2005–06 NBA season

2005–06 NBA season
League	National Basketball Association
Sport	Basketball
Duration	November 1, 2005 – April 19, 2006 April 22 – June 3, 2006 (Playoffs) June 8 – 20, 2006 (Finals)
Number of games	82
Number of teams	30
TV partner(s)	ABC, TNT, ESPN, NBA TV
Draft
Top draft pick	Andrew Bogut
Picked by	Milwaukee Bucks
Regular season
Top seed	Detroit Pistons
Season MVP	Steve Nash (Phoenix)
Top scorer	Kobe Bryant (L.A. Lakers)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Miami Heat
Eastern runners-up	Detroit Pistons
Western champions	Dallas Mavericks
Western runners-up	Phoenix Suns
Finals
Champions	Miami Heat
Runners-up	Dallas Mavericks
Finals MVP	Dwyane Wade (Miami)

The 2005–06 NBA season was the 60th season of the National Basketball Association. The Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, four games to two.

Notable occurrences

• A new league dress code was put into effect at the beginning of the year by commissioner David Stern.
• The Miami Heat win their first NBA championship in franchise history. They become the third franchise (joining the 1969 Boston Celtics and 1977 Portland Trail Blazers, later joined by the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers) to win the NBA Finals after losing the first two games. They are also the first of the four 1988/89 expansion franchises to win a championship.
• The All-Star Game was played on February 19, 2006 at the Toyota Center in Houston with the East beating the West 122–120. LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers won the game's MVP honors.
• This season marked the first season of the Charlotte Bobcats in their new arena in downtown Charlotte.
• Due to the damages caused by Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Hornets played 32 regular season games in the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, 6 games at LSU's Pete Maravich Assembly Center, and just 3 games at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans in March. Due to the split, the team was officially referred to as the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets.
• This season marked the first under the NBA's new Collective Bargaining Agreement, agreed upon by the owners and the player union on June 21.
• The season was marked by the 30th anniversary of the absorption of four American Basketball Association members into the league: The Indiana Pacers, the New Jersey Nets, the Denver Nuggets and the San Antonio Spurs all joined in 1976.
• On January 22, 2006, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant scored 81 points in a game against the Toronto Raptors. This was the second-highest single game scoring total in league history, second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in 1962.
• Scottie Pippen (Bulls), Karl Malone (Jazz), and Reggie Miller (Pacers) had their numbers retired by their respective franchises.
• The NBA held the Hardwood Classics program for the fifth straight season. The Bulls, Rockets, Clippers, Grizzlies, Heat, Nets, Knicks, Magic, Suns, Sonics, and Wizards all took part by wearing throwback jerseys for select games.
• On the last day of the regular season, Ray Allen broke the single season record for most three-pointers, at 269.
• The NBA Finals was jokingly referred to as the "American Airlines" series since both competing teams played in an arena sponsored by the same airline. The Miami Heat play their games at American Airlines Arena while the Dallas Mavericks reside in the American Airlines Center.
• All five teams in the Central Division made the playoffs, marking the first time all teams in a division made the playoffs since the entire Midwest Division made it 20 years before.
• The Los Angeles Clippers made it back to the playoffs for the first time since 1997 and won their first playoff series since 1976 when they were still known as the Buffalo Braves.
• The Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves sport a patch in their warmups in memory of Hall of Fame player George Mikan, who died June 1, 2005 at the age of 80.
• On June 20, 2006, the Miami Heat clinched the NBA Finals, with Wade being the Finals MVP, averaging the third highest points per game in finals history, at 34.7, the highest points per a four-game stretch in finals history, at 39.3, and the highest PER in finals history, at 33.8.

Coaching changes

Offseason
Team	2004–05 coach	2005–06 coach
Cleveland Cavaliers	Brendan Malone	Mike Brown
Detroit Pistons	Larry Brown	Flip Saunders
Los Angeles Lakers	Rudy Tomjanovich	Phil Jackson
Milwaukee Bucks	Terry Porter	Terry Stotts
Minnesota Timberwolves	Kevin McHale	Dwane Casey
New York Knicks	Herb Williams	Larry Brown
Orlando Magic	Chris Jent	Brian Hill
Philadelphia 76ers	Jim O'Brien	Maurice Cheeks
Portland Trail Blazers	Kevin Pritchard	Nate McMillan
Seattle SuperSonics	Nate McMillan	Bob Weiss
In-season
Team	Outgoing coach	Incoming coach
Miami Heat	Stan Van Gundy	Pat Riley
Seattle SuperSonics	Bob Weiss	Bob Hill

Final standings

By division

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-New Jersey Nets	49	33	.598	-	29–12	20–21	10–6
Philadelphia 76ers	38	44	.463	11	23–18	15–26	10–6
Boston Celtics	33	49	.402	16	21–20	12–29	10–6
Toronto Raptors	27	55	.329	22	15–26	12–29	6–10
New York Knicks	23	59	.280	26	15–26	8–33	4–12

Central Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Detroit Pistons	64	18	.780	-	37–4	27–14	13–3
x-Cleveland Cavaliers	50	32	.610	14	31–10	19–22	11–5
x-Indiana Pacers	41	41	.500	23	27–14	14–27	6–10
x-Chicago Bulls	41	41	.500	23	21–20	20–21	4–12
x-Milwaukee Bucks	40	42	.488	24	25–16	15–26	6–10

Southeast Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Miami Heat	52	30	.634	-	31–10	21–20	13–3
x-Washington Wizards	42	40	.512	10	27–14	15–26	8–8
Orlando Magic	36	46	.439	16	26–15	10–31	9–7
Charlotte Bobcats	26	56	.317	26	17–24	9–32	5–11
Atlanta Hawks	26	56	.317	26	18–23	8–33	5–11

Western Conference

Northwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Denver Nuggets	44	38	.537	-	26–15	18–23	10–6
Utah Jazz	41	41	.500	3	22–19	19–22	11–5
Seattle SuperSonics	35	47	.427	9	22–19	13–28	10–6
Minnesota Timberwolves	33	49	.402	11	24–17	9–32	6–10
Portland Trail Blazers	21	61	.256	23	15–26	6–35	3–13

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Phoenix Suns	54	28	.659	-	31–10	23–18	10–6
x-Los Angeles Clippers	47	35	.573	7	27–14	20–21	7–9
x-Los Angeles Lakers	45	37	.549	9	27–14	18–23	9–7
x-Sacramento Kings	44	38	.537	10	27–14	17–24	10–6
Golden State Warriors	34	48	.415	20	21–20	13–28	4–12

Southwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-San Antonio Spurs	63	19	.768	-	34–7	29–12	13–3
x-Dallas Mavericks	60	22	.732	3	34–7	26–15	13–3
x-Memphis Grizzlies	49	33	.598	14	30–11	19–22	6–10
New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets	38	44	.463	25	24–17	14–27	7–9
Houston Rockets	34	48	.415	29	15–26	19–22	1–15

By conference

Eastern Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Detroit Pistons	64	18	.780	-
2	y-Miami Heat	52	30	.634	12
3	y-New Jersey Nets	49	33	.598	15
4	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	50	32	.610	14
5	x-Washington Wizards	42	40	.512	22
6	x-Indiana Pacers	41	41	.500	23
7	x-Chicago Bulls	41	41	.500	23
8	x-Milwaukee Bucks	40	42	.488	24
9	Philadelphia 76ers	38	44	.463	26
10	Orlando Magic	36	46	.439	28
11	Boston Celtics	33	49	.402	31
12	Toronto Raptors	27	55	.329	37
13	Charlotte Bobcats	26	56	.317	38
14	Atlanta Hawks	26	56	.317	38
15	New York Knicks	23	59	.280	41

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-San Antonio Spurs	63	19	.768	-
2	y-Phoenix Suns	54	28	.659	9
3	y-Denver Nuggets	44	38	.537	19
4	x-Dallas Mavericks	60	22	.732	3
5	x-Memphis Grizzlies	49	33	.598	14
6	x-Los Angeles Clippers	47	35	.573	16
7	x-Los Angeles Lakers	45	37	.549	18
8	x-Sacramento Kings	44	38	.537	19
9	Utah Jazz	41	41	.500	22
10	New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets	38	44	.463	25
11	Seattle SuperSonics	35	47	.427	28
12	Golden State Warriors	34	48	.415	29
13	Houston Rockets	34	48	.415	29
14	Minnesota Timberwolves	33	49	.402	30
15	Portland Trail Blazers	21	61	.256	42

Notes

• z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
• c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
• x – Clinched playoff spot
• y – Clinched division title

Playoffs

Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Home court advantage does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics.

Main article: 2006 NBA Playoffs

Statistics leaders

Category	Player	Team	Stat
Points per game	Kobe Bryant	Los Angeles Lakers	35.4
Rebounds per game	Kevin Garnett	Minnesota Timberwolves	12.7
Assists per game	Steve Nash	Phoenix Suns	10.5
Steals per game	Gerald Wallace	Charlotte Bobcats	2.51
Blocks per game	Marcus Camby	Denver Nuggets	3.29
FG%	Shaquille O'Neal	Miami Heat	.600
FT%	Steve Nash	Phoenix Suns	.921
3FG%	Richard Hamilton	Detroit Pistons	.458

Awards

Yearly awards

• Most Valuable Player: Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns
• Defensive Player of the Year: Ben Wallace, Detroit Pistons
• Rookie of the Year: Chris Paul, New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
• Sixth Man of the Year: Mike Miller, Memphis Grizzlies
• Most Improved Player: Boris Diaw, Phoenix Suns
• Coach of the Year: Avery Johnson, Dallas Mavericks
• Executive of the Year: Elgin Baylor, Los Angeles Clippers
• Sportsmanship Award: Elton Brand, Los Angeles Clippers

• All-NBA First Team:
  • F LeBron James – Cleveland Cavaliers
  • F Dirk Nowitzki – Dallas Mavericks
  • C Shaquille O'Neal – Miami Heat
  • G Kobe Bryant – Los Angeles Lakers
  • G Steve Nash – Phoenix Suns
• NBA All-Defensive First Team:
  • Bruce Bowen – San Antonio Spurs
  • Ben Wallace – Detroit Pistons
  • Andrei Kirilenko – Utah Jazz
  • Ron Artest – Sacramento Kings
  • Kobe Bryant – Los Angeles Lakers
  • Jason Kidd – New Jersey Nets
• NBA All-Rookie First Team:
  • Chris Paul – New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
  • Charlie Villanueva – Toronto Raptors
  • Andrew Bogut – Milwaukee Bucks
  • Deron Williams – Utah Jazz
  • Channing Frye – New York Knicks

• All-NBA Second Team:
  • F Elton Brand – Los Angeles Clippers
  • F Tim Duncan – San Antonio Spurs
  • C Ben Wallace – Detroit Pistons
  • G Dwyane Wade – Miami Heat
  • G Chauncey Billups – Detroit Pistons
• NBA All-Defensive Second Team:
  • Tim Duncan – San Antonio Spurs
  • Chauncey Billups – Detroit Pistons
  • Kevin Garnett – Minnesota Timberwolves
  • Marcus Camby – Denver Nuggets
  • Tayshaun Prince – Detroit Pistons
• NBA All-Rookie Second Team:
  • Danny Granger – Indiana Pacers
  • Raymond Felton – Charlotte Bobcats
  • Luther Head – Houston Rockets
  • Marvin Williams – Atlanta Hawks
  • Ryan Gomes – Boston Celtics

• All-NBA Third Team:
  • F Shawn Marion – Phoenix Suns
  • F Carmelo Anthony – Denver Nuggets
  • C Yao Ming – Houston Rockets
  • G Allen Iverson – Philadelphia 76ers
  • G Gilbert Arenas – Washington Wizards

Players of the month

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month.

Month	Eastern Conference	Western Conference	Ref.
October – November	LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) (1/2)	Elton Brand (Los Angeles Clippers) (1/1)
December	Vince Carter (New Jersey Nets) (1/1)	Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks) (1/1)
January	Chauncey Billups (Detroit Pistons) (1/1)	Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) (1/2)
February	Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat) (1/1)	Shawn Marion (Phoenix Suns) (1/1)
March	LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) (2/2)	Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) (1/1)
April	Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic) (1/1)	Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) (2/2)

Rookies of the month

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month.

Month	Eastern Conference	Western Conference	Ref.
October – November	Channing Frye (New York Knicks) (1/1)	Chris Paul (New Orleans / Oklahoma City Hornets) (1/6)
December	Charlie Villanueva (Toronto Raptors) (1/1)	Chris Paul (New Orleans / Oklahoma City Hornets) (2/6)
January	Andrew Bogut (Milwaukee Bucks) (1/1)	Chris Paul (New Orleans / Oklahoma City Hornets) (3/6)
February	Raymond Felton (Charlotte Bobcats) (1/3)	Chris Paul (New Orleans / Oklahoma City Hornets) (4/6)
March	Raymond Felton (Charlotte Bobcats) (2/3)	Chris Paul (New Orleans / Oklahoma City Hornets) (5/6)
April	Raymond Felton (Charlotte Bobcats) (3/3)	Chris Paul (New Orleans / Oklahoma City Hornets) (6/6)