Every 1979-80 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 1979-80 title from a regular season record of 60-22. 12 teams reached the playoffs and the bracket ran 4 rounds. Every series below is taken from NBA.com; nothing on this page is estimated.
| Round | Won by | Result | Opponent | Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | Philadelphia 76ers | 2-0 in games | Washington Bullets | April 2 to April 4, 1980 |
| First round | Seattle SuperSonics | 2-1 in games | Portland Trail Blazers | April 2 to April 6, 1980 |
| First round | Phoenix Suns | 2-1 in games | Kansas City Kings | April 2 to April 6, 1980 |
| First round | Houston Rockets | 2-1 in games | San Antonio Spurs | April 2 to April 6, 1980 |
| Conf. semifinals | Boston Celtics | 4-0 in games | Houston Rockets | April 9 to April 14, 1980 |
| Conf. semifinals | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-1 in games | Phoenix Suns | April 8 to April 15, 1980 |
| Conf. semifinals | Philadelphia 76ers | 4-1 in games | Atlanta Hawks | April 6 to April 15, 1980 |
| Conf. semifinals | Seattle SuperSonics | 4-3 in games | Milwaukee Bucks | April 8 to April 20, 1980 |
| Conf. finals | Philadelphia 76ers | 4-1 in games | Boston Celtics | April 18 to April 27, 1980 |
| Conf. finals | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-1 in games | Seattle SuperSonics | April 22 to April 30, 1980 |
| The Finals | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-2 in games | Philadelphia 76ers | May 4 to May 16, 1980 |
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.