2000 NBA playoffs
The 2000 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1999-2000 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers 4 games to 2. Shaquille O'Neal was named NBA Finals MVP.
The San Antonio Spurs were the champions going into the playoffs, but were eliminated by the Phoenix Suns in the first round, marking the first time since 1987 that a title-winning team did not repeat. They were also the first defending champion to be eliminated in the first round since the Philadelphia 76ers in 1984.
The Lakers' win was the first title for Shaq and Kobe Bryant, both considered future first-ballot Hall of Famers, and first in the post-Magic Johnson-Kareem Abdul-Jabbar-James Worthy era. A. C. Green, the only player left from the Lakers' Showtime era, was in the starting lineup for this team as well. These playoffs are also noted for the Game 7 collapse of the Portland Trail Blazers.
For the Pacers, it was their first Eastern Conference title after four previous appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals; however, after this season, the team was radically altered with key players Rik Smits, Dale Davis, Derrick McKey and Mark Jackson moving to other teams (or in Smits' case, retiring). Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals was the last game Patrick Ewing ever played as a Knick.
The Trail Blazers defeated the Timberwolves and the Jazz in the first two rounds before falling to the Lakers in the conference final. The Trail Blazers would not win another playoff series until 2014.
This season's playoffs also marked the debut of the 5-year-old expansion Toronto Raptors. For the 3rd straight year, New York eliminated Miami.
Playoff qualifying
Eastern Conference
The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the East:
- Indiana Pacers (56–26, clinched Central division and home court advantage for the Eastern Conference playoffs)
- Miami Heat (52–30, clinched Atlantic division)
- New York Knicks (50–32)
- Charlotte Hornets (49–33)
- Philadelphia 76ers (49–33)
- Toronto Raptors (45–37)
- Detroit Pistons (42–40)
- Milwaukee Bucks (42–40)
Western Conference
The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the West:
- Los Angeles Lakers (67–15, clinched Pacific division title and home court advantage throughout the playoffs)
- Utah Jazz (55–27, clinched Midwest division)
- Portland Trail Blazers (59–23)
- San Antonio Spurs (53–29)
- Phoenix Suns (53–29)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (50–32)
- Seattle SuperSonics (45–37)
- Sacramento Kings (44–38)
Bracket
This was the outlook for the playoffs. Teams in italics have home court advantage. Teams in bold advance to the next round. Numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's original playoffs seeding in their respective conferences. Numbers to the right of each team indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions possess an asterisk (*)
| First Round | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | L.A. Lakers | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Sacramento | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | L.A. Lakers | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Phoenix | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | San Antonio | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Phoenix | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | L.A. Lakers | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Portland | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Portland | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Minnesota | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Portland | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Utah | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Utah | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Seattle | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | L.A. Lakers | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Indiana | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Indiana | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Milwaukee | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Indiana | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Philadelphia | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Charlotte | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Philadelphia | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Indiana | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | New York | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | New York | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Toronto | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | New York | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Miami | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Miami | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Detroit | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
Western Conference
First Round
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (8) Sacramento Kings
Last Playoff Meeting: 1984 Western Conference First Round (Los Angeles won 3-0; Kings were in Kansas City, Missouri)
(3) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (6) Minnesota Timberwolves
Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first playoff meeting between the Timberwolves and Trail Blazers.
(2) Utah Jazz vs. (7) Seattle SuperSonics
Last Playoff Meeting: 1996 Western Conference Finals (Seattle won 4-3)
(4) San Antonio Spurs vs. (5) Phoenix Suns
Last Playoff Meeting: 1998 Western Conference First Round (San Antonio won 3-1)
Conference Semifinals
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Phoenix Suns
Last Playoff Meeting: 1993 Western Conference First Round (Phoenix won 3-2)
- Kobe Bryant hits the game-winner with 2.6 seconds left in Game 2.
(2) Utah Jazz vs. (3) Portland Trail Blazers
Last Playoff Meeting: 1999 Western Conference Semifinals (Portland won 4-2)
Conference Finals
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Portland Trail Blazers
Last Playoff Meeting: 1998 Western Conference First Round (Los Angeles won 3-1)
- In Game 3, Arvydas Sabonis' potential game-tying shot was blocked by Kobe Bryant.
- In Game 7, the Lakers overcame a 15-point deficit (75-60) and sealed the victory with Kobe Bryant delivering an alley-oop to Shaquille O'Neal.
Eastern Conference
First Round
(1) Indiana Pacers vs. (8) Milwaukee Bucks
Last Playoff Meeting: 1999 Eastern Conference First Round (Indiana won 3-0)
(4) Charlotte Hornets vs. (5) Philadelphia 76ers
Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first playoff meeting between the 76ers and the Charlotte Hornets.
(3) New York Knicks vs. (6) Toronto Raptors
Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first playoff meeting between the Raptors and Knicks.
(2) Miami Heat vs. (7) Detroit Pistons
Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first playoff meeting between the Pistons and Heat.
Conference Semifinals
(1) Indiana Pacers vs. (5) Philadelphia 76ers
Last Playoff Meeting: 1999 Eastern Conference Semifinals (Indiana won 4-0)
Jalen Rose and Reggie Miller both scored 40 points to lead the Pacers to the series-opening victory.
(2) Miami Heat vs. (3) New York Knicks
Last Playoff Meeting: 1999 Eastern Conference First Round (New York won 3-2)
Conference Finals
(1) Indiana Pacers vs. (3) New York Knicks
Last Playoff Meeting: 1999 Eastern Conference Finals (New York won 4-2)