The 2002 NBA Playoffs were the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2001-02 season. This was the final postseason that held a best-of-5 first-round series; the 2003 NBA Playoffs saw those series expand to a best-of-7 format. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets 4 games to 0. Shaquille O'Neal was named NBA Finals MVP for the third straight year.

This tournament marked the return of playoff success for the Boston Celtics, who had last made the playoffs in 1995, and had made their last Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 1988. Though they eventually lost to the Nets in 6 (preventing a Celtics–Lakers NBA Finals), they did create the biggest 4th quarter playoff comeback in Game 3, winning 94-90 after trailing by as much as 21 prior to the fourth quarter.

The playoffs also marked the last appearance of the Charlotte Hornets in the playoffs, as they moved the next year to New Orleans. It was also the last playoff game held at Charlotte Coliseum (Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. the Nets); Charlotte's new team, the Charlotte Bobcats, played for a season at the Coliseum (without hosting a playoff game) before moving to Time Warner Cable Arena (formerly Bobcats Arena) in 2005. The city would not host a playoff game again until 2010.

The playoffs marked the last time NBC and TBS aired NBA games as regular TV partners of the league. The last TBS-aired game under its various contracts was Game 5 of the Lakers-Spurs series, while Game 4 of the NBA Finals marked the last telecast on NBC. TBS and NBC were replaced with ESPN and ABC the following season, both channels being owned by the Walt Disney Company. TBS has aired some NBA basketball in the ensuing years due to conflicts on TNT.

For the first time in his career, Michael Jordan missed the playoffs.

The total number of playoff games was 70, including the NBA Finals.

Bracket[link]

Playoff qualifying[link]

Western Conference[link]

Best record in NBA[link]

The Sacramento Kings clinched the best record in the NBA, and earned home court advantage throughout the entire playoffs. However, when Sacramento lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers gained home court advantage for the NBA Finals.

Clinched a playoff berth[link]

The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the West:

1. Sacramento Kings (clinched Pacific division)
2. San Antonio Spurs (clinched Midwest division)
3. Los Angeles Lakers
4. Dallas Mavericks
5. Minnesota Timberwolves
6. Portland Trail Blazers
7. Seattle SuperSonics
8. Utah Jazz

Eastern Conference[link]

Best record in conference[link]

The New Jersey Nets clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference, and had home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Clinched a playoff berth[link]

The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the East:

1. New Jersey Nets (clinched Atlantic division)
2. Detroit Pistons (clinched Central division)
3. Boston Celtics
4. Charlotte Hornets
5. Orlando Magic
6. Philadelphia 76ers
7. Toronto Raptors
8. Indiana Pacers

Western Conference[link]

Champion: Los Angeles Lakers

First Round[link]

[edit] (1) Sacramento Kings vs. (8) Utah Jazz

Last Playoff Meeting: 1999 Western Conference First Round (Utah won 3-2)

[edit] (2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (7) Seattle SuperSonics

Last Playoff Meeting: 1982 Western Conference Semifinals (San Antonio won 4-1)

[edit] (3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Portland Trail Blazers

Last Playoff Meeting: 2001 Western Conference First Round (Los Angeles won 3-0)

The Lakers sweep the Blazers thanks to a series-winning 3 by Robert Horry with 2.1 seconds left in Game 3.

[edit] (4) Dallas Mavericks vs. (5) Minnesota Timberwolves

Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Mavericks and Timberwolves.

Dirk Nowitzki was virtually unstoppable in this series, averaging 33 points and 16 rebounds per game.^[1]

Conference Semifinals[link]

[edit] (1) Sacramento Kings vs. (4) Dallas Mavericks

Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Kings and Mavericks.

[edit] (2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers

Last Playoff Meeting: 2001 Western Conference Finals (Los Angeles won 4-0)

The Spurs led going into the fourth quarter of all five games, yet were able to win only one. Bryant would pace Los Angeles to 2 crucial victories in the Alamodome with 31 points in Game 3 and a game-winning bucket in Game 4^[2], and would offset the steady production of Tim Duncan (who had a double double in every game including 34 points and 25 rebounds in Game 5) with his fourth quarter heroics. It would be San Antonio's final 2 home games in the Alamodome, as they would move into the SBC Center (now the AT&T Center) the following year.

Conference Finals[link]

[edit] (1) Sacramento Kings vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers

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Last Playoff Meeting: 2001 Western Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles won 4-3)

The 2002 Western Conference Finals is widely regarded as one of the classic series in NBA history, with the final 4 games coming down to the final seconds. Two games were decided on game winning shots and Game 7 was decided in OT. However, it was marred by allegations of corruption. On June 10, 2008, convicted NBA referee Tim Donaghy's attorney filed a court document alleging that Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and Kings was fixed by 2 referees. The letter states that Donaghy "learned from Referee A that Referees A and F wanted to extend the series to 7 games. Tim knew Referees A and F to be 'company men', always acting in the interest of the NBA, and that night, it was in the NBA's interest to add another game to the series." The Lakers won Game 6 106-102, attempting 18 more free throws than the Kings in the fourth quarter, and went on to win the 2002 NBA Finals. The referees weren't named, but the Western Conference Finals was the only 7-game series that year.

The document claimed that Donaghy told federal agents that in order to increase television ratings and ticket sales, "top executives of the NBA sought to manipulate games using referees". It also said that NBA officials would tell referees to not call technical fouls on certain players, and states that a referee was privately reprimanded by the league for ejecting a star player in the first quarter of a January 2000 game. Stern denied the accusations, calling Donaghy a "singing, cooperating witness".

The Lakers and Kings split the first 2 in Sacramento. Los Angeles raced out to a 36 point first quarter in Game 1 behind 67% shooting and never trailed, paced by Kobe Bryant's 30 point effort and 26 points from Shaquille O'Neal. Chris Webber had 28 points and 14 rebounds, but the other Kings combined shot under 40 percent.^[3] Sacramento rebounded to win Game 2, paced behind Webber (21 points, 13 rebounds) and Mike Bibby (20 points). O'Neal had 35 points and 13 rebounds, but struggled with foul trouble; Bryant shot 9-for-21 from the field and was suffering from food poisoning. This loss snapped the NBA record 12 game playoff road winning streak for Los Angeles.^[4]

The Kings went to Staples Center and dominated Game 3 to get home-court advantage back, leading by as many as 27 and never trailing. They were again paced by Webber and Bibby, who combined for 50 points, and got solid contributions from Doug Christie (17 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals) and Vlade Divac (11 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks). Other than a brief 3-point barrage in the 4th quarter by the Lakers to cut the lead to 12, there was not much help provided for O'Neal, who had 20 points and 19 rebounds.^[5]

In Game 4, Sacramento again got out to a fast start with a 40-point first quarter and built a 24-point first half lead. However, faced with the prospect of falling behind 3-1, the Lakers cut the lead to 14 at halftime with a Samaki Walker 3 at the buzzer that should not have counted, and 7 after 3 quarters. They whittled it down to 2 on the final possession with a chance to tie or win it. Bryant drove to the hoop and missed a runner. Shaq got the rebound and missed a layup. Divac knocked the ball away from the hoop to run out the clock, but instead it wound up going to a wide open Robert Horry at the arc, who hit a 3 over Webber at the buzzer to give the Lakers an improbable victory, which tied the series going back to Sacramento. Horry scored 11 of his 18 points in the 4th quarter, including two more crucial 3-pointers. O'Neal finished with 27 points and 18 rebounds, Bryant with 25. Divac, Webber and Bibby all finished with 20 or more points for the Kings.^[6]

As the series shifted back to Arco for Game 5, Sacramento trailed almost the entire fourth quarter, but a jump shot by Bibby off a screen with 8.2 seconds left gave them the lead and was the game-winner in a 92-91 win. Bibby scored 23 in all, and Webber had 29 points and 13 rebounds in support. Bryant led L.A. with 30 points, but missed a potential game winner.^[7] O'Neal had 28 points, but did not take a shot in the 4th quarter and fouled out^[8]

In Game 6, O'Neal scored 41 points and had 17 rebounds. Many calls went against the Kings, fouling out all their centers for the game. The Lakers won 106-102, narrowly setting the stage for Game 7 in Sacramento, with the winner advancing to the NBA Finals. Bryant added 31 points in support. There are allegations that this sixth game was affected by the referees in relationship to the Tim Donaghy scandal.^[9] The Lakers shot 40 free throws overall, 27 in the fourth quarter alone, and the Kings' big men were plagued with foul trouble (Divac, Webber, Scot Pollard, and Lawrence Funderburke were called for 20 fouls, Divac and Pollard both fouling out). Webber nearly had a triple double (26 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists), Bibby scored 23, and Divac had 12 points and 12 rebounds.^[10] The Washington Post sports columnist Michael Wilbon responded to the calls in Game 6: "I wrote down in my notebook six calls that were stunningly incorrect, all against Sacramento, all in the fourth quarter when the Lakers made five baskets and 21 foul shots to hold on to their championship." For example, Wilbon pointed out that Kobe Bryant did not get a foul call after elbowing Mike Bibby.^[11]

Game 7 was tense, with 16 ties and 19 lead changes. Two Bibby free throws tied it at 100 and forced OT. But after O'Neal made 2 free throws to give L.A. the lead for good, the Kings committed several crucial miscues down the stretch, and eventually lost the game and series to the Lakers. Sacramento was undone by poor free throw shooting (16-30 from the line) and a horrid 2-20 from behind the arc, and a seeming unwillingness for anyone other than Bibby to take crucial shots down the stretch. Shaq scored 35 and Kobe 30 points in victory as all 5 Laker starters finished in double figures. Bibby finished with 29 points and Webber finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists.^[12]

Announcers: For NBC, Mike Breen announced Game 1, Marv Albert Games 3-7; Bill Walton & Steve Jones joined them as the analysts. TNT had Kevin Harlan, Danny Ainge, & John Thompson on hand for Game 2.

Eastern Conference[link]

Champion: New Jersey Nets

First Round[link]

[edit] (1) New Jersey Nets vs. (8) Indiana Pacers

Last Playoff Meeting: Not available (first playoff series); met in the 1972 ABA Finals where the Pacers won 4-2.

Although the Nets won the series in 5, it would be most remarkable for more playoff heroics by Reggie Miller; Miller banked in a 40-footer at the buzzer to force OT, and then fly in for a dunk over 3 Net defenders with 3.1 seconds left in the extra session to force the 2nd overtime.^[13]

[edit] (4) Charlotte Hornets vs. (5) Orlando Magic

Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Hornets and Magic.

Game 4 is Patrick Ewing's final NBA game.

[edit] (2) Detroit Pistons vs. (7) Toronto Raptors

Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Pistons and Raptors.

This series involved two teams that had exceeded expectations during the season. The Detroit Pistons were coming off a year where they had lost 50 games. The Raptors had lost their star forward, Vince Carter, for the remainder of the season. As a result, the Raptors lost 13 straight games without him. Although they looked down and out of playoff contention, the Raptors went on a surge, winning 12 of their last 14 games, locking up the 7th seed. The home team won each game of the series, with the Pistons winning the decisive Game 5 by 3 points. Raptors' Guard, Chris Childs, attempted to draw a foul on a three-point shot, instead of passing it to an open Dell Curry. In the post game interview, Childs stated that he thought the team was down by four points, not three. Detroit advanced to face the Boston Celtics in the second round.

Game 5 is Hakeem Olajuwon's final NBA game.

[edit] (3) Boston Celtics vs. (6) Philadelphia 76ers

Last Playoff Meeting: 1985 Eastern Conference Finals (Boston won 4-1)

This series marked the return of the Celtics to the playoffs for the first time in seven years, and they faced the reigning Eastern Conference champion in the first round. The first two games were played in Boston, where the Celtics won both games resoundingly. The 76ers fought back, however, and with Allen Iverson scoring 42 points the 76ers won Game 3 and stayed alive. In Game 4, Iverson was slowed down, scoring 26 points on just 9-of-26 shooting, and Antoine Walker stepped up for the Celtics, scoring 25. But Iverson's play at the end making a layup, scoring off an Eric Snow steal, and hitting some free throws after Walker drilled a three sealed the victory for the 76ers. This set the stage for a Game 5 in Boston to decide the series. The Celtics had control on this game throughout, but the 76ers kept within striking distance into the 4th quarter. But Boston went on an amazing streak of three-pointers, hitting an NBA playoff record nine of them in the 4th quarter and 19 in the game. Paul Pierce led the way with 46, on 8-10 shooting from downtown, and Boston won in a huge blowout, sending them to the conference semifinals to face second-seed Detroit.

Conference Semifinals[link]

[edit] (1) New Jersey Nets vs. (4) Charlotte Hornets

Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Nets and Hornets.

[edit] (2) Detroit Pistons vs. (3) Boston Celtics

Last Playoff Meeting: 1991 Eastern Conference Semifinals (Detroit won 4-2)

Conference Finals[link]

[edit] (1) New Jersey Nets vs. (3) Boston Celtics

Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Nets and Celtics.

The Nets won game one, but Boston came back to steal game two in New Jersey to send the series back to Boston tied 1-1. In Game 3, the Celtics were down by 21 coming into the 4th quarter, but the Celtics accomplished the biggest comeback in NBA Playoff history as the Celtics outscored the Nets 41-16 in the fourth quarter. The Celtics almost completed another comeback in game four, but the Nets held on for the victory to tie the series at two games apiece. The Nets won games five and six to advance to the team's first of two consecutive NBA Finals.

NBA Finals[link]

[edit] (W3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (E1) New Jersey Nets

Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Lakers and Nets.

This was the third straight NBA Finals appearance for the Lakers, and the first in team history for the Nets. In Game 1, the Nets stayed within striking distance, but Shaquille O'Neal's 36 points and 16 rebounds led the Lakers to victory. In Game 2, the Nets were blown out by 23, with O'Neal leading the way again, putting up 40 points and 12 rebounds and coming within 2 assists of a triple double. This brought the series to New Jersey with the Lakers up 2-0. Game 3 was a close matchup with Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin, O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant all scoring 26 or more points. Bryant and O'Neal's combined 71 points was too much for the Nets to handle though, and the Lakers took a 3-0 series lead. In Game 4, O'Neal put up 34 points and the Lakers won the game and the championship, accomplishing the NBA's first 3-peat since Michael Jordan and the Bulls did so in 1998.

References[link]

External links[link]

• NBA.com's 2002 Playoffs coverage

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[link]

The NBA announced the current revised playoff seeding system on August 3, 2006. 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 another 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:

1. Division winner (this criterion is applied regardless of whether the tied teams are in the same division)
2. Better record in head-to-head games
3. Higher winning percentage within division (if teams are in the same division)
4. Higher winning percentage in conference games
5. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in own conference (including tied teams)
6. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in opposite conference (including tied teams)

Three-Team Tiebreaker:

1. Division winner (this criterion is applied regardless of whether the tied teams are in the same division)
2. Best head-to-head winning percentage among all teams tied
3. Highest winning percentage within division (if all tied teams are in the same division)
4. Highest winning percentage in conference games
5. Highest winning percentage against playoff teams in own conference (including tied teams)
6. 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 all rounds by record regardless of seed.

The most common criticism of the current structure is related to parity of conferences. On numerous occasions, Eastern Conference teams with losing records qualified for the playoffs, while Western Conference teams with significantly better records ended up missing them.

History[link]

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[link]

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.^[1]

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.^[2]

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.^[3] 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.

Timeline[link]

• 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 East's #2 seed is not a division champion.

Records and statistics[link]

• Only five 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). In 2011, the Memphis Grizzlies beat the San Antonio Spurs, 4–2 and in 2012, the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Chicago Bulls 4–2 (in another lockout-shortened season).
• The 1999 Knicks are the only 8th seeded team ever to reach the NBA Finals.
• The 1958-59 Minneapolis Lakers and the 1980-81 Houston Rockets are the only team with a losing record (33-39 and 40-42, respectively) to make it to the NBA Finals. The other 1981 Western Conference Finalist, the Kansas City Kings, also had a 40-42 record
• 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 15 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[link]

External links[link]

• NBA official website
• Playoff Seeding Criteria NBA.com
• NBA Playoffs InsideHoops.com Coverage
• Basketball-Reference.com Index of NBA Playoffs seasons