Every 2020-21 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.
Milwaukee Bucks won the 2020-21 title from a regular season record of 46-26. 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 | Utah Jazz | 4-1 in games | Memphis Grizzlies | May 23 to June 2, 2021 |
| First round | Phoenix Suns | 4-2 in games | Los Angeles Lakers | May 23 to June 3, 2021 |
| First round | Philadelphia 76ers | 4-1 in games | Washington Wizards | May 23 to June 2, 2021 |
| First round | Brooklyn Nets | 4-1 in games | Boston Celtics | May 22 to June 1, 2021 |
| First round | Denver Nuggets | 4-2 in games | Portland Trail Blazers | May 22 to June 3, 2021 |
| First round | LA Clippers | 4-3 in games | Dallas Mavericks | May 22 to June 6, 2021 |
| First round | Milwaukee Bucks | 4-0 in games | Miami Heat | May 22 to May 29, 2021 |
| First round | Atlanta Hawks | 4-1 in games | New York Knicks | May 23 to June 2, 2021 |
| Conf. semifinals | LA Clippers | 4-2 in games | Utah Jazz | June 8 to June 18, 2021 |
| Conf. semifinals | Phoenix Suns | 4-0 in games | Denver Nuggets | June 7 to June 13, 2021 |
| Conf. semifinals | Atlanta Hawks | 4-3 in games | Philadelphia 76ers | June 6 to June 20, 2021 |
| Conf. semifinals | Milwaukee Bucks | 4-3 in games | Brooklyn Nets | June 5 to June 19, 2021 |
| Conf. finals | Phoenix Suns | 4-2 in games | LA Clippers | June 20 to June 30, 2021 |
| Conf. finals | Milwaukee Bucks | 4-2 in games | Atlanta Hawks | June 23 to July 3, 2021 |
| The Finals | Milwaukee Bucks | 4-2 in games | Phoenix Suns | July 6 to July 20, 2021 |
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.