Every 1971-72 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.
Los Angeles Lakers won the 1971-72 title from a regular season record of 69-13. 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conf. semifinals | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-0 in games | Chicago Bulls | March 28 to April 4, 1972 |
| Conf. semifinals | Milwaukee Bucks | 4-1 in games | Golden State Warriors | March 28 to April 6, 1972 |
| Conf. semifinals | Boston Celtics | 4-2 in games | Atlanta Hawks | March 29 to April 9, 1972 |
| Conf. semifinals | New York Knicks | 4-2 in games | Baltimore Bullets | March 31 to April 11, 1972 |
| Conf. finals | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-2 in games | Milwaukee Bucks | April 9 to April 22, 1972 |
| Conf. finals | New York Knicks | 4-1 in games | Boston Celtics | April 13 to April 23, 1972 |
| The Finals | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-1 in games | New York Knicks | April 26 to May 7, 1972 |
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.