Every 2008-09 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 2008-09 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 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 4-0 in games | Detroit Pistons | April 18 to April 26, 2009 |
| First round | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-1 in games | Utah Jazz | April 19 to April 27, 2009 |
| First round | Boston Celtics | 4-3 in games | Chicago Bulls | April 18 to May 2, 2009 |
| First round | Orlando Magic | 4-2 in games | Philadelphia 76ers | April 19 to April 30, 2009 |
| First round | Denver Nuggets | 4-1 in games | New Orleans Hornets | April 19 to April 29, 2009 |
| First round | Houston Rockets | 4-2 in games | Portland Trail Blazers | April 18 to April 30, 2009 |
| First round | Dallas Mavericks | 4-1 in games | San Antonio Spurs | April 18 to April 28, 2009 |
| First round | Atlanta Hawks | 4-3 in games | Miami Heat | April 19 to May 3, 2009 |
| Conf. semifinals | Cleveland Cavaliers | 4-0 in games | Atlanta Hawks | May 5 to May 11, 2009 |
| Conf. semifinals | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-3 in games | Houston Rockets | May 4 to May 17, 2009 |
| Conf. semifinals | Orlando Magic | 4-3 in games | Boston Celtics | May 4 to May 17, 2009 |
| Conf. semifinals | Denver Nuggets | 4-1 in games | Dallas Mavericks | May 3 to May 13, 2009 |
| Conf. finals | Orlando Magic | 4-2 in games | Cleveland Cavaliers | May 20 to May 30, 2009 |
| Conf. finals | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-2 in games | Denver Nuggets | May 19 to May 29, 2009 |
| The Finals | Los Angeles Lakers | 4-1 in games | Orlando Magic | June 4 to June 14, 2009 |
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.