm |place=Staples Center, Los Angeles, California |TV=TNT |team1=Phoenix Suns |score1=107 |team2=Los Angeles Lakers |score2=128 |report=Recap |Q1=26–35 |Q2=29–27 |Q3=24–31 |Q4=28–35 |points1=Amar'e Stoudemire 23 |points2=Kobe Bryant 40 |rebounds1=Amundson, Lopez, Richardson 6 each |rebounds2=Lamar Odom 19 |assist1=Steve Nash 13 |assist2=Artest, Bryant, Farmar, Gasol 5 each |attendance=18,997 |referee=Scott Foster, Jason Phillips, Greg Willard }} {{Basketballbox |date=May 19 |time=9:00 pm |place=Staples Center, Los Angeles, California |TV=TNT |team1=Phoenix Suns |score1=112 |team2=Los Angeles Lakers |score2=124 |report=Recap |Q1=24–36 |Q2=32–29 |Q3=34–25 |Q4=22–34 |points1=Jason Richardson 27 |points2=Pau Gasol 29 |rebounds1= Lopez, Stoudemire 6 each |rebounds2=Lamar Odom 11 |assist1=Steve Nash 15 |assist2=Kobe Bryant 13 |attendance=18,997 |referee=Joe Crawford, Mike Callahan, Ed Malloy }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=May 23 |time=8:30 pm |place=US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona |TV=TNT |team1=Los Angeles Lakers |score1=109 |team2=Phoenix Suns |score2=118 |report=Recap |Q1=32–29 |Q2=15–25 |Q3=37–32 |Q4=25–32 |points1=Kobe Bryant 36 |points2=Amar'e Stoudemire 42 |rebounds1=Bryant, Gasol 9 each |rebounds2=Amar'e Stoudemire 11 |assist1=Kobe Bryant 11 |assist2=Steve Nash 15 |attendance=18,422 |referee=Monty McCutchen, Eddie F. Rush, Tom Washington }} {{Basketballbox |date=May 25 |time=9:00 pm |place=US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona |TV=TNT |team1=Los Angeles Lakers |score1=106 |team2=Phoenix Suns |score2=115 |report=Recap |Q1=23–23 |Q2=32–41 |Q3=29–21 |Q4=22–30 |points1=Kobe Bryant 38 |points2=Amar'e Stoudemire 21 |rebounds1=Lamar Odom 10 |rebounds2=Amar'e Stoudemire 8 |assist1=Kobe Bryant 10 |assist2=Dragić, Nash 8 each |attendance=18,422 |referee=Dan Crawford, James Capers, Ken Mauer }} {{Basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=May 27 |time=9:00 pm |place=Staples Center, Los Angeles, California |TV=TNT |team1=Phoenix Suns |score1=101 |team2=Los Angeles Lakers |score2=103 |report=Recap |Q1=21–24 |Q2=24–29 |Q3=27–25 |Q4=29–25 |points1=Steve Nash 29 |points2=Kobe Bryant 30 |rebounds1=Channing Frye 10 |rebounds2=Lamar Odom 13 |assist1=Steve Nash 11 |assist2=Kobe Bryant 9 |attendance=18,997 |referee= Bennett Salvatore, Marc Davis, Bob Delaney }} {{Basketballbox |date=May 29 |time=8:30 pm |place=US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona |TV=TNT |team1=Los Angeles Lakers |score1=111 |team2=Phoenix Suns |score2=103 |report=Recap |Q1=37–34 |Q2=28–19 |Q3=26–21 |Q4=20–29 |points1=Kobe Bryant 37 |points2=Amar'e Stoudemire 27 |rebounds1=Lamar Odom 12 |rebounds2=Channing Frye 13 |assist1=Jordan Farmar 5 |assist2= Steve Nash 9 |attendance=18,422 |referee=Scott Foster, Bill Kennedy, Greg Willard |series=L.A. Lakers win series, 4–2 }} The Lakers would put their home-court advantage to good use by winning the first two games in Los Angeles. The Suns would strike back to tie the series by taking games 3 & 4 in Phoenix, but after a heart-breaking loss in Game 5 in which Ron Artest hit the game-winner as the clock ran out, the Suns found themselves trailing 3 to 2. Los Angeles held off a late Suns rally to steal game 6 in Phoenix, as Kobe Bryant poured in 37 points, including a long jump shot in the final minute that put the game out of reach. ;Regular-season series The Los Angeles Lakers lead games 3–1 in the regular-season series: {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = November 12, 2009 | report = | team1 = Phoenix Suns |score1=102 | team2 = Los Angeles Lakers |score2=121 | place = Staples Center, Los Angeles, California }} {{basketballbox | date = December 6, 2009 | report = | team1 = Phoenix Suns |score1=88 | team2 = Los Angeles Lakers |score2=108 | place = Staples Center, Los Angeles, California }} {{basketballbox | bg=#fff | date = December 28, 2009 | report = | team1 = Los Angeles Lakers |score1=103 | team2 = Phoenix Suns |score2=118 | place = US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona }} {{basketballbox | date = March 12, 2010 | report = | team1 = Los Angeles Lakers |score1=102 | team2 = Phoenix Suns |score2=96 | place = US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona }}

Last Playoff Meeting: 2007 Western Conference First Round (Phoenix won 4-1)

NBA Finals: (W1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (E4) Boston Celtics

:''All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)'' {{basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=June 3 |time=9:00 p.m. |place=Staples Center, Los Angeles, California |TV=ABC |team1=Boston Celtics|score1=89 |team2=Los Angeles Lakers|score2=102 |report=Recap |Q1=21–26 |Q2=20–24 |Q3=23–34 |Q4=25–18 |points1=Paul Pierce 24 |points2=Kobe Bryant 30 |rebounds1=Paul Pierce 9 |rebounds2=Pau Gasol 14 |assist1=Rajon Rondo 8 |assist2=Kobe Bryant 6 |attendance=18,997 |referee=Joe Crawford, Joe DeRosa, Derrick Stafford }} {{basketballbox|date=June 6|time=8:00 p.m. |place=Staples Center, Los Angeles, California |TV=ABC |team1=Boston Celtics|score1=103 |team2=Los Angeles Lakers|score2=94 |report=Recap |Q1=29–22 |Q2=25–26 |Q3=18–24 |Q4=31–22 |points1=Ray Allen 32 |points2=Pau Gasol 25 |rebounds1=Rajon Rondo 12 |rebounds2=Pau Gasol 8 |assist1=Rajon Rondo 10 |assist2=Kobe Bryant 6 |attendance=18,997 |referee=Monty McCutchen, Mike Callahan, Ken Mauer }} {{basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=June 8|time=9:00 p.m. |place=TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts |TV=ABC |team1=Los Angeles Lakers|score1=91 |team2=Boston Celtics|score2=84 |Q1=26–17|Q2=26–23|Q3=15–21|Q4=24–23 |points1=Kobe Bryant 29 |points2=Kevin Garnett 25 |rebounds1=Bynum, Gasol 10 each |rebounds2=Kendrick Perkins 11 |assist1=Bryant, Gasol 4 each |assist2=Rajon Rondo 8 |report=Recap |attendance=18,624 |referee = Dan Crawford, Bill Kennedy, Bennett Salvatore }} {{basketballbox|date=June 10|time=9:00 p.m. |place=TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts |TV=ABC |team1=Los Angeles Lakers|score1=89 |team2=Boston Celtics|score2=96 |Q1=16–19|Q2=29–23|Q3=17–18|Q4=27–36 |points1=Kobe Bryant 33 |points2=Paul Pierce 19 |rebounds1=Artest, Odom 7 each |rebounds2=Kendrick Perkins 7 |assist1=Artest, Gasol 3 each |assist2=Paul Pierce 5 |report=Recap |attendance=18,624 |referee=Scott Foster, Eddie F. Rush, Greg Willard }} {{basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=June 13|time=8:00 p.m. |place=TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts |TV=ABC |team1=Los Angeles Lakers|score1=86 |team2=Boston Celtics|score2=92 |Q1=20–22 |Q2=19–23 |Q3=26–28 |Q4=21–19 |points1=Kobe Bryant 38 |points2=Paul Pierce 27 |rebounds1=Pau Gasol 12 |rebounds2=Kevin Garnett 10 |assist1=Kobe Bryant 4 |assist2=Rajon Rondo 8 |report=Recap |attendance=18,624 |referee=Joe Crawford, Mike Callahan, Derrick Stafford }} {{basketballbox|date=June 15|time=9:00 p.m. |place=Staples Center, Los Angeles, California |TV=ABC |team1=Boston Celtics|score1=67 |team2=Los Angeles Lakers|score2=89 |Q1=18–28 |Q2=13–23 |Q3=20–25 |Q4=16–13 |points1=Ray Allen 19 |points2=Kobe Bryant 26 |rebounds1=Glen Davis 9 |rebounds2=Pau Gasol 13 |assist1=Rajon Rondo 6 |assist2=Pau Gasol 9 |report=Recap |attendance=18,997 |referee=Monty McCutchen, Joe DeRosa, Ken Mauer }} {{basketballbox|bg=#eee |date=June 17 |time=9:00 p.m. |place=Staples Center, Los Angeles, California |TV=ABC |team1=Boston Celtics|score1=79 |team2=Los Angeles Lakers|score2=83 |Q1=23–14 |Q2=17–20 |Q3=17–19 |Q4=22–30 |points1=Paul Pierce 18 |points2=Kobe Bryant 23 |rebounds1=Paul Pierce 10 |rebounds2=Pau Gasol 18 |assist1=Rajon Rondo 10 |assist2=Pau Gasol 4 |report=Recap |attendance=18,997 |referee=Dan Crawford, Joe Crawford, Scott Foster |series=L.A. Lakers win NBA Finals, 4–3 }}

Last Playoff Meeting: 2008 NBA Finals (Boston won 4-2)

Statistic leaders

{|class=wikitable style="text-align:left;" |- !rowspan=2|Category !!colspan=3|High !!colspan=4|Average |- !Player !! Team !! Total !! Player !! Team !! Avg. !! Games played |- | Points | Dwyane Wade || Miami Heat || 46 | Dwyane Wade || Miami Heat || 33.2 || 5 |- | Rebounds | Carlos BoozerJoakim Noah || Utah JazzChicago Bulls || 2020 | Carlos Boozer || Utah Jazz || 13.2 || 10 |- | Assists | Rajon Rondo || Boston Celtics || 19 | Deron Williams || Utah Jazz || 10.2 || 10 |- | Steals | John Salmons || Milwaukee Bucks || 6 | Manu Ginóbili || San Antonio Spurs || 2.6 || 10 |- | Blocks | Dwight Howard || Orlando Magic || 9 | Dwight Howard || Orlando Magic || 3.5 || 14 |}

References

External links

Official website of the NBA

Official website of the 2010 NBA Playoffs

ESPN's NBA page

2010 NBA Playoffs at Basketball Reference

Playoffs NBA Playoffs Category:National Basketball Association playoffs

el:2010 NBA Playoffs es:Playoffs NBA 2010 fr:Playoffs NBA 2010 id:Playoff NBA 2010 it:NBA Playoffs 2010 lv:2010. gada NBA izslēgšanas spēles ru:Плей-офф НБА 2010 fi:NBA-kausi 2009–2010#Pudotuspelit tr:2010 NBA Playoffları zh:2010年NBA季後賽

The National Basketball Association (NBA) Playoffs is a best-of-seven elimination tournament among sixteen teams in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference (called Divisions, pre-1970), ultimately deciding the final four teams who will play in the NBA Conference Finals.

Format

Following the NBA regular season, eight teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs and are seeded one to eight.

The team that has the best record in each of the three divisions in each conference is declared division champion. The three champions, and the one other team in the conference with the best record, are seeded one through four by their records. This guarantees that the division champions will be no lower than fourth seed, and also ensures that a conference's two best teams (by record) are ranked as the top two. However, because the NBA does not re-seed its teams and because home court advantage goes to the team with the better record, not the better seeding, division winners are guaranteed no better than a de-facto five seed, as their 4th seeding does not guarantee home court advantage in the first round, and after the first round the 4 vs 5 winner will play the same teams as the loser would have played had they won the first round. This will continue throughout the remainder of the playoffs and to the finals until the 4 vs 5 winner loses a playoff round or wins the championship. Of the remaining eleven conference teams, the four with the best records are seeded fifth through eighth based on their record.

In the event two or more teams are tied in the standings, a series of tiebreakers are applied to determine which team receives the higher seeding.

Two-Team Tiebreaker: # Division winner (this criterion is applied regardless of whether the tied teams are in the same division) # Better record in head-to-head games # Higher winning percentage within division (if teams are in the same division) # Higher winning percentage in conference games # Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in own conference # Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in opposite conference

Three-Team Tiebreaker: # Division winner (this criterion is applied regardless of whether the tied teams are in the same division) # Best head-to-head winning percentage among all teams tied # Highest winning percentage within division (if teams are in the same division) # Highest winning percentage in conference games # Highest winning percentage against playoff teams in own conference # Highest point differential between points scored and points allowed

These seedings are used to create a bracket that determines the match-ups throughout the playoffs. Once the playoffs start, the bracket is fixed; teams are never "reseeded", unlike in the NHL where the strongest remaining clubs face the weakest clubs in subsequent rounds. The first round of the NBA playoffs, or Conference Quarterfinals, consists of four match-ups in each conference based on the seedings (1-8, 2-7, 3-6, and 4-5). The four winners advance to the second round, or Conference Semifinals, with a match-up between the 1-8 and 4-5 winners and a match-up between the 2-7 and 3-6 winners. The two winners advance to the third round, or Conference Finals.

Each round is a best-of-seven series. Series are played in a 2-2-1-1-1 format, meaning the team with home-court advantage hosts games 1, 2, 5 and 7, while their opponent hosts games 3, 4, and 6, with games 5-7 being played if needed. The NBA Finals are played in a 2-3-2 format, meaning the team with home-court advantage hosts games 1, 2, 6 and 7, and their opponent hosts games 3, 4 and 5. The home-court advantage is determined in both rounds by record regardless of seed.

Criticism

The NBA announced the current revised playoff seeding system on August 3, 2006. Some consider the current system to be flawed: If two teams who are not division winners have identical records, one can gain an inflated seeding by moving into the top four seeding based solely on tiebreakers.

An example of this criticism arose in the very first season with the new system. As of April 17, 2007 with one regular season game remaining, the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers possessed identical 49–32 records, better than both the Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat who had already clinched their respective divisions. Due to favorable tie-breakers, Chicago would have been seeded second, while Cleveland would have been seeded no higher than fifth.

Under the previous seeding system, the division winners (Detroit, Toronto and Miami) would have earned the top three seeds, while Chicago and Cleveland would have earned the fourth and fifth seeds respectively.

On April 18, Cleveland won and Chicago lost their final regular season games. As a result, Cleveland finished with one more win earning them the second seed, while Chicago only managed the fifth seed despite finishing with the third-best record in the Eastern Conference.

The contrasting argument to this critique is that the second seeding does not afford a team home-court advantage in all of the four playoff rounds. Additionally, the fifth seed would play the 4th seed division winner in Miami, while the second seed would play a seventh seed. Were the teams seeded fourth and fifth, they would have played each other—meaning a stronger opponent for both teams than the one faced under the new system, allowing the two stronger teams to both advance (which they both did) to the second round. The criticism raised in 2006 (see below) was successfully addressed by the new system, as top-seeded Detroit ultimately faced and were defeated by second seeded (with the second-best record in the East) Cleveland in the Conference Finals.

The most common criticism is that the playoffs field has too many teams. Over half of the teams make the playoffs, and teams with losing records often qualify for the playoffs. Additionally, the first round pits the highest seeded team vs. the lowest seeded team, the 2nd highest seeded team vs. 2nd lowest seeded team, and so on, often creating for a boring and predictable first round. The 4 vs. 5 matchup is usually the only matchup where the lower seeded team has a good chance of winning. The only upside to this is when a lower seeded team wins, it is a massive upset. One such upset was the #1 seed Miami Heat loss in the 1st round to the #8 seed New York Knicks in the 1999 NBA Playoffs, who went on all the way to the NBA Finals, before being eliminated in 5 games by the San Antonio Spurs. This year in the 2011 playoffs, the #8 seed Memphis Grizzlies defeated the #1 seeded San-Antonio Spurs to move onto the western conference quarterfinals to face the Oklahoma City Thunder. This was one of the more stunning upsets in recent years.

History

1947: The playoffs were instituted with a three-stage tournament, similar to the Stanley Cup Playoffs of the 1930s; the two first-placed teams qualified directly to the semifinals where they played each other in a best-of-7 series. Teams finishing second & third qualified for the best-of-3 quarterfinals, where the two second-placed teams were paired in one quarterfinal, as were the two third-placed teams. The two winners in the quarterfinals played each other in the other semifinals, however, the second semi-final was only a best-of-3 series. The two semifinal winners played each other in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) best-of-7 Finals series.

1949: The playoffs were expanded to eight teams, thus the first-placed teams no longer received first round byes. The top four teams from each of the two divisions qualified. The quarterfinals and semifinals were renamed Division Semifinals and Division Finals, respectively, and both rounds were best-of-3. The best-of-7 final was unchanged.

1950: The BAA was renamed as the National Basketball Association (NBA). With a three-division setup, 12 teams now qualified for the playoffs, with the top four teams from each division meeting in the best-of-3 Division Semifinals. The winners met in the best-of-3 Division Finals. With three teams remaining, the surviving team with the best regular season record qualified directly for the Finals while the other two teams met in a best-of-3 NBA Semifinals.

1951: With the NBA reverting to a two-division setup; the Division Semifinals reverted to its original 1949 format with only eight teams qualifying. The Division Finals was extended to a best-of-5 format.

1954: The number of playoff teams was cut down to six. The Division Semifinals was changed to a double round-robin format within the division, with the top three teams from each division qualifying (each team played four games). Following the round-robin games, the top two teams qualified for the best-of-three Division Finals, followed by the best-of-seven Finals.

1955: The number of playoff teams remained at six, however, the round-robin format was dropped after one year. First-placed teams received a bye to the best-of-five Division Finals. Teams which placed second and third played a best-of-three Division Semifinal.

1958: The Division Finals was extended to a best-of-seven format.

1961: The Division Semifinals were extended to a best-of-five format.

1967: The number of playoff teams was expanded to eight once more. The Division Semifinals now included the fourth-best team in each conference. The first-placed teams no longer received a bye. They were matched against the fourth-placed teams in the best-of-5 Division Semifinals.

1968: The Division Semifinals was extended to a best-of-seven format.

1970: With an increased number of teams, the divisions were upgraded into conferences, which were then split into two divisions. Eight teams still qualified, four from each conference. The two division winners were guaranteed at least a #2 seed, and the two best non-division winners from each conference qualified as third and fourth seeds. Hence, the Division Semifinals and Division Finals came to be known as Conference Semifinals and Conference Finals, respectively.

1975: The number of playoff teams was expanded from eight to ten. A first round was introduced which matched the fourth and fifth seeds in each conference in a best-of-3 first round series, while the top three seeds received a bye.

1977: The number of playoff teams was expanded from 10 to 12. The first round now included the sixth best team in each conference, which was matched against the third seed. Only the division winners received byes to the next round.

1984: The playoffs were expanded from 12 teams to 16 teams. All teams now participated in the first round, which was extended to a best-of-five series.

2003: The first round was extended to a best-of-seven series. This change arguably benefitted the higher seeds as it reduced the likelihood of an upset by a lower seed. It also meant that a team that swept their series 4–0 might have to wait up to two weeks to play their next series against a team that had won 4–3.

2005: Each conference was realigned into three divisions with each division winner qualifying for a top-three seed regardless of record. The next best five teams from each conference also qualified for the playoffs.

2007: To address the criticisms of having each division champion guaranteed a top-three seed, regardless of record, the rules were changed such that the division winners are now only guaranteed a top-four seed. The best second-placed team in the division now may be seeded as high as two depending on its regular season record. This avoids the scenario of possibly having the two best teams in the conference seeded 1 and 4 if they play in the same division, thus being forced to play each other in the second round (given no upsets).

* Note: In the example below, the second-best teams are the East's #2 seed and the West's #4 seed.

History

From the first season, 1947, of the NBA (called the BAA until the merger with the NBL in 1949) the top three teams from the Eastern and Western divisions were invited to the playoffs. The two division champions played a Semifinal best-of-seven series for entry into the finals. The other four teams played two rounds of best-of-three playoffs to face the winner of the Semifinal match. That year, the Philadelphia Warriors defeated the Chicago Stags four games to one in the first ever BAA Championship.

In the 1949 playoffs, an additional team from each Division was added, eliminating the byes, and two rounds of best-of-three series were played, followed by a best-of-seven championship. In 1950 the Minneapolis Lakers became the first champions of the newly named NBA, knocking off the Syracuse Nationals in six games.

The 1951 through 1953 playoffs changed the Division Finals into a best-of-five playoff. In 1954, the year the Indianapolis Olympians folded, the NBA Playoffs used a Round Robin for the only time in its history. Then, from 1955 to 1966 year, the league returned to the original six-team format, expanding the Division Finals to a best-of-seven in 1958 and the Semifinals to a best-of-five in 1961.

In 1967 the field was again expanded to eight teams, filling out the three-round bracket. A year later, the Division Semifinals were changed to best-of-seven playoff. Then, in 1975 and 1977, respectively, a fifth and sixth team were added to each Division, necessitating an additional First Round of best-of-three series.

Finally in 1984, the tournament expanded to its present 16-team format and the now-complete First Round was changed to a best-of-five playoff. In 2003 the first round was changed to also be best-of-seven.

Beginning with the 2004 season, with the addition of the thirtieth NBA franchise, the Charlotte Bobcats, the NBA realigned its divisions. The result was that each conference would have three divisions of five teams each, and the winner of each division was guaranteed a top-three playoff seed. This would change slightly after the 2005-06 season; while division winners still receive automatic playoff berths, they are guaranteed a top-''four'' seed, as described above.

2006 NBA Playoffs controversy

The previous playoff format, in place for the 2004–05 and 2005–06 NBA Playoffs, after the NBA was re-aligned into six divisions, created controversy during the 2005–06 season and playoffs, and would be changed prior to the 2006–07 NBA season.

NBA division winners were seeded higher than any other playoff participants, regardless of their record. Prior to 2004, when the NBA was aligned into two conferences with two divisions each, the top two seeds in each conference were reserved for the division winners. This meant that top two teams in a conference (by record) would be seeded either first and second (if they were in opposite divisions) or first and third (if they were in the same division). Because of the NBA playoffs' preset matchups in the second round, this meant that the top two teams in a conference could never meet until the Conference Finals, assuming they both made it to that round.

After the NBA realigned its two conferences into three divisions each, the seeding rules remained largely unchanged. The top three seeds would now be reserved for division winners. This meant that if the top two teams (by record) in a conference were in the same division, they would be ranked first and fourth, and would face each other in the Conference Semifinals, instead of the Conference Finals, if both teams won their first round series.

In the second year of this format, the 2005–06 NBA season, the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks of the Southwest Division did just that. This turn of events led to the playoff format being criticized by many. Critics claimed the matchup was not only unfair to the team that would lose earlier in the playoffs than it deserved, but also created an unfair advantage for teams in the 2-7/3-6 half of the Western Conference playoff bracket, which could advance to the conference finals without playing either of the two best teams in the conference.

The Phoenix Suns, winners of the Pacific Division and possessors of the third best record, were seeded second, and the Denver Nuggets, winners of the Northwest Division and tied for only the seventh-best record in the conference, were seeded third.

The Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers met in the second-to-last game of the regular season, after the top four seeds had been clinched. The two teams were already determined to be the fifth and sixth seeds, and had only to determine which rank higher. The fifth seed would likely need to defeat the best two teams in the conference without home-court advantage to advance to the conference finals, as it would face fourth seeded Dallas, and likely face first-seeded San Antonio if it managed to defeat Dallas. The sixth seed would play Denver in the first round and would have home-court advantage, and only have to play, at most, one of Dallas or San Antonio—in the conference finals.

This led to speculation about whether the Grizzlies or the Clippers would have much commitment to winning their match-up in the second-to-last game of the season, since it was clearly most advantageous to lose the game in order to obtain the 6th seed. The Clippers eventually lost to Memphis without much evidence to refute the speculation that the Clippers had lost intentionally. In the first round of the playoffs, the Clippers defeated the Nuggets in five games, and Memphis was swept by Dallas. Ultimately, Dallas and San Antonio did meet in the second round, with Dallas winning in seven games, and advancing all the way to the NBA Finals.

Records and statistics

Only four 8th seeded teams have managed to win a series versus the number 1 seeded team: The Denver Nuggets eliminated the Seattle SuperSonics 3–2 in 1994, the New York Knicks eliminated the Miami Heat 3–2 in 1999 (which was a lockout shortened season), the Golden State Warriors defeated the Dallas Mavericks 4–2 in the 2007 Western Conference First Round, becoming the first 8 seed to beat a 1 seed in the best of 7 format, and in 2011, the Memphis Grizzlies beat the San Antonio Spurs, 4-2.

The 1999 Knicks are the only 8th seeded team ever to reach the NBA Finals.

The 1994–95 Houston Rockets, a sixth seed, 47-35, were the lowest seeded team to win the NBA Finals. In the NBA Finals, the Rockets swept the Orlando Magic (57–25) in four games. In doing so, the Rockets defeated four teams that had won 50 or more games during the regular season (Utah Jazz 60-22, Phoenix Suns 59-23, San Antonio Spurs 62-20 and Orlando Magic 57-25), which had never been done before.

The San Antonio Spurs own the longest NBA Playoff winning streak for a single postseason with 12 straight wins in the 1999 Playoffs and a 15–2 finish overall. The Los Angeles Lakers own the most dominant post-season appearance with a 15–1 record in the 2001 Playoffs; they also have the second-longest playoff-game win streak with 11 in that season.

Of all the teams with multiple NBA Finals appearances, the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs are the only teams with perfect records at 6–0 and 4–0, respectively. (Note: these are the series records, not the individual game records)

The Boston Celtics possess the most overall NBA Finals series wins with an overall record of 17–4. The Los Angeles Lakers have played in the most NBA Finals series (31) with an overall record of 16–15.

The longest playoff appearance streak currently belongs to the San Antonio Spurs at 14 appearances, with the Dallas Mavericks next in line with 11. The longest ever streak of playoffs appearances in a row belongs to the Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers, who made the playoffs 22 straight years from the 1949–50 season to the 1970–71 season, while the longest playoff appearance streak in one city belonged to the Portland Trail Blazers, who made it for 21 straight years, from the 1982-83 to the 2002-03 seasons.

References

External links

NBA official website

Playoff Seeding Criteria NBA.com

NBA Playoffs InsideHoops.com Coverage

Basketball-Reference.com Index of NBA Playoffs seasons

Category:National Basketball Association playoffs Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1947

az:NBA pley-off ca:Playoffs de l'NBA es:Playoffs de la NBA fa:دوره حذفی مسابقات ان‌بی‌ای fr:Playoffs NBA it:NBA Playoffs nl:NBA Playoffs ja:NBAプレーオフ zh:NBA季后赛

name	Rajon Rondo
position	Point guard
height ft	6
height in	1
weight lb	171
team	Boston Celtics
number	9
nationality	American
birth date	February 22, 1986
birth place	Louisville, Kentucky
college	Kentucky
high school	Eastern HS (Middletown, Kentucky),Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia)
draft round	1
draft pick	21
draft year	2006
draft team	Phoenix Suns
career start	2006
years1	–present | team1 Boston Celtics
highlights	NBA Champion () 2× NBA All-Star (–) 2× All-Defensive First Team (–) All-Defensive Second Team () NBA All-Rookie Second Team () }}

Rajon Pierre Rondo (born February 22, 1986) is an American professional basketball player who plays point guard for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Rondo attended Eastern High School and Oak Hill Academy for his high-school basketball career, before receiving a scholarship from the University of Kentucky. He played for two years at Kentucky before declaring for the 2006 NBA Draft, represented by agent Bill Duffy.

During the draft, Rondo was selected 21st overall by the Phoenix Suns, and was subsequently traded to the Boston Celtics, where he made his NBA debut as a rookie during the 2006–07 season. He played a supporting role before he established himself as the starting point guard for the Celtics during the 2007–08 season. That season, Rondo earned his first NBA Championship, playing alongside All-Stars Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. His breakout performance came during the 2009 NBA Playoffs, where he nearly averaged a triple-double, and helped his team take the eventual Eastern-conference champion Orlando Magic a full seven games in the East semi-finals.

Early life

Rondo was born on February 22, 1986 in Louisville, Kentucky to Amber Rondo. He has three siblings: Dymon, William and Anton. He had little contact with his father, who left his family when he was seven years old. To support the family, his mother worked the third shift at Philip Morris USA, a tobacco company. Rondo was first interested in football, before his mother steered him towards basketball because she felt that the sport would be less punishing on his skinny frame. After Rondo became serious about basketball, he attended Louisville's Eastern High School for three years where he played under head coach Doug Bibby. During his junior year at Eastern High School, he averaged 27.9 points, 10.0 rebounds and 7.5 assists which earned him a spot on the All-State honors and was named the 7th Region Player of the Year. He transferred to Virginia's Oak Hill Academy for his senior year where he averaged 21.0 points per game (ppg), 3.0 rebounds per game (rpg) and 12.0 assists per game (apg) and finished the 2003–04 season with a 38–0 record. In his senior year at Oak Hill Academy, Rondo broke Jeff McInnis's single-season school record of 303 assists, while averaging a double-double. There, he included two efforts of 27 assists and a single-game school record of 31, merely four away from the all-time national record. He also had a 55 point game in high-school, second highest all-time in Oak Hill Academy, surpassed only by Calvin Duncan with 61. Rondo was named to the McDonald's All-American Team in 2004 and scored a total of 14 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds in the all-star game. He also participated in the 2004 Jordan Capital Classic game, logging 12 points, 5 assists and 4 steals. He ended his career as Oak Hill Academy's all-time assists leader in a single season with 494 assists, surpassing Jeff McInnis.

College career

Rondo committed to University of Kentucky over hometown University of Louisville. Rondo, along with All-Americans Joe Crawford and Randolph Morris, gave Kentucky the top-rated recruiting class for 2004 according to Rivals.com. Rondo led Kentucky to several wins including clutch-shot victories against the University of Louisville, South Carolina and Central Florida, but Kentucky failed to advance to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament in either Rondo's freshman or sophomore seasons. He was named to the SEC All-Freshmen Team. He set a Kentucky Wildcats record for most steals in single-season, with a total of 87 steals in his freshman year and made at least one steal in every game. He finished his freshman year at Kentucky averaging 8.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.6 steals.

In his sophomore year he had a career high 12 assists against Ole Miss, despite playing just 23 minutes, and 25 points against Louisville. Rondo also set another Kentucky Wildcats record for most rebounds in a game by a guard, with 19 rebounds in an early season loss to Iowa. He was not known for being a shooter, however, going 18–66 from three with a 57.1% FT average. He averaged 11.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game in his sophomore year. Rondo was also named to the 2005 USA Men's Under-21 World Championship Team, which traveled to Argentina for the FIBA World Championships. He averaged 11.0 ppg and 4.5 apg in the eight-game tournament, garnering much attention from NBA scouts. The USA U-21 team won a gold medal at the Global Games held in Texas in late July.

NBA career

2006 NBA Draft

Following the 2005–06 NCAA season, Rondo announced he would forgo his final two seasons at Kentucky and enter the NBA draft. Rondo was drafted 21st overall by the Phoenix Suns in the 2006 NBA Draft. Phoenix then traded him to the Boston Celtics along with Brian Grant for the Cleveland Cavaliers' first-round draft pick in the 2007 NBA Draft and cash considerations. He was the first point guard to be chosen in the draft. In another draft-day deal, the Celtics acquired Sebastian Telfair from the Portland Trail Blazers, finally uniting the backcourt Rick Pitino had envisioned at Louisville. He was signed by the Boston Celtics on July 4, 2006.

Rookie season

During his rookie season in the NBA, Rondo played a supporting role and would split time with Sebastian Telfair and Delonte West. Rondo only started in 25 games that season due to his initial backup role to Telfair. He made his NBA regular season debut on November 1, 2006, in a home loss against the New Orleans Hornets. In his rookie season, he lacked on his jump shot which resulted in him slashing to the basket for a teardrop or layup. While coming off the bench, he managed to score a career-high 23 points against the Toronto Raptors, and record his first career double-double in a road losing effort against the Washington Wizards. In his first career start, he matched his career-high against the Los Angeles Clippers, though the line-ups were constantly being shuffled between Telfair and Rondo at the point guard. After officially becoming a starter, he began to receive more playing time (career-high forty-seven minutes of playing time) and show improvement (career-high fourteen rebounds against the San Antonio Spurs, and a career-high seven steals against the Indiana Pacers). As the mid-season approached, his numbers began to increase, which earned him an All-Rookie Second Team selection. He finished the season with an average of 6.4 ppg and 3.8 apg, ranking in the top ten in the NBA in steals (128) and also ranking in the top ten among rookies in several other categories, including first in steals, second in assists and sixth in minutes. In the end, however, the Celtics finished the season with a 24–58 win-loss record and failed to qualify for the playoffs.

2007–08 season

After Telfair and West were traded during the offseason of the 2007–08 season, Rondo secured a spot in the starting lineup, starting in every game. Surrounded by All-Stars Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, he quickly became a steady, consistent player. In his 77 games played, he averaged 10.6 points per game (ppg), 5.1 assists per game (apg) and 4.2 rebounds per game (rpg). His role as a playmaker reflected in him leading the team in assists and steals. In a game against the New Jersey Nets, Rondo suffered a lower back injury late in the third quarter, forcing him to miss the next four games. He made his successful return from injury and to the starting lineup in a road win against the New York Knicks. A week later, he matched his career-high against the Miami Heat, and then scored a career-high 24 points in a home game against the Los Angeles Clippers the following month. During the All-Star break, he was selected to play on the Sophomore Team in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam. Following the All-Star weekend, Rondo recorded a career-high 16 assists in a home victory against the Charlotte Bobcats. Despite his solid rookie year, there was much speculation about Boston needing a veteran point guard. In March, they signed veteran point guard Sam Cassell as a free agent to serve as a backup. The Celtics' best single-season improvement in NBA history earned them the number one seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

Following the regular season, Rondo finished in the top five for the NBA Most Improved Player voting. Rondo made his playoff debut on April 20, 2008 against the Atlanta Hawks and finished the game with 15 points, 9 assists and 2 steals. The Celtics closed out the series in seven games, went on to defeat Cleveland in the next round, and then defeated the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals. In the NBA Finals, facing the Los Angeles Lakers, Rondo recorded two strong performances, including a career-high 16 assists in Game 2. In Game 3, however, Rondo left the court in the third quarter after rolling his ankle. The ankle injury was considered a "non-factor", and Rondo eventually made his return in Game 4. In Game 6, the point guard posted a playoffs career-high 6 steals as the Celtics defeated the Lakers 4–2, giving Rondo his first NBA championship ring. After the game Lakers head coach Phil Jackson called Rondo the "star" of Game 6.

2008–09 season

In his third NBA campaign, the Celtics began the season with the best starting record in NBA history and also set a franchise record with a nineteen-game winning streak. Rondo's numbers increased from his previous season performance; however, he was criticized for his shooting. He recorded his first career triple-double along with a career-high in assists (16 points, 13 rebounds and 17 assists), against the Indiana Pacers. In a home win against the New York Knicks, Rondo led the team to tie a franchise record with eighteen straight wins. However, after the winning streak was snapped the team struggled, losing seven out of nine games after ending the streak. Rondo—matched up with one of the league's quicker guards, Tony Parker—recorded 16 assists in a losing effort against the Spurs, one short of his season-high. Less than a week later against the Mavericks, he recorded his second career triple-double (19 points, 15 rebounds and 14 assists), and then recorded a career-high 32 points against the Phoenix Suns on his 23rd birthday. He became the first NBA athlete to sign an endorsement contract with Red Bull on April 17, 2009. He finished the season ranking fifth in the NBA in assists (8.2) and steals (1.9). The team finished the season as the second seed in the Eastern Conference, although they entered the playoffs without their injured All-Star power forward Kevin Garnett.

In the playoffs match-up against the Chicago Bulls, despite putting up a playoff career-high 29 points in Game 1, the Celtics lost in overtime. Boston won the next two games and in Games 2 and 4, Rondo recorded triple-doubles and became the first Celtic player with two triple-doubles in the same series since Larry Bird in 1986. He also became the first player with multiple triple-doubles in the same playoff series since Jason Kidd had three triple-doubles in the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals. In Game 6, he recorded a career-high 19 assists without a turnover, tying an NBA playoffs record. In the next round against the Orlando Magic, the Celtics lost the first game before Rondo's triple-double performance in Game 2 helped secure a home win. His third triple-double of the postseason tied Larry Bird's franchise record and also became the first to do that since Jason Kidd had four. However, the Celtics were defeated in seven games in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. During the postseason, Rondo nearly averaged a triple double with 16.9 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.8 assists.

2009–10 season

During the 2009–10 season, Rondo averaged career highs in points (13.7), assists (9.8) and steals (2.3) and became the first Celtic to lead the league in steals. On November 2, 2009, Rondo signed a five-year extension with the Celtics worth a guaranteed $55 million. In a road victory against the Orlando Magic on Christmas day, Rondo recorded 17 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists, two assists shy of a triple double. Three days later, Rondo scored 30 points along to go with 15 assists in a road loss to the Golden State Warriors. On January 10, 2010, Rondo recorded his third regular-season career triple-double, with 22 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds against the Toronto Raptors. On January 28, 2010, he received his first NBA All-Star selection as a reserve on the Eastern Conference squad for the 2010 NBA All-Star Game. He also competed in the 2010 H-O-R-S-E contest but lost In the finals to Kevin Durant. Rondo recorded his fourth regular-season career triple-double against the Denver Nuggets on March 24, 2010, with 11 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds. Two days later against the Sacramento Kings, Rondo entered the game tied with Rick Fox for a franchise record of most steals in a single-season (167), eventually establishing the record with a second-quarter steal from Sean May. In a game against the Houston Rockets on April 2, 2010, he broke Bob Cousy's franchise record for most assists in a single-season.

In the 2010 NBA Playoffs, the Celtics defeated the Miami Heat in five games and faced the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round. In Game 2, Rondo dished out 19 assists tying his career-high and also tying a franchise record for most assists in a playoff game. In Game 4, he recorded his fourth postseason triple-double along with a playoff career-high 29 points and 18 rebounds. He joined Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson as the only other player in NBA history to have 29 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists in a playoff game. The Celtics eventually defeated the Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals in six games. In the Finals, the Celtics once again faced the Los Angeles Lakers, a team they previously beat in 2008. In Game 2, Rondo recorded his second triple-double of the postseason (19 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists), however, despite Rondo's performance, the Celtics succumbed to the Lakers in seven games.

2010–11 season

In the first game of the 2010–11 season, Rondo put up 17 assists, which tied with Oscar Robertson for the third-most assists in a season opener. In the third game of the season, he dished out a career-high 24 assists along with a triple-double (10 points and 10 rebounds) against the New York Knicks. It tied him with Isiah Thomas as the only players in NBA history to have at least 24 assists in a triple-double. His total of 50 assists through the first three games of the season tied John Stockton's NBA record for most assists in the first 3 games of the season. In the next game against the Detroit Pistons, he finished the game with 17 assists for a total of 67 assists, which is the most assists in the teams first four games in NBA history. With a 15 assists effort the following day, Rondo again set a record for most assists through the first five games.

Rondo's season also began with injuries. He has played through plantar fasciitis in his feet. He missed three games in November due to a strained left hamstring. He sprained his left ankle in a win against the New York Knicks on December 15, 2010, and missed the next seven games. On April 22, in the third game of the first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, Rondo had a triple-double with 20 assists. Rondo set a Celtics franchise record for most assists in a playoff game. He was also tied with LeBron James with 6 career triple-double in the playoffs until James had reached his seventh further on in the playoffs during Game 4 of the Finals. Rondo had the third best selling jersey in the league during the 2010-11 season, behind only James and Kobe Bryant.

NBA career statistics

	Led the league

:''Correct as of end of 2010-11 season''

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2006–07 | style="text-align:left;"| Boston | 78 || 25 || 23.5 || .418 || .207 || .647 || 3.7 || 3.8 || 1.6 || .1 || 6.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2007–08 | style="text-align:left;"| Boston | 77 || 77 || 29.9 || .492 || .263 || .611 || 4.2 || 5.1 || 1.7 || .2 || 10.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2008–09 | style="text-align:left;"| Boston | 80 || 80 || 33.0 || .505 || .313 || .642 || 5.2 || 8.2 || 1.9 || .1 || 11.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2009–10 | style="text-align:left;"| Boston | 81 || 81 || 36.6 || .508 || .213 || .621 || 4.4 || 9.8 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 2.3 || .1 || 13.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2010–11 | style="text-align:left;"| Boston | 68 || 68 || 37.2 || .475 || .233 || .568 || 4.4 || 11.2 || 2.2 || .2 || 10.6 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:left;"| Career | style="text-align:left;"| | 384 || 331 || 31.9 || .486 || .242 || .622 || 4.4 || 7.6 || 2.0 || .1 || 10.7 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:left;"| All-Star | style="text-align:left;"| | 2 || 0 || 20.0 || .625 || .000 || .000 || 1.5 || 6.5 || .5 || .0 || 5.0

Playoffs

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2008 | style="text-align:left;"| Boston | 26 || 26 || 32.0 || .407 || .250 || .691 || 4.1 || 6.6 || 1.7 || .3 || 10.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2009 | style="text-align:left;"| Boston | 14 || 14 || 41.2 || .417 || .250 || .657 || 9.7 || 9.8 || 2.5 || .2 || 16.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2010 | style="text-align:left;"| Boston | 24 || 24 || 40.6 || .463 || .375 || .596 || 5.6 || 9.3 || 1.9 || .1 || 15.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2011 | style="text-align:left;"| Boston | 9 || 9 || 38.3 || .477 || .000 || .632 || 5.4 || 9.6 || 1.1 || .0 || 14.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:left;"| Career | style="text-align:left;"| | 73 || 7.3 || 37.4 || .437 || .282 || .638 || 5.8 || 8.5 || 1.9 || .2 || 13.8

Awards and honors

1× NBA Champion: 2008

2× NBA All-Star: 2010, 2011

3× NBA All-Defensive:

:* First Team: 2010, 2011 :* Second Team: 2009

NBA All-Rookie selection:

:*Second team: 2007

NBA regular season leader:

:*steals: 2010 (189) :*steals per game: 2010 (2.3)

Boston Celtics franchise records:

:*Most assists in a single season: 794 (2009–10) :*Most steals in a single season: 189 (2009–10) :*Most assists in a playoff game: 20 (2010–11)

See also

List of National Basketball Association players with most assists in a game

References

External links

The Official Site of Rajon Rondo

YardBarker – Rajon Rondo's Blog

NBA.com Draft Profile

Profile at UKAthletics.com

ESPN.com Player Card

Rajon Rondo Career Stats

ESPN.com 2010 NBA Playoffs Feature: "9 Stories on No. 9: The Legend of Rondo"; 06/08/10

Category:1986 births Category:Living people Category:African American basketball players Category:American basketball players Category:Basketball players from Kentucky Category:Boston Celtics players Category:Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players Category:Male basketball guards Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:People from Louisville, Kentucky Category:Phoenix Suns draft picks Category:Point guards

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name	Kobe Bryant
width	233px
position	Shooting guard
height ft	6
height in	6
weight lb	205
team	Los Angeles Lakers
number	24
birth date	August 23, 1978
birth place	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
nationality	American
high school	Lower Merion HS, Ardmore, Pennsylvania
draft year	1996
draft round	1
draft pick	13
draft team	Charlotte Hornets
career start	1996
years1	–present
team1	Los Angeles Lakers
highlights	5× NBA Champion (2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010) 2× NBA Finals MVP (2009–2010) NBA Most Valuable Player () 13× NBA All-Star (1998, 2000–2011) 2× NBA scoring champion (–) 9× All-NBA First Team (–, –) 2× All-NBA Second Team (–) 2× All-NBA Third Team (, ) 9× All-Defensive First Team (, –, –) 2× All-Defensive Second Team (–) NBA All-Rookie Second Team () 4× NBA All-Star Game MVP (2002, 2007, 2009, 2011) NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion (1997) Naismith Prep Player of the Year (1996)
medaltemplates	}}

Kobe Bean Bryant (born August 23, 1978) is an American professional basketball player who plays shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Bryant enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Lower Merion High School, where he was recognized as the top high school basketball player in the country. He decided to declare his eligibility for the NBA Draft upon graduation, and was selected with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets, then traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. As a rookie, Bryant earned himself a reputation as a high-flyer and a fan favorite by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest.

Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. A heated feud between the duo and a loss in the 2004 NBA Finals was followed by O'Neal's trade from the Lakers after the 2003–04 season. In 2003, Bryant was accused of sexual assault after having sex with a hotel employee in Colorado. In September 2004, prosecutors dropped the case after his accuser refused to testify, and Bryant had to rebuild his image while becoming the cornerstone of the Lakers franchise. He led the NBA in scoring during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, setting numerous scoring records in the process. In 2006, Bryant scored a career-high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the second most points scored in a single game in NBA history, second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point performance in 1962. In the 2007–08 season, he was awarded the regular season's Most Valuable Player Award (MVP). After losing in the 2008 NBA Finals, Bryant led the Lakers to two consecutive championships in 2009 and 2010 and was named NBA Finals MVP on both occasions.

, Bryant ranks third and sixth on the league's all-time post-season scoring and all-time regular season scoring lists, respectively. He is also the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history. Since his second year in the league, Bryant has started in every NBA All-Star Game that has been held with thirteen All-Star appearances, winning the All-Star MVP Award four times (2002, 2007, 2009, and 2011). Bryant is tied for the most All Star MVP Awards in NBA History. He is a thirteen-time member of the All-NBA team and eleven-time All-Defensive team, and is the youngest player ever to receive defensive honors. At the 2008 Olympics, he won a gold medal as a member of the USA national team. In 2009, Sporting News and TNT named Bryant the NBA player of the 2000s decade.

Early years

Childhood and youth

Kobe Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as the youngest of three children and the only son of former Philadelphia 76ers player and former Los Angeles Sparks head coach Joe "Jellybean" Bryant and Pamela Cox Bryant. He is also the maternal nephew of John "Chubby" Cox. His parents named him after the famous beef of Kobe, Japan, which they saw on a restaurant menu. Bryant was raised Roman Catholic. When Bryant was six, his father left the NBA and moved his family to Italy to continue playing professional basketball. Bryant became accustomed to his new lifestyle and learned to speak Italian and Spanish fluently. During summers, Bryant would come back to the United States to play in a basketball summer league. He started playing basketball when he was 3 years old, and his favorite team growing up was the Lakers. Bryant's grandfather would mail him videos of NBA games, which Bryant would study. At an early age he also learned to play soccer; his favorite team is AC Milan. He has said that if he had stayed in Italy, he would have tried to become a professional soccer player; Bryant is a big fan of former FC Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard and their former player Ronaldinho. Upon Joe Bryant's retirement from playing basketball in 1991, the Bryant family moved back to the United States.

High school

Bryant earned national recognition during a spectacular high school career at Lower Merion High School located in the Philadelphia suburb of Lower Merion. As a freshman, he played for the varsity basketball team. His father coached him his second year of high school. Although during his first year the team was mediocre, the following three years the Aces compiled a 77–13 record, with Bryant playing all five positions. At Adidas ABCD camp, Bryant earned the 1995 senior MVP award, while playing alongside future NBA teammate Lamar Odom. While in high school, then 76ers coach John Lucas invited Bryant to work out and scrimmage with the team, where he played one-on-one with Jerry Stackhouse. In his senior year of high school, Bryant led the Aces to their first state championship in 53 years. During the run, he averaged 30.8 points, 12 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 4.0 steals, and 3.8 blocked shots in leading the Aces to a 31–3 record. He ended his career as Southeastern Pennsylvania's all-time leading scorer at 2,883 points, surpassing both Wilt Chamberlain and Lionel Simmons. Bryant received several awards for his performance his senior year including being named Naismith High School Player of the Year, Gatorade Men's National Basketball Player of the Year, a McDonald's All-American, and a ''USA Today'' All-USA First Team player. Bryant's varsity coach, Greg Downer, commented that Bryant was "a complete player who dominates". In 1996, Bryant took R&B; singer Brandy Norwood to her senior prom, though the two were, and remain, just friends. His SAT score of 1080 would have ensured his basketball scholarship to various top-tier colleges. Ultimately, however, the 17-year-old Bryant made the decision to go directly into the NBA, only the sixth player in NBA history to do so. Bryant's news was met with a lot of publicity at a time when prep-to-pro NBA players were not very common (Kevin Garnett being the only exception in 20 years). Bryant has stated that had he decided to go to college after high school, he would have attended Duke University.

NBA career

1996 NBA Draft

The first guard to ever be taken out of high school, Bryant was chosen as the 13th overall draft pick by the Charlotte Hornets in 1996. According to Arn Tellem, Bryant's agent at the time, Bryant playing for the Charlotte Hornets was "an impossibility". However, Bill Branch, the Hornets' head scout at the time, said that the Hornets agreed to trade their draft selection to the Lakers before picking Bryant. The teams agreed to the trade the day before the draft and the Lakers did not tell the Hornets who to select until five minutes before the pick was made. Branch said that prior to the trade agreement, the Hornets never even considered drafting Bryant. Prior to the draft, Bryant had worked out in Los Angeles, in which he scrimmaged against former Lakers players Larry Drew and Michael Cooper, and according to then-Laker manager Jerry West "marched over these people". On July 1, 1996, West traded his starting center, Vlade Divac, to the Hornets in exchange for Bryant's draft rights. Since he was still 17 at the time of the draft, his parents had to cosign his contract with the Lakers until he was able to sign his own when he turned 18 before the season began.

First three seasons (1996–99)

During his rookie season, Bryant mostly came off the bench behind guards Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel. At the time he became the youngest player ever to play in an NBA game (a record since broken by Jermaine O'Neal and Andrew Bynum), and also became the youngest NBA starter ever. Initially, Bryant played limited minutes, but as the season continued, he began to see some more playing time. By the end of the season, he averaged 15.5 minutes a game. During the All-Star weekend, Bryant was the winner of the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest, becoming the youngest player to be named the slam dunk champion at the age of 18. Bryant's performance throughout the year earned him a spot on the NBA All Rookie second team with fellow bench teammate Travis Knight. His final minutes of the season ended in disaster when he shot 4 air balls at crucial times in the game. He first missed a jumper to win the game in the 4th quarter and 3 three-pointers in overtime (2 of which would have tied the game in the final minute). With that the Utah Jazz ended the playoffs for the Lakers in the second round. Shaquille O'Neal commented years later that "[Bryant] was the only guy who had the guts at the time to take shots like that."

In Bryant's second season, he received more playing time and began to show more of his abilities as a talented young guard. As a result Bryant's point averages more than doubled from 7.6 to 15.4 points per game. Bryant would see an increase in minutes when the Lakers "played small", which would feature Bryant playing small forward along side the guards he'd usually back up. Bryant was the runner-up for the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award, and through fan voting, he also became the youngest NBA All-Star starter in NBA history. He was joined by fellow teammates Shaquille O'Neal, Nick Van Exel, and Eddie Jones, making it the first time since 1983 that four players on the same team were selected to play in the same All-Star Game. Bryant's 15.4 points per game was the highest of any non-starter in the season.

The 1998–99 season marked Bryant's emergence as a premiere guard in the league. With starting guards Nick Van Exel and Eddie Jones traded, Bryant started every game for the lockout-shortened 50 game season. During the season, Bryant signed a 6-year contract extension worth $70 million. This kept him with the Lakers until the end of the 2003–04 season. Even at an early stage of his career sportswriters were comparing his skills to that of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. The playoff results, however, were no better, as the Lakers were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semi-finals.

Three-peat (1999–2002)

Bryant's fortunes would soon change when Phil Jackson became coach for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1999. After years of steady improvement, Bryant became one of the premier shooting guards in the league, earning appearances in the league's All-NBA, All-Star, and All-Defensive teams. The Los Angeles Lakers became true championship contenders under Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, who formed a legendary center-guard combination. Jackson utilized the triangle offense he used to win six championships with the Chicago Bulls, which would help both Bryant and O'Neal rise to the elite class of the NBA. The three resulting championships won consecutively in 2000, 2001, and 2002 further proved such a fact.

Bryant started the 1999–2000 season sidelined for six weeks due to an injury to his hand in a preseason game against the Washington Wizards. With Bryant back and playing over 38 minutes a game, he saw an increase in all statistical categories in the 1999–2000 season. This included leading the team in assists per game and steals per game. The duo of O'Neal and Bryant backed with a strong bench led to the Lakers winning 67 games, tied for fifth-most in NBA history. This followed with O'Neal winning the MVP and Bryant being named to the All-NBA Team Second Team and All-NBA Defensive Team for the first time in his career (the youngest player ever to receive defensive honors). While playing second fiddle to O'Neal in the playoffs, Bryant had some clutch performances including a 25 point, 11 rebound, 7 assist, 4 block game in game 7 of the Western Conference finals against the Portland Trail Blazers. He also threw an alley-oop pass to O'Neal to clinch the game and the series. In the 2000 NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers, Bryant injured his ankle in the second quarter of game 2 and missed the rest of the game and game 3. In game 4, Bryant scored 22 points in the second half, and led the team to an overtime victory as O'Neal fouled out of the game. Bryant scored the winning shot to put the Lakers ahead 120–118. With a game 6 victory, the Lakers won their first championship since 1988.

Statistically, the 2000–01 season saw Bryant perform similarly to the previous year except Bryant was averaging 6 more points a game (28.5). It was also the year when disagreements between Bryant and O'Neal began to surface. Once again he led the team in assists with 5 per game. The Lakers however, only won 56 games, an 11 game drop off from last year. The Lakers would respond by going 15–1 in the playoffs. They easily swept the Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, and San Antonio Spurs, before losing their first game against the Philadelphia 76ers in overtime. They would go on to win the next 4 games and bring their second championship to Los Angeles in as many seasons. During the playoffs Bryant played heavy minutes which brought his stats up to 29.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game. In the playoffs teammate O'Neal declared Bryant the best player in the league. Bryant ended up making the All NBA Second team and All NBA Defensive Team for the second year in a row. In addition, he was also voted to start in the NBA All-Star Game for the 3rd year in a row (no game in 1999).

In the 2001–02 season, Bryant played 80 games for the first time in his career. He continued his all-round play by averaging 25.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game. He also had a career high 46.9% shooting and once again led his team in assists. While making the All-Star team and All-NBA Defensive team again, he was also promoted to the All-NBA First Team for the first time in his career. The Lakers won 58 games that year and finished second place in the Pacific Division behind in-state rival Sacramento Kings. Bryant was suspended one game after he punched Reggie Miller of the Indiana Pacers after the Lakers' March 1, 2002 victory over the Pacers.

The road to the Finals would prove a lot tougher than the record run the Lakers had the previous year. While the Lakers swept the Trail Blazers and defeated the Spurs 4–1, the Lakers did not have home court advantage against the Sacramento Kings. The series would stretch to 7 games, the first time this happened to the Lakers since the Western Conference Finals in the 2000 NBA Playoffs. However, the Lakers were able to beat their division rivals and make their third consecutive NBA Finals appearance. In the 2002 Finals, Bryant averaged 26.8 points, 51.4% shooting, 5.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists per game, which included scoring a quarter of the teams points. At age 23, Bryant became the youngest player to win three championships. Bryant's play was notable and praised for his performance in the 4th quarter of games, specifically the last 2 rounds of the playoffs. This cemented Bryant's reputation as a clutch player.

Coming up short (2002–04)

In the 2002–03 season, Bryant averaged 30 points per game and embarked on a historic run, posting 40 or more points in nine consecutive games while averaging 40.6 in the entire month of February. In addition, he averaged 6.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 2.2 steals per game, all career highs up to that point. Bryant was once again voted on to both the All-NBA and All-Defensive 1st teams, and came in third place in voting for the MVP award. After finishing 50–32 in the regular season, the Lakers foundered in the playoffs and lost in the Western Conference semi-finals to the eventual NBA champions San Antonio Spurs in six games.

In the following 2003–04 season, the Lakers were able to acquire NBA All-Stars Karl Malone, and Gary Payton to make another push at the NBA Championship. Before the season began, Bryant was arrested for sexual assault. This caused Bryant to miss some games due to court appearances or attend court earlier in the day and travel to play games later in same day. In the final game of the regular season the Lakers played the Portland Trail Blazers. Bryant made two buzzer beaters to win the game and the Pacific Division title. At the end of the fourth quarter, Bryant made a three-pointer as time ran out to tie the game and send it into over time. The game eventually went to a second over time and Bryant made another three pointer as time expired to lift the Lakers past the Trail Blazers 105–104.

With a starting lineup of four future Hall of Famers, O'Neal, Malone, Payton, and Bryant, the Lakers were able to reach the NBA Finals. In the Finals, they were defeated in five games by the Detroit Pistons, who won their first championship since 1990. In that series, Bryant averaged 22.6 points per game and 4.4 assists. He shot a mere 35.1% from the field. Phil Jackson's contract as coach was not renewed, and Rudy Tomjanovich took over. Shaquille O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, and Brian Grant. The following day, Bryant declined an offer to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers and re-signed with the Lakers on a seven-year contract.

Playoffs disappointments (2004–07)

Bryant was closely scrutinized and criticized during the 2004–05 season with his reputation badly damaged from all that had happened over the previous year. A particularly damaging salvo came when Phil Jackson wrote ''The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul''. The book detailed the events of the Lakers' tumultuous 2003–04 season and has a number of criticisms of Bryant. In the book Jackson called Bryant "uncoachable". Midway through the season, Rudy Tomjanovich suddenly resigned as Lakers coach, citing the recurrence of health problems and exhaustion. Without Tomjanovich, stewardship of the remainder of the Lakers' season fell to career assistant coach Frank Hamblen. Despite the fact that Bryant was the league's second leading scorer at 27.6 points per game, the Lakers floundered and missed the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. The year signified a drop in Bryant's overall status in the NBA, as he did not make the NBA All-Defensive Team and was also demoted to the All-NBA Third Team. During the season, Bryant also engaged in public feuds with Ray Allen and Karl Malone.

The 2005–06 NBA season would mark a crossroads in Bryant's basketball career. Despite past differences with Bryant, Phil Jackson returned to coach the Lakers. Bryant endorsed the move, and by all appearances, the two men worked together well the second time around, leading the Lakers back into the playoffs. Bryant's individual scoring accomplishments posted resulted in the finest statistical season of his career. On December 20, 2005, Bryant scored 62 points in three quarters against the Dallas Mavericks. Entering the fourth quarter, Bryant had outscored the entire Mavericks team 62–61, the only time a player has done this through three quarters since the advent of the 24-second shot clock. When the Lakers faced the Miami Heat on January 16, 2006, Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal made headlines by engaging in handshakes and hugs before the game, signifying a change in the feud that had festered between the two players. A month later, at the 2006 NBA All-Star Game, the two were seen laughing together.

On January 22, 2006, Bryant scored a career-high 81 points in a victory against the Toronto Raptors. In addition to breaking the previous franchise record of 71 set by Elgin Baylor, Bryant's 81-point game was the second highest point total in NBA history, surpassed only by Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in 1962. In that same month, Bryant also became the first player since 1964 to score 45 points or more in four consecutive games, joining Chamberlain and Baylor as the only players ever to do so. For the month of January, Bryant averaged 43.4 points per game, the eighth highest single month scoring average in NBA history and highest for any player other than Chamberlain. By the end of the 2005–06 season, Bryant set Lakers single-season franchise records for most 40-point games (27) and most points scored (2,832). He won the league's scoring title for the first time, posting a scoring average of (35.4). Bryant finished in fourth place in the voting for the 2006 NBA Most Valuable Player Award, but received 22 first place votes—second only to winner Steve Nash. The Los Angeles Lakers posted a 45–37 record, an eleven-game improvement over the previous season, and the entire squad seemed to be clicking.

Later in the season, it was reported that Bryant would change his jersey number from 8 to 24 at the start of the 2006–07 NBA season. Bryant's first high school number was 24 before he switched to 33. After the Lakers' season ended, Bryant said on TNT that he wanted 24 as a rookie, but it was unavailable, as was 33, retired with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Bryant wore 143 at the Adidas ABCD camp, and chose 8 by adding those numbers. In the first round of the playoffs, the Lakers played well enough to reach a 3–1 series lead over the Phoenix Suns, culminating with Bryant's OT-forcing and game-winning shots in Game 4. They came within six seconds of eliminating the second-seeded Suns in Game 6, however, they lost that game 126 to 118 in overtime. Despite Bryant's 27.9 points per game in the series, the Lakers broke down, and ultimately fell to the Suns in seven games. Bryant received criticism for only taking three shots in the second half of the 90–121 loss to Phoenix in Game 7. In the 2006 off-season, Bryant had knee surgery, preventing him from participating in the 2006 FIBA World Championship tournament.

During the 2006–07 season, Bryant was selected to his 9th All-Star Game appearance, and on February 18, he logged 31 points, 6 assists, and 6 steals, earning his second career All-Star Game MVP trophy. Over the course of the season, Bryant became involved in a number of on court incidents. On January 28 while attempting to draw contact on a potential game winning jumpshot, he flailed his arm striking San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginóbili in the face with his elbow. Following a league review, Bryant was suspended for the subsequent game at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks. The basis given for the suspension was that Bryant had performed an "unnatural motion" in swinging his arm backwards. Later, on March 6, he seemed to repeat the motion, this time striking Minnesota Timberwolves guard Marko Jarić. On March 7, the NBA handed Bryant his second one-game suspension. In his first game back on March 9, he elbowed Kyle Korver in the face which was retroactively re-classified as a Type 1 flagrant foul.

On March 16, Bryant scored a season-high 65 points in a home game against the Portland Trail Blazers, which helped end the Lakers 7-game losing streak. This was the second best scoring performance of his 11-year career. The following game, Bryant recorded 50 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves, after which he scored 60 points in a road win against the Memphis Grizzlies—becoming the second Laker to score three straight 50-plus point games, a feat not seen since Michael Jordan last did it in 1987. The only other Laker to do so was Elgin Baylor, who also scored 50+ in three consecutive contests in December 1962. In the following day, in a game against the New Orleans Hornets, Bryant scored 50 points, making him the second player in NBA history to have 4 straight 50 point games behind Wilt Chamberlain, who is the all-time leader with seven consecutive 50 point games twice. Bryant finished the year with a total of ten 50-plus point games, becoming the only player beside Wilt Chamberlain in 1961–62 and 1962–63 to do so in one season. He also won his second straight scoring title that season. Throughout the 2006–07 season, Bryant's jersey became the top selling NBA jersey in the United States and China. A number of journalists have attributed the improved sales to Bryant's new number, as well as his continuing All-Star performance on the court. In the 2007 NBA Playoffs, the Lakers were once again eliminated in the first round by the Phoenix Suns, 4–1.

MVP year (2007–08)

On May 27, 2007, ESPN reported that Bryant stated that he wanted to be traded if Jerry West did not return to the team with full authority. Bryant later confirmed his desire for West's return to the franchise, but denied stating that he would want to be traded if that does not occur. However, three days later, on Stephen A. Smith's radio program, Bryant expressed anger over a Lakers "insider" who claimed that Bryant was responsible for Shaquille O'Neal's departure from the team, and publicly stated, "I want to be traded." Three hours after making that statement, Bryant stated in another interview that after having a conversation with head coach Phil Jackson, he has reconsidered his decision and backed off his trade request. Bryant would later be shown on an infamous amateur video saying that center Andrew Bynum should have been traded for All-Star Jason Kidd.

On December 23, 2007, Bryant became the youngest player (29 years, 122 days) to reach 20,000 points, in a game against the New York Knicks, in Madison Square Garden. Despite an injury to his shooting hand's small finger, described as "a complete tear of the radial collateral ligament, an avulsion fracture, and a volar plate injury at the MCP joint" that occurred in a game on February 5, 2008, Bryant played all 82 games of the regular season instead of opting for surgery. Regarding his injury, he stated, "I would prefer to delay any surgical procedure until after our Lakers season, and this summer's Olympic Games. But, this is an injury that and the Lakers' medical staff will just have to continue to monitor on a day-to-day basis." In early September 2008, Bryant decided not to have surgery to repair the injury.

Leading his team to a West best 57–25 record, they swept the Nuggets in the first round and on May 6, 2008, Bryant was officially announced as the NBA Most Valuable Player award, his first for his career. He said, "It's been a long ride. I'm very proud to represent this organization, to represent this city." Jerry West, who was responsible for bringing Bryant to the Lakers, was on hand at the press conference to observe Bryant receive his MVP trophy from NBA commissioner David Stern. He stated, "Kobe deserved it. He's had just another great season. Doesn't surprise me one bit." In addition to winning his MVP award, Bryant was the only unanimous selection to the All-NBA team on May 8, 2008 for the third straight season and sixth time in his career. He would then headline the NBA All-Defensive First Team with Kevin Garnett, receiving 52 points overall including 24 first-place nods, earning his eighth selection.

The Lakers concluded the 2007–08 regular season with a 57–25 record, finishing first in the Western Conference and setting up themselves for a first-round contest against the Nuggets. In Game 1, Bryant, who said he made himself a decoy through most of the game, scored 18 of his 32 points in the final 8 minutes to keep Los Angeles safely ahead. That made Denver the first 50-win team to be swept out of the first round of the playoffs since the Memphis Grizzlies fell in four to the San Antonio Spurs in 2004. In the first game of the next round against the Jazz, Bryant scored 38 points as the Lakers beat the Jazz in Game 1. The Lakers won the next game as well, but dropped Games 3 and 4, even with Bryant putting up 33.5 points per game. The Lakers then won the next two games to win the semifinals in 6. This set up a Western Conference Finals berth against the San Antonio Spurs. The Lakers defeated the Spurs in 5 games, sending themselves to the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics. This marked the fifth time in Bryant's career and the first time without Shaquille O'Neal to go to the NBA Finals. The Lakers then lost to the Boston Celtics in 6 games.

Repeat (2008–10)

In the 2008–09 season, the Lakers opened the campaign by winning their first seven games. Bryant led the team to tie the franchise record for most wins to start the season going 17–2, and by the middle of December they compiled a 21–3 record. He was selected to his eleventh consecutive All-Star Game as a starter, and was named the Western Conference Player of the Month for December and January in addition to being named Western Conference Player of the week three times. In a game against the Knicks on February 2, 2009, Bryant scored 61 points, setting a record for the most points scored at Madison Square Garden. During the 2009 NBA All-Star Game, Bryant who tallied 27 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals was awarded All-Star Game co-MVP with former teammate Shaquille O'Neal. The Lakers finished the regular season with the best record in the west with a 65–17 record. Bryant was runner-up in the MVP voting behind LeBron James, and was selected to the All-NBA First Team and All-Defensive First Team for the seventh time in his career.

In the playoffs, the Lakers defeated the Utah Jazz in five games and the Houston Rockets in seven games in the opening two rounds. After finishing off the Denver Nuggets in the Conference Finals in six games, the Lakers earned their second straight trip to the NBA Finals where they defeated the Orlando Magic in five games. Bryant was awarded his first NBA Finals MVP trophy upon winning his fourth championship, achieving series averages: 32.4 points, 7.4 assists, 5.6 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks. He became the first player since Jerry West in the 1969 NBA Finals to average at least 32.4 points and 7.4 assists for a finals series and the first since Michael Jordan to average 30 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for a title-winning team in the finals.

During the 2009–10 season, Bryant made six game-winning shots including a buzzer-beating, one-legged three point shot against the Miami Heat on December 4, 2009. Bryant considered the shot one of the luckiest he has made. A week later, Bryant suffered an avulsion fracture in his right index finger in a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Despite the injury, Bryant elected to continue playing with it, rather than take any time off to rest the injury. Five days after his finger injury, he made another game winning shot, after missing on an opportunity in regulation, this time against the Milwaukee Bucks in an overtime game. Bryant also became the youngest player (31 years, 151 days) to reach 25,000 points during the season, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain. He continued his dominant clutch plays making yet another game winning three-pointer against the Sacramento Kings, and what would be the game-winning field goal against the Boston Celtics. The following day, he surpassed Jerry West to become the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history. After being sidelined for five games from an ankle injury, Bryant made his return and made another clutch three-pointer to give the Lakers a one point lead with four seconds remaining against the Memphis Grizzlies. Two weeks later, he made his sixth game-winning shot of the season against the Toronto Raptors.

On April 2, 2010, Bryant signed a three-year contract extension worth $87 million. Bryant finished the regular season missing four of the final five games, due to injuries to his knee and finger. Bryant suffered multiple injuries throughout the season and as a result, missed nine games. The Lakers began the playoffs as the number one seed in the Western Conference against the Oklahoma City Thunder, eventually defeating them in six games. The Lakers swept the Utah Jazz in the second round and advanced to the Western Conference Finals, where they faced Phoenix Suns. In Game 2, Bryant finished the game with 13 assists, setting a new playoff career high; it was the most assists by a Laker in the playoffs since Magic Johnson had 13 in 1996. The Lakers went on to win the series in six games capturing the Western Conference Championship and advancing to the NBA Finals for a third straight season. In a rematch against the 2008 Champion Boston Celtics, Bryant, despite shooting 6 for 24 from the field, led the Lakers back from a thirteen-point third quarter deficit in Game 7 to win the championship; he scored 10 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter, and finished the game with 15 rebounds. Bryant won his fifth championship and earned his second consecutive NBA Finals MVP award. This marked the first time the Lakers won a Game 7 against the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. Bryant said that this was the most satisfying of all of his five championships.

2010–11 season

The Lakers started the 2010–11 season by winning their first eight games. In his ninth game of the season, playing against the Denver Nuggets, Bryant became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 26,000 career points. Bryant also recorded his first triple double since January 21, 2009. On January 30 against the Celtics, he become the youngest player to score 27,000 points. On February 1, 2011, Bryant became one of seven players with at least 25,000 points, 5,000 rebounds and 5,000 assists. In Boston on February 10, Bryant scored 20 of his 23 points in the second half as the Lakers rallied from an early 15-point deficit for a 92–86 win over the Celtics. It was the Lakers' first victory of the season against one of the league's top four teams, as they entered the game 0–5 in previous matchups and had been outscored by an average of 11 points. Bryant, selected to his 13th straight All-Star game after becoming the leading vote-getter, had 37 points, 14 rebounds, and three steals in the 2011 All-Star Game and won his fourth All-Star MVP, tying Hall of Famer Bob Pettit for the most All-Star MVP awards. During the season, Bryant moved from 12th to 6th place on the NBA all-time career scoring list, passing John Havlicek, Dominique Wilkins, Oscar Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Elvin Hayes, and Moses Malone. Bryant finished the season averaging less than 20 shots a game, his fewest since the 2003–04 season.

On April 13, 2011, the NBA fined Bryant $100,000 for directing a gay slur at referee Bennie Adams in frustration in the previous day's game. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation praised the NBA's decision to fine Bryant, and the Human Rights Campaign said that Bryant's language was a "disgrace" and "distasteful". Bryant stated that he was open to discussing the matter with gay rights groups and wanted to appeal his fine. He later apologized for the use of the word. Bryant and other Lakers appeared in a Lakers public service announcement denouncing Bryant's behavior. The team's quest for another three-peat was ended when they were swept by the Dallas Mavericks in the second round of the playoffs. The Mavericks would go on to win the 2011 NBA Finals.

International career

Kobe Bryant declined to play in the 2000 Olympics due to getting married in the off-season. He also decided not to play in the 2002 FIBA World Championship. Bryant was originally selected for the FIBA Americas Championship 2003 but withdrew due to surgeries and was replaced by Vince Carter. In the following summer, he had to withdraw from the Olympic team because of his legal case. Along with LeBron James, he was one of the first two players to publicly named to the 2006–2008 U.S. preliminary roster in 2006 by Jerry Colangelo. However, he was once again sidelined after knee surgery and didn't participate in the 2006 FIBA World Championship.

Bryant's senior international career with the United States national team finally began in 2007. He was a member of the 2007 USA Men's Senior National Team and USA FIBA Americas Championship Team that finished 10–0, won gold and qualified the United States men for the 2008 Olympics. He started in all 10 of the USA's FIBA Americas Championship games. He finished third on the team for made and attempted free throws, ranked fourth for made field goals, made 3-pointers. Among all FIBA Americas Championship competitors, Bryant is ranked 15th in scoring, 14th in assists, and eighth in steals. Bryant scored double-digits in eight of the 10 games played. Bryant also made the game winning jumper above the foul line with seconds left in the game. He currently averages a .530 shooting percentage, with 16.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists.

As a part of his international expansion, he is also featured in a Chinese reality TV show, called the ''Kobe Mentu'' show, which documents Chinese basketball players on different teams going through drills, preparing to play each other while Bryant gives advice and words of encouragement to the players while they practice.

On June 23, 2008, he was named to the USA Men's Senior National Team for the 2008 Summer Olympics. This was his first time going to the Olympics. Bryant scored 20 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, along with six assists, as Team USA defeated Spain 118–107 in the gold medal game of the 2008 Summer Olympics on August 24, 2008, for its first gold medal in a worldwide international competition since the 2000 Olympics. He averaged 15.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting .462 from the field in eight Olympic contests.

Bryant has committed to playing for the national team at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Player profile

Bryant is a shooting guard who is capable of playing the small forward position. He is considered one of the most complete players in the NBA, has been selected to every All-NBA Team since 1999, and has been featured in the last twelve NBA All-Star games. Sports writers and sports casters have frequently compared Bryant to Michael Jordan, a comparison Bryant dislikes. In 2007, an ESPN poll of sportswriters voted him as the second best shooting guard in NBA history behind Jordan.

He is a prolific scorer, averaging 25.3 points per game for his career, along with 5.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.5 steals (as of the end of the 2010–2011 regular season). He is known for his ability to create shots for himself and is a standout three-point shooter, sharing the single-game NBA record for three pointers made with twelve. Bryant is often cited as one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA, though his 45.4% career field goal average is considered moderate. He utilizes his wide array of moves and shots to elude defenders and score from virtually anywhere on the floor. Some of Bryant's best moves are his turnaround jump shot, and his ability to post up his defenders and score with a fadeaway jumpshot. Chris Ballard, a ''Sports Illustrated'' NBA writer, describes a "jab step-and-pause" as a move Bryant uses where he jabs his non-pivot foot forward to let the defender relax and instead of bringing the jab foot back, he pushes off it and drive around his opponent to get to the basket.

Aside from his scoring ability, he has established himself as a standout defender, having made the All-Defensive first or second team eleven of the last twelve seasons. Bryant has also been noted being one of the premier clutch performers in the NBA. For nine consecutive seasons, Bryant has been selected by an NBA GM survey as the player they most want taking the shot with the game on the line. Both Sporting News and TNT named Bryant the NBA player of the 2000s decade.

NBA career statistics

	Led the league

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 71 || 6 || 15.5 || .417 || .375 || .819 || 1.9 || 1.3 || .7 || .3 || 7.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 79 || 1 || 26.0 || .428 || .341 || .794 || 3.1 || 2.5 || .9 || .5 || 15.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 50 || 50 || 37.9 || .465 || .267 || .839 || 5.3 || 3.8 || 1.4 || 1.0 || 19.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 66 || 62 || 38.2 || .468 || .319 || .821 || 6.3 || 4.9 || 1.6 || .9 || 22.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 68 || 68 || 40.9 || .464 || .305 || .853 || 5.9 || 5.0 || 1.7 || .6 || 28.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 80 || 80 || 38.3 || .469 || .250 || .829 || 5.5 || 5.5 || 1.5 || .4 || 25.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 82 || 82 || 41.5 || .451 || .383 || .843 || 6.9 || 5.9 || 2.2 || .8 || 30.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 65 || 64 || 37.6 || .438 || .327 || .852 || 5.5 || 5.1 || 1.7 || .4 || 24.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 66 || 66 || 40.7 || .433 || .339 || .816 || 5.9 || 6.0 || 1.3 || .8 || 27.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 80 || 80 || 41.0 || .450 || .347 || .850 || 5.3 || 4.5 || 1.8 || .4 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 35.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 77 || 77 || 40.8 || .463 || .344 || .868 || 5.7 || 5.4 || 1.4 || .5 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 31.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 82 || 82 || 38.9 || .459 || .361 || .840 || 6.3 || 5.4 || 1.8 || .5 || 28.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 82 || 82 || 36.1 || .467 || .351 || .856 || 5.2 || 4.9 || 1.5 || .4 || 26.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 73 || 73 || 38.8 || .456 || .329 || .811 || 5.4 || 5.0 || 1.6 || .3 || 27.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 82 || 82 || 33.9 || .451 || .323 || .828 || 5.1 || 4.7 || 1.2 || .1 || 25.3 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:left;"| Career | style="text-align:left;"| | 1103 || 955 || 36.4 || .454 || .339 || .837 || 5.3 || 4.7 || 1.5 || .6 || 25.3 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:left;"| All-Star | style="text-align:left;"| | 12 || 12 || 27.3 || .507 || .345 || .808 || 5.3 || 4.5 || 2.8 || .3 || 20.3

Playoffs

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 1997 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 9 || 0 || 14.8 || .382 || .261 || .867 || 1.2 || 1.2 || .3 || .2 || 8.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1998 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 11 || 0 || 20.0 || .408 || .214 || .689 || 1.9 || 1.5 || .3 || .7 || 8.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1999 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 8 || 8 || 39.4 || .430 || .348 || .800 || 6.9 || 4.6 || 1.9 || 1.2 || 19.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2000 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 22 || 22 || 39.0 || .442 || .344 || .754 || 4.5 || 4.4 || 1.5 || 1.5 || 21.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2001 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 16 || 16 || 43.4 || .469 || .324 || .821 || 7.3 || 6.1 || 1.6 || .8 || 29.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2002 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 19 || 19 || 43.8 || .434 || .379 || .759 || 5.8 || 4.6 || 1.4 || .9 || 26.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2003 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 12 || 12 || 44.3 || .432 || .403 || .827 || 5.1 || 5.2 || 1.2 || .1 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 32.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2004 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 22 || 22 || 44.2 || .413 || .247 || .813 || 4.7 || 5.5 || 1.9 || .3 || 24.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2006 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 7 || 7 || 44.9 || .497 || .400 || .771 || 6.3 || 5.1 || 1.1 || .4 || 27.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2007 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 5 || 5 || 43.0 || .462 || .357 || .919 || 5.2 || 4.4 || 1.0 || .4 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 32.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2008 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 21 || 21 || 41.1 || .479 || .302 || .809 || 5.7 || 5.6 || 1.7 || .4 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 30.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2009 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 23 || 23 || 40.8 || .457 || .349 || .883 || 5.3 || 5.5 || 1.7 || .9 || 30.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2010 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 23 || 23 || 40.1 || .458 || .374 || .842 || 6.0 || 5.5 || 1.4 || .7 || 29.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2011 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 10 || 10 || 35.4 || .446 || .293 || .820 || 3.4 || 3.3 || 1.6 || .3 || 22.8 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:left;"| Career | style="text-align:left;"| | 208 || 188 || 39.3 || .448 || .335 || .815 || 5.1 || 4.8 || 1.4 || .7 || 25.4

Accomplishments and records

Bryant led the NBA in scoring during the and seasons. In 2006, Bryant scored a career-high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the second-highest number of points scored in a game in NBA history, behind only Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point performance. Bryant was awarded the regular season's Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) in the 2007–08 season and led his team to the 2008 NBA Finals as the first seed in the Western Conference. In the 2008 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal as a member of the U.S. men's basketball team, occasionally referred to as "The Redeem Team". He led the Lakers to two more championships in 2009 and 2010, winning the Finals MVP award on both occasions.

Bryant has been selected to 13 All-NBA Team (nine times to the All-NBA First Team) and 11 All-Defensive Team (nine times to the All-Defensive First Team). He was selected to play in the NBA All-Star Game on 13 occasions, winning All-Star MVP Awards in 2002, 2007, 2009 and 2011 (he shared the 2009 award with Shaquille O'Neal). He also won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 1997. As of May 2011, he has had 5 sixty-point games, 24 fifty-point games, and 107 forty-point games.

Off the court

Personal life

In November 1999, 21-year-old Bryant met 17-year-old Vanessa Laine while she was working as a background dancer on the Tha Eastsidaz music video "G'd Up". Bryant was in the building working on his debut musical album, which was never released. The two began dating and became engaged just six months later in May 2000, while Laine was still a senior at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, California. To avoid media scrutiny, she finished high school through independent study. According to Vanessa's cousin Laila Laine, there was no prenuptial agreement. Vanessa said Bryant "''loved her too much for one''".

They married on April 18, 2001, at St. Edward Roman Catholic Church in Dana Point, California. Neither Bryant's parents, his two sisters, longtime advisor and agent Arn Tellem, nor Bryant's Laker teammates attended. Bryant's parents were opposed to the marriage for a number of reasons. Reportedly Bryant's parents had problems with him marrying so young, especially to a woman who was not African-American. This disagreement resulted in an estrangement period of over two years, which ended when Bryant had his first daughter.

In January 2002, Bryant bought a Mediterranean-style house for $4 million, located in a cul-de-sac in Newport Coast, Newport Beach. The Bryants' first child, a daughter named Natalia Diamante Bryant, was born on January 19, 2003. The birth of Natalia influenced Bryant to reconcile his differences with his parents. Vanessa Bryant suffered a miscarriage due to an ectopic pregnancy in the spring of 2005. Their second daughter, Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, was born on May 1, 2006. Gianna was born six minutes ahead of former teammate Shaquille O'Neal's daughter Me'arah Sanaa, who was born in Florida. In an early 2007 interview, it was revealed that Bryant still speaks Italian fluently. Bryant assigned himself the nickname of "Black Mamba", citing a desire for his basketball skills to mimic the snake of that name's ability to "strike with 99% accuracy at maximum speed, in rapid succession."

Sexual assault allegation

In the summer of 2003, the sheriff's office of Eagle, Colorado arrested Bryant in connection with an investigation of a sexual assault complaint filed by 19-year old hotel employee Katelyn Faber. Bryant had checked into The Lodge and Spa at Cordillera in Eagle County in advance of undergoing knee surgery nearby. Faber accused Bryant of raping her in his hotel room the night before Bryant was to have the procedure. Bryant admitted an adulterous sexual encounter with his accuser, but denied her sexual assault allegation.

The accusation tarnished Bryant's reputation, as the public's perception of Bryant plummeted, and his endorsement contracts with McDonald's and Nutella were terminated. Sales for Bryant's replica jersey fell significantly from their previous highs. However, in September 2004, the assault case was dropped by prosecutors after Faber refused to testify in the trial. Afterward, Bryant agreed to apologize to Faber for the incident, including his public mea culpa: "Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did. After months of reviewing discovery, listening to her attorney, and even her testimony in person, I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter." Faber filed a separate civil lawsuit against Bryant, which the two sides ultimately settled with the specific terms of the settlement being undisclosed to the public.

Endorsements

Before starting the 1996–97 NBA season, Bryant signed a 6-year contract with Adidas worth approximately $48 million. His first signature shoe was the Equipment KB 8. Bryant's other earlier endorsements included deals with The Coca-Cola Company to endorse their Sprite soft drink, appearing in advertisements for McDonald's, promoting Spalding's new NBA Infusion Ball, Upper Deck, Italian chocolate company Ferrero SpA's brand Nutella, Russell Corporation, and appearing on his own series of video games by Nintendo. Many companies like McDonald's and Ferrero SpA terminated his contracts when rape allegations against him became public. A notable exception was Nike, Inc., who had signed him to a 5-year, $40–45 million contract just before the incident. However, they refused to use his image or market a new shoe of his for the year, but eventually did start promoting Bryant once his image recovered 2 years later. He has since resumed endorsement deals with The Coca-Cola Company, through their subsidiary Energy Brands to promote their Vitamin Water brand of drinks. Bryant was also the cover athlete for NBA '07: Featuring the Life Vol. 2 and appeared in commercials for the video games Guitar Hero World Tour (with Tony Hawk, Michael Phelps, and Alex Rodriguez) in 2008 and Call of Duty: Black Ops (alongside Jimmy Kimmel) in 2010.

In a 2008 video promoting Nike's Hyperdunk shoes, Bryant appears to jump over a speeding Aston Martin. The stunt was considered to be fake, and the Los Angeles Times said a real stunt would probably be a violation of Bryant's Lakers contract. After promoting Nike's Hyperdunk shoes, Bryant came out with the fourth edition of his signature line by Nike, the Zoom Kobe IV. In 2010 Nike launched another shoe, Nike Zoom Kobe V. In 2009, Bryant signed a deal with Nubeo to market the "Black Mamba collection", a line of sports/luxury watches that range from $25,000 to $285,000. On February 9, 2009, Bryant was featured on the cover of ESPN The Magazine. However, it was not for anything basketball related, rather it was about Bryant being a big fan of FC Barcelona. CNN estimated Bryant's endorsement deals in 2007 to be worth $16 million a year. In 2010, Bryant was ranked third behind Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan in ''Forbes'' list of the world's highest-paid athletes with $48 million.

On December 13, 2010, Bryant signed a two-year endorsement deal with Turkey's national airline, Turkish Airlines. The deal involved Bryant being in a promotional film to be aired in over 80 countries in addition to him being used in digital, print and billboard advertising.

Bryant has appeared as the cover athlete for the following video games: Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside NBA Courtside 2: Featuring Kobe Bryant NBA Courtside 2002 NBA 3 On 3 Featuring Kobe Bryant NBA '07: Featuring the Life Vol. 2 NBA '09: The Inside

NBA 2K10

Music

In 2011, Bryant was featured in Taiwanese singer Jay Chou's single, "The Heaven and Earth Challenge" (天地一鬥, pronounced "Tian Di Yi Dou"). The proceeds for downloads of both the single and ringtones were donated to impoverished schools for basketball facilities and equipment. The music video of the single also features Bryant. The song was also used by Sprite in its 2011 marketing campaign in China.

Philanthropy

Bryant is the official ambassador for After-School All-Stars (ASAS), an American non-profit organization that provides comprehensive after-school programs to children in 13 US cities. Bryant also started the Kobe Bryant China Fund which partnered with the Soong Ching Ling Foundation, a charity backed by the Chinese government. The Kobe Bryant China Fund raises money within China earmarked for education and health programs. On November 4, 2010, Bryant appeared alongside Zach Braff at the Call of Duty: Black Ops launch event at the Santa Monica Airport, where they presented a $1 million check to the Call of Duty Endowment, an Activision-founded nonprofit organization that helps veterans transition to civilian careers after their military service has ended.

See also

Kobe Bryant (song)

Kobe Bryant – Shaquille O'Neal feud

Kobe Doin' Work

List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise

List of 40-plus point games by Kobe Bryant

List of National Basketball Association players with 1000 games played

List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career assists leaders

List of National Basketball Association career steals leaders

List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders

List of National Basketball Association career 3-point scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff assists leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff steals leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff turnovers leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff 3-point scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff free throw scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association players with 50 or more points in a playoff game

List of NBA players with most championships

List of National Basketball Association players with most points in a game

List of National Basketball Association season scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association top individual scoring season averages

References

External links

Official Site

NBA.com – The Ultimate Kobe Page

Kobe Bryant Video on ESPN Video Archive

Kobe Bryant Video on FoxSports Video Archive

Category:1978 births Category:African American basketball players Category:American basketball players Category:American expatriates in Italy Category:Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players from Pennsylvania Category:Charlotte Hornets draft picks Category:Gatorade National Basketball Player of the Year Category:Living people Category:Los Angeles Lakers players Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:National Basketball Association high school draftees Category:NBA Slam Dunk Contest champions Category:NBA Finals MVP Award winners Category:Olympic basketball players of the United States Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:People from Newport Beach, California Category:Sportspeople from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:Shooting guards Category:United States men's national basketball team members Category:Olympic medalists in basketball

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