Every 2004-05 NBA playoff series, three ways: the season race carried on into the postseason, who beat their seeding, and the bracket.
Loading playoff data…
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.
San Antonio Spurs won the 2004-05 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 | Phoenix Suns | 4-0 in games | Memphis Grizzlies | April 24 to May 1, 2005 |
| First round | Miami Heat | 4-0 in games | New Jersey Nets | April 24 to May 1, 2005 |
| First round | San Antonio Spurs | 4-1 in games | Denver Nuggets | April 24 to May 4, 2005 |
| First round | Dallas Mavericks | 4-3 in games | Houston Rockets | April 23 to May 7, 2005 |
| First round | Detroit Pistons | 4-1 in games | Philadelphia 76ers | April 23 to May 3, 2005 |
| First round | Seattle SuperSonics | 4-1 in games | Sacramento Kings | April 23 to May 3, 2005 |
| First round | Washington Wizards | 4-2 in games | Chicago Bulls | April 24 to May 6, 2005 |
| First round | Indiana Pacers | 4-3 in games | Boston Celtics | April 23 to May 7, 2005 |
| Conf. semifinals | Phoenix Suns | 4-2 in games | Dallas Mavericks | May 9 to May 20, 2005 |
| Conf. semifinals | Miami Heat | 4-0 in games | Washington Wizards | May 8 to May 14, 2005 |
| Conf. semifinals | San Antonio Spurs | 4-2 in games | Seattle SuperSonics | May 8 to May 19, 2005 |
| Conf. semifinals | Detroit Pistons | 4-2 in games | Indiana Pacers | May 9 to May 19, 2005 |
| Conf. finals | San Antonio Spurs | 4-1 in games | Phoenix Suns | May 22 to June 1, 2005 |
| Conf. finals | Detroit Pistons | 4-3 in games | Miami Heat | May 23 to June 6, 2005 |
| The Finals | San Antonio Spurs | 4-3 in games | Detroit Pistons | June 9 to June 23, 2005 |
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.