The 2023 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2022–23 season. The playoffs began on April 15 and concluded on June 12 with the Denver Nuggets winning the 2023 NBA Finals.
Overview
Updates to postseason appearances
The Milwaukee Bucks entered the postseason for the seventh consecutive season and also clinched the best record in the NBA for the third time in the last five seasons. The Denver Nuggets entered the postseason for the fifth consecutive season and also clinched the best record in the Western Conference for the first time in franchise history. The Nuggets also entered the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. The Boston Celtics entered the postseason for the ninth consecutive season, currently the longest such streak in the NBA. The Philadelphia 76ers entered the postseason for the sixth consecutive season. The Brooklyn Nets entered the postseason for the fifth consecutive season. The Miami Heat entered the postseason for the fourth consecutive season. The Heat also entered the NBA Finals for the first time since 2020 and the seventh time in franchise history. The Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, and Atlanta Hawks entered the postseason for the third consecutive season. The Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves entered the postseason for the second consecutive season. The New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers, and Los Angeles Lakers entered the postseason for the first time since 2021. The Cleveland Cavaliers entered the postseason for the first time since 2018, and the first time without LeBron James on their roster since 1998. The Sacramento Kings entered the postseason for the first time since 2006, snapping the longest postseason drought in NBA history. The Dallas Mavericks missed the postseason for the first time since 2019. The Utah Jazz missed the postseason for the first time since 2016. The Charlotte Hornets missed the postseason for the seventh consecutive season, currently the longest active postseason drought in the NBA.
Notable occurrences
For the first time since the 2000–01 season, no team won at least 60 games in an 82-game regular season. This season marked the first time since the 2004–05 season that two of the league's top three scorers (Luka Dončić and Damian Lillard) failed to reach the playoffs. All three Texas teams (Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio) missed the playoffs in the same season for the first time since the Mavericks formed in 1980. This also marked the first time since 1976 that Texas did not appear in the playoffs. All four California teams (Golden State, LA Clippers, LA Lakers, and Sacramento) made the playoffs in the same season for the first time since the Kings relocated to Sacramento in 1985. All five teams from the Pacific Division qualified for the playoffs, marking the third instance every team in a division qualified for the playoffs since the NBA adopted the current six division format in 2004–05. Previously, all five teams from the Central Division during the 2005–06 season and the Southwest Division during the 2014–15 season qualified for the playoffs. A No. 10 seed advanced to the second stage of the play-in tournament for the first time since the implementation of the Page–McIntyre system in 2021. The Miami Heat became the first team since the 2001 Indiana Pacers to drop from a No. 1 seed in the playoffs to a No. 8 seed the following year.