Every 1989-90 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 1989-90 title from a regular season record of 59-23. 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 | 3-1 in games | Houston Rockets | April 27 to May 3, 1990 |
| First round | Detroit Pistons | 3-0 in games | Indiana Pacers | April 26 to May 1, 1990 |
| First round | Portland Trail Blazers | 3-0 in games | Dallas Mavericks | April 26 to May 1, 1990 |
| First round | San Antonio Spurs | 3-0 in games | Denver Nuggets | April 26 to May 1, 1990 |
| First round | Chicago Bulls | 3-1 in games | Milwaukee Bucks | April 27 to May 3, 1990 |
| First round | Phoenix Suns | 3-2 in games | Utah Jazz | April 27 to May 6, 1990 |
| First round | Philadelphia 76ers | 3-2 in games | Cleveland Cavaliers | April 26 to May 5, 1990 |
| First round | New York Knicks | 3-2 in games | Boston Celtics | April 26 to May 6, 1990 |
| Conf. semifinals | Phoenix Suns | 4-1 in games | Los Angeles Lakers | May 8 to May 15, 1990 |
| Conf. semifinals | Detroit Pistons | 4-1 in games | New York Knicks | May 8 to May 15, 1990 |
| Conf. semifinals | Portland Trail Blazers | 4-3 in games | San Antonio Spurs | May 5 to May 19, 1990 |
| Conf. semifinals | Chicago Bulls | 4-1 in games | Philadelphia 76ers | May 7 to May 16, 1990 |
| Conf. finals | Detroit Pistons | 4-3 in games | Chicago Bulls | May 20 to June 3, 1990 |
| Conf. finals | Portland Trail Blazers | 4-2 in games | Phoenix Suns | May 21 to May 31, 1990 |
| The Finals | Detroit Pistons | 4-1 in games | Portland Trail Blazers | June 5 to June 14, 1990 |
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.