Every 1986-87 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 1986-87 title from a regular season record of 65-17. 16 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 | Los Angeles Lakers | 3-0 in games | Denver Nuggets | April 23 to April 29, 1987 |
| First round | Boston Celtics | 3-0 in games | Chicago Bulls | April 23 to April 28, 1987 |
| First round | Atlanta Hawks | 3-1 in games | Indiana Pacers | April 24 to May 1, 1987 |
| First round | Seattle SuperSonics | 3-1 in games | Dallas Mavericks | April 23 to April 30, 1987 |
| First round | Detroit Pistons | 3-0 in games | Washington Bullets | April 24 to April 29, 1987 |
| First round | Milwaukee Bucks | 3-2 in games | Philadelphia 76ers | April 24 to May 3, 1987 |
| First round | Houston Rockets | 3-1 in games | Portland Trail Blazers | April 24 to April 30, 1987 |
| First round | Golden State Warriors | 3-2 in games | Utah Jazz | April 23 to May 3, 1987 |
| Conf. semifinals | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-1 in games | Golden State Warriors | May 5 to May 12, 1987 |
| Conf. semifinals | Boston Celtics | 4-3 in games | Milwaukee Bucks | May 5 to May 17, 1987 |
| Conf. semifinals | Detroit Pistons | 4-1 in games | Atlanta Hawks | May 3 to May 13, 1987 |
| Conf. semifinals | Seattle SuperSonics | 4-2 in games | Houston Rockets | May 2 to May 14, 1987 |
| Conf. finals | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-0 in games | Seattle SuperSonics | May 16 to May 25, 1987 |
| Conf. finals | Boston Celtics | 4-3 in games | Detroit Pistons | May 19 to May 30, 1987 |
| The Finals | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-2 in games | Boston Celtics | June 2 to June 14, 1987 |
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.