Every 1961-62 NBA playoff series, three ways: the season race carried on into the postseason, who beat their seeding, and the bracket.
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The same race these clubs ran all season, carried on through the postseason on one scale and on real dates.
Where each club finished the season against how far it went, ranked on record rather than seed.
Who played whom, round by round, which no line chart can say.
Boston Celtics won the 1961-62 title from a regular season record of 60-20. 6 teams reached the playoffs and the bracket ran 3 rounds. Every series below is taken from NBA.com; nothing on this page is estimated.
| Round | Won by | Result | Opponent | Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | Philadelphia Warriors | 3-2 in games | Syracuse Nationals | March 16 to March 22, 1962 |
| First round | Detroit Pistons | 3-1 in games | Cincinnati Royals | March 16 to March 20, 1962 |
| Semifinals | Boston Celtics | 4-3 in games | Philadelphia Warriors | March 24 to April 5, 1962 |
| Semifinals | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-2 in games | Detroit Pistons | March 24 to April 3, 1962 |
| The Finals | Boston Celtics | 4-3 in games | Los Angeles Lakers | April 7 to April 18, 1962 |
The left column ranks this field by regular season record, not by seed number: seeding rules differ by era, so this site uses records everywhere instead. The right column groups clubs by the round they went out in, which is not the same as the number of rounds they won, because a bye carries a club further without it winning anything. The figure beside a name is places moved between the two columns, and part of it is only where a club sat inside its band. Nothing here is a prediction. The data notes carry the whole method.