Every 1988-89 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.
Detroit Pistons won the 1988-89 title from a regular season record of 63-19. 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 | Detroit Pistons | 3-0 in games | Boston Celtics | April 28 to May 2, 1989 |
| First round | Chicago Bulls | 3-2 in games | Cleveland Cavaliers | April 28 to May 7, 1989 |
| First round | Los Angeles Lakers | 3-0 in games | Portland Trail Blazers | April 27 to May 3, 1989 |
| First round | Phoenix Suns | 3-0 in games | Denver Nuggets | April 28 to May 2, 1989 |
| First round | Milwaukee Bucks | 3-2 in games | Atlanta Hawks | April 27 to May 7, 1989 |
| First round | New York Knicks | 3-0 in games | Philadelphia 76ers | April 27 to May 2, 1989 |
| First round | Golden State Warriors | 3-0 in games | Utah Jazz | April 27 to May 2, 1989 |
| First round | Seattle SuperSonics | 3-1 in games | Houston Rockets | April 28 to May 5, 1989 |
| Conf. semifinals | Detroit Pistons | 4-0 in games | Milwaukee Bucks | May 10 to May 15, 1989 |
| Conf. semifinals | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-0 in games | Seattle SuperSonics | May 7 to May 14, 1989 |
| Conf. semifinals | Phoenix Suns | 4-1 in games | Golden State Warriors | May 6 to May 16, 1989 |
| Conf. semifinals | Chicago Bulls | 4-2 in games | New York Knicks | May 9 to May 19, 1989 |
| Conf. finals | Detroit Pistons | 4-2 in games | Chicago Bulls | May 21 to June 2, 1989 |
| Conf. finals | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-0 in games | Phoenix Suns | May 20 to May 28, 1989 |
| The Finals | Detroit Pistons | 4-0 in games | Los Angeles Lakers | June 6 to June 13, 1989 |
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.