| Dates | August 17–October 13, 2020 |
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The 2020 NBA playoffs will be the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2019–20 season. The playoffs were originally scheduled to begin on April 18. However, the league suspended the season on March 11, 2020, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic after players tested positive for COVID-19.[1]
On June 4, 2020, the NBA Board of Governors approved a plan to restart the season on July 31, 2020;[2] this proposal was then approved by members of the National Basketball Players Association on June 5. Under this plan, the 22 top teams in the league at the time of the suspension will play eight additional regular season games to determine playoff seeding, and 16 of those clubs will then play in a conventional postseason tournament. However, should the ninth seed within a conference finishes the regular season within four games of the eighth seed, they will then compete in a play-in tournament.[3]
After the NBA suspended its season on March 11, 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the league started to explore implementing a special postseason format just for this year.[4]
On June 4, 2020, the NBA Board of Governors approved a plan to restart the season on July 31, 2020, with 22 of the 30 teams in the league, all clubs within six games of a playoff spot. Under this plan, the 22 teams will play eight regular-season "seeding" games. A possible best-of-three play-in series for the final seed in each conference would then be held if the ninth seed finishes the regular season within four games of the eighth seed. The eighth seed would start with a de facto 1-0 lead, meaning that it would need just one win to advance, while the ninth seed would need two. The NBA's regular playoff format would then proceed as normal. All games would be played at the ESPN Wide World of Sports ComplexinWalt Disney World.[2]
Under the NBA's regular playoff format, the eight teams with the most wins in each conference qualify for the playoffs. The seedings are based on each team's record. Each conference's bracket is fixed; there is no reseeding. All rounds are best-of-seven series; the series ends when one team wins four games, and that team advances to the next round. All rounds, including the NBA Finals, are in a 2–2–1–1–1 format. In the conference playoffs, home court advantage goes to the higher-seeded team (number one being the highest). Seeding is based on each team's regular season record within a conference; if two teams have the same record, standard tiebreaker rules are used. Conference seedings are ignored for the NBA Finals: Home court advantage goes to the team with the better regular season record, and, if needed, ties are broken based on head to head record, followed by intra-conference record.
On February 23, 2020, the Milwaukee Bucks became the first team to clinch a playoff spot.[5] The Toronto Raptors,[6] Los Angeles Lakers,[7] and Boston Celtics[8] subsequently clinched playoff berths before the season was suspended on March 11.[4]
| † | Denotes team that clinched a playoff berth prior to the March 11 suspension of the season |
| * | Denotes team that automatically clinched a playoff berth based on the June approval of the 22-team plan to resume the season |
| Seed | Team | Record | Clinched | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playoff berth | Division title | Best record in conference |
Best record in NBA | |||
| 1 | Milwaukee Bucks | 53–12 | February 23†[5] | — | — | — |
| 2 | Toronto Raptors | 46–18 | March 5†[6] | — | — | — |
| 3 | Boston Celtics | 43–21 | March 10†[8] | — | — | — |
| 4 | Miami Heat | 41–24 | June 4*[2] | — | — | — |
| 5 | Indiana Pacers | 39–26 | June 4*[2] | — | — | — |
| 6 | Philadelphia 76ers | 39–26 | June 4*[2] | — | — | — |
| 7 | Brooklyn Nets | 30–34 | — | — | — | — |
| 8 | Orlando Magic | 30–35 | — | — | — | — |
| Seed | Team | Record | Clinched | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playoff berth | Division title | Best record in conference |
Best record in NBA | |||
| 1 | Los Angeles Lakers | 49–14 | March 6†[7] | — | — | — |
| 2 | Los Angeles Clippers | 44–20 | June 4*[2] | — | — | — |
| 3 | Denver Nuggets | 43–22 | June 4*[2] | — | — | — |
| 4 | Utah Jazz | 41–23 | June 4*[2] | — | — | — |
| 5 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 40–24 | June 4*[2] | — | — | — |
| 6 | Houston Rockets | 40–24 | June 4*[2] | — | — | — |
| 7 | Dallas Mavericks | 40–27 | — | — | — | — |
| 8 | Memphis Grizzlies | 32–33 | — | — | — | — |
ESPN, TNT, ABC, and NBA TV are set to telecast the playoffs nationally in the United States. During the first two rounds, games will be split between TNT, ESPN, and ABC regardless of conference. NBA TV will also televise selected games in the first round. Regional sports networks affiliated with the teams could also broadcast the games, except for games televised on ABC. The Western Conference Finals will be televised on TNT, while ESPN will televise the Eastern Conference Finals. ABC have exclusive television rights to the 2020 NBA Finals, which would be the 18th consecutive year for the network.
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2019–20 NBA season by team
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