2016 NBA playoffs

Overview

Western Conference

• The Golden State Warriors entered the playoffs with the best regular-season record in NBA history. The Warriors won 73 games, breaking the previous record of 72 wins set by the Chicago Bulls in the 1995–96 season. Golden State appeared in their fourth consecutive postseason for the first time since making six straight appearances from 1947 to 1952. However, they lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
• The Oklahoma City Thunder returned to the postseason after a one-season absence.
• The San Antonio Spurs finished just six games behind the Warriors for the best record in the NBA, entering their 19th consecutive postseason, having just one home loss in the regular season, setting a new single-season franchise record for wins. The Spurs' 40–1 home record equaled the feat set by the 1985–86 Boston Celtics. However, they lost in the Conference Semifinals to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

  Eastern Conference

• The Cleveland Cavaliers earned the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2010, the final season of LeBron James' first stint with the Cavaliers.
• The Toronto Raptors also finished with a franchise record for single-season victories, winning 56 games. They finished one game shy of the Cleveland Cavaliers for the best record in the Eastern Conference. However, they lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Conference Finals.
• The Detroit Pistons qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2009.
• The Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets, and Indiana Pacers returned to the playoffs after a one-season absence.
• For the first time since 1999, all teams from the Eastern Conference finished with a better record against at least one team from the Western Conference. In addition, all Eastern Conference teams finished with records over.500 for the first time since 2012.

  First Round

• Game 4 between the Cavaliers and the Pistons was the last playoff game played at the Palace of Auburn Hills, as well as the last major league postseason game played in Oakland County. The Pistons missed the playoffs the next year and moved to their new arena for the 2017–18 season.
• Game 7 between the Raptors and Pacers and the Heat and Hornets ensured a 17th straight postseason in which at least one Game 7 was played; 1999 was the last postseason to not feature a Game 7.
• With their Game 7 win over the Pacers, the Raptors won their first playoff series since 2001.

  Conference Semifinals

• With their Conference Semifinals victory over the Atlanta Hawks, the Cleveland Cavaliers became the fifth team to go 8–0 through the first two rounds and the first to do it twice; they first did so in 2009. This also marked the sixth consecutive year that LeBron James played in the Eastern Conference finals. James played in the Conference finals with the Miami Heat from 2011 to 2014, and with the Cavaliers in 2015.
• With their Game 6 victory over the San Antonio Spurs, the Oklahoma City Thunder made the Western Conference Finals for the third time in five seasons.
• Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat marked the first time since 2001 that two teams that played a Game 7 in the previous round of the playoffs faced off against each other in another Game 7 in the next round.
• With their Game 7 win over the Miami Heat, the Toronto Raptors advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in their history. This meant they also became the first Canadian–based and non–U.S. team to do so.

  Conference Finals

• For the first time since 2010, no Texas team was represented in the Western Conference finals.
• Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Toronto Raptors and the Cleveland Cavaliers was Toronto's first ever Eastern Conference finals win.
• Game 4 of the Western Conference finals marked the first time that the Golden State Warriors had lost consecutive games during the season.
• With their Eastern Conference Finals victory over the Toronto Raptors, the Cleveland Cavaliers became the first team in NBA history to go 8–0 in the first two rounds, and qualify to play in the NBA Finals. This also marked the sixth consecutive NBA Finals appearance for LeBron James. He became the first player since the 1960s to accomplish this feat.
• The Western Conference finals went to a Game 7 for the first time since 2002, when the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Sacramento Kings in overtime.
• With their 96–88 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals, the Golden State Warriors became the tenth team in NBA History to come back from a 3–1 series deficit in the playoffs. As a result, this marked the second consecutive season an NBA team rallied from a 3–1 series deficit to win the series. The Warriors also became the first team to accomplish this feat in the Conference finals since the 1981 Boston Celtics.

  NBA Finals

• With their 104–89 and 110–77 wins over Cleveland in Game 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals, the Warriors posted the highest winning margin in the first two games in the NBA Finals with an +48 point differential.
• Thanks to the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 120–90 Game 3 victory, the Golden State Warriors lost every Game 3 of their 2016 playoff run.
• Draymond Green became the first NBA player to be suspended for an NBA Finals game since Jerry Stackhouse in 2006. He was suspended for Game 5, due to incurring excessive flagrant foul points in Game 4.
• In Game 5, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving became the first pair to each record 40+ points in a single NBA Finals game in history, helping the Cavaliers win 112–97.
• In Game 6, Stephen Curry, the unanimous MVP of the regular season, was ejected for throwing a mouthpiece in the fourth quarter. His Golden State Warriors would go on to lose 101–115.
• The NBA Finals went to a Game 7 for the first time since 2013, when the Miami Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs 95–88.
• Game 7 of the NBA Finals marked the first time that the Golden State Warriors had lost three consecutive games during the season, and the first time that they had lost consecutive home games during the season.

  Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals

• Game 7 of the NBA Finals was extremely notable for The Block, in which LeBron James blocked a layup by Andre Iguodala to keep the score tied at 89. This block, along with Kyrie Irving's title winning three pointer would seal the win for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
• With the win, the Cleveland Cavaliers became the first team to win Game 7 of the NBA Finals on the road since the 1978 Washington Bullets accomplished the feat against the Seattle SuperSonics. They also became the first team overall to win a Game 7 on the road since the Brooklyn Nets.
• With the loss, the Golden State Warriors became the first team to overcome a 3–1 series deficit and blow a 3–1 series lead in the same playoffs. They also became the first team in NBA History to win 70+ regular season games and fail to win the NBA Championship.
• The Cavaliers became the 11th team to overcome a 3–1 series deficit and the first to do so in the NBA Finals. It is also the first time in playoff history two NBA teams rallied from a 3–1 deficit in the same year. They also clinched Cleveland's first major sports title since 1964, effectively ending the Cleveland sports curse.
• The Cleveland Cavaliers became the first team since the 2006 Miami Heat to win an NBA Championship despite a midseason coaching change and despite trailing 2–0.
• The title the Cleveland Cavaliers won was clinched on Father's Day for the fourth time in NBA history. It also marked the first time since 2014 that when both teams made back-to-back Finals appearances, the team that lost in the Finals the year before won the title the next year.
• * The Cleveland Cavaliers became the third team to clinch an NBA title on Father's Day. The other two teams were the Chicago Bulls and the San Antonio Spurs.

  Format

Seeding