Every 1981-82 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 1981-82 title from a regular season record of 57-25. 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 | Atlanta Hawks | April 21 to April 23, 1982 |
| First round | Seattle SuperSonics | 2-1 in games | Houston Rockets | April 21 to April 25, 1982 |
| First round | Phoenix Suns | 2-1 in games | Denver Nuggets | April 20 to April 24, 1982 |
| First round | Washington Bullets | 2-0 in games | New Jersey Nets | April 20 to April 23, 1982 |
| Conf. semifinals | Boston Celtics | 4-1 in games | Washington Bullets | April 25 to May 5, 1982 |
| Conf. semifinals | Philadelphia 76ers | 4-2 in games | Milwaukee Bucks | April 25 to May 7, 1982 |
| Conf. semifinals | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-0 in games | Phoenix Suns | April 27 to May 2, 1982 |
| Conf. semifinals | San Antonio Spurs | 4-1 in games | Seattle SuperSonics | April 27 to May 5, 1982 |
| Conf. finals | Philadelphia 76ers | 4-3 in games | Boston Celtics | May 9 to May 23, 1982 |
| Conf. finals | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-0 in games | San Antonio Spurs | May 9 to May 15, 1982 |
| The Finals | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-2 in games | Philadelphia 76ers | May 27 to June 8, 1982 |
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.