# 2007 NBA playoffs

The 2007 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2006–07 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs defeating the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals. Tony Parker was named NBA Finals MVP, making him the second Spur after Tim Duncan and the first European–born player to receive the award.

## Overview

The Dallas Mavericks entered their seventh consecutive postseason. In addition, the Mavericks started the playoffs with a league best 67–15 regular season record, the best in franchise history. The Mavericks also became the first team since 2000 to finish the regular season with 65+ wins. Their in-state rivals, the San Antonio Spurs, entered their tenth consecutive postseason.
The defending champion Miami Heat entered the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Despite winning their third consecutive Southeast Division title, the Heat opened the playoffs on the road against the Chicago Bulls (thanks to the Bulls’ 49–33 record versus the Heat's 44–38 record), marking the second consecutive postseason that a division winner opened the playoffs on the road. This was also Pat Riley's final NBA playoff appearance as a head coach, as the Heat would miss the playoffs the following season.
The Houston Rockets returned to the playoffs after a one-season absence, and opened the playoffs at home for the first time since 1997. This would also be Jeff Van Gundy's last postseason appearance as a head coach. Their first round opponent, the Northwest Division leading Utah Jazz made the playoffs for the first time since 2003. Like the Heat, the Jazz opened their postseason on the road.
The New Jersey Nets and the Detroit Pistons entered their sixth consecutive postseason.
The Denver Nuggets entered their fourth consecutive postseason.
The Washington Wizards, Chicago Bulls, and Phoenix Suns entered their third consecutive postseason.
The Los Angeles Lakers entered their second consecutive postseason.
The Golden State Warriors made the NBA Playoffs for the first time since 1994 NBA playoffs.
The Toronto Raptors made the playoffs for the first time since 2002 and earned home-court advantage for the first time in franchise history.
The Orlando Magic made the playoffs for the first time since 2003.
The Indiana Pacers missed the playoffs for the first time since 1997, while the Sacramento Kings missed the playoffs for the first time since 1998. This also marked the first of sixteen consecutive postseasons not to feature the Sacramento Kings.

### First Round

The Nets–Raptors series was notable for Nets guard Vince Carter facing his former team, the Toronto Raptors. His New Jersey Nets won the series in six games, giving the Raptors their second consecutive first round exit. The Nets would not win another playoff series until 2014 as the Brooklyn Nets, which was also against the Raptors.
With their first round sweep of the Orlando Magic, the Detroit Pistons swept a playoff series for the first time since 1990. It was also the Pistons’ first sweep of a best of seven series since the 1989 NBA Finals.
With their first round sweep of the defending champion Miami Heat, the Chicago Bulls won their first playoff series since 1998 and swept a best of seven series for the first time since 1996. As of 2024, this was the Bulls’ most recent playoff sweep. With the loss, the Heat became the first defending champion in 50 seasons to be swept in the first round. In addition, the Heat were swept in a postseason series for the first time since 2001.
For the second consecutive postseason, the Phoenix Suns defeated the Los Angeles Lakers. The Suns would not win another playoff series against the Lakers until 2021.
With their shocking first round upset over the Dallas Mavericks, The Golden State Warriors became the third eighth seed to beat a top seed and the first team to do so since the first round was extended to a best of seven in 2003. The Warriors were also the first team to eliminate a top seed since the 1999 New York Knicks’ Cinderella run to the Finals. With the loss, the Dallas Mavericks earned the dubious distinction of becoming the first (and currently only) .800 regular season team to lose in the first round. With the win, the Golden State Warriors also won their first playoff series since 1991.
With their first round series losses, the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks became the first NBA Finals pair to lose in the first round in the following year's playoffs. They also share the dubious distinction of being the second and third top seeds, respectively, to lose to an eighth seed in the first round in the NBA Playoffs.
The Jazz–Rockets series marked the eighth straight postseason in which at least one Game 7 was played. The Utah Jazz won over the Houston Rockets, giving the Jazz their first playoff series win since 2000 and the Rockets their fifth consecutive first round exit. This also marked the sole Game 7 of this season's playoffs.

### Conference Semifinals

With the Heat and Mavericks eliminated in the first round, the Western Conference Semifinals series between the Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs was considered “the real finals” as both teams had better records than the other remaining teams in the playoffs (thanks to the Suns’ 61–21 record and the Spurs’ 58–24 record, respectively).
The Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls met in the postseason for the first time since 1991, renewing the Bulls–Pistons rivalry.
Game 4 of the Suns–Spurs series was extremely notable thanks to Robert Horry's flagrant foul on Steve Nash. During the incident, Horry also struck Raja Bell's shoulder, which resulted in a two-game suspension for Horry. In addition, Amar’e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were suspended for one game for leaving the bench during the altercation.
With their Western Conference Semifinals victory over the Phoenix Suns, the San Antonio Spurs won their third consecutive playoff series against the Phoenix Suns.
With their Western Conference Semifinals win over the Golden State Warriors, the Utah Jazz made the conference finals for the first time since 1998 (when they last made the NBA Finals). As of 2024, however, this was the most recent time the Jazz advanced past the Conference Semifinals. The Warriors themselves would not advance past the Conference Semifinals until 2015.
With their Eastern Conference Semifinals win against the New Jersey Nets, the Cleveland Cavaliers made their first Conference Finals appearance since 1992. In addition, Game 6 of the Cavaliers–Nets series was the final NBA Playoff game ever played in New Jersey, as well as the last NBA Playoff game ever played at Continental Airlines Arena. The Nets would not return to the playoffs until 2013 as the Brooklyn Nets.
With their Eastern Conference Semifinals victory over the Chicago Bulls, the Detroit Pistons made their fifth consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearance. The Bulls, on the other hand, would not make the Eastern Conference Finals until 2011.

### Conference Finals

Despite trailing 2–0 to the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers won the series in six games to make their first ever NBA Finals appearance. Game 5 of the Pistons-Cavaliers series was extremely notable thanks to LeBron James scoring the Cavaliers’ final 25 points in a double-overtime thriller.
With their Western Conference Finals win over the Utah Jazz, the San Antonio Spurs made their fourth NBA Finals appearance, and their third of the 2000s decade.

### NBA Finals

The 2007 NBA Finals was significant due to it being the finals debut for LeBron James. He would not return to the Finals until 2011 (as a member of the Miami Heat). Due to LeBron's inexperience versus the seasoned San Antonio Spurs, this season's NBA Finals produced the lowest ratings of any NBA Finals until 2020.
The San Antonio Spurs won their fourth NBA Championship with a four-game sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the first finals sweep since 2002. The Spurs also became the second team to win three titles in the 2000s decade (the other being the Los Angeles Lakers, who won three straight titles from 2000 to 2002).
Tony Parker is the first European Player to win NBA Finals MVP, and the second member of the San Antonio Spurs to do so, the other being Tim Duncan.
After this series, the Spurs would not reach the NBA Finals until 2013 while the Cavaliers would not return until 2015.

## Seeding

The playoffs are conducted in 4 rounds of the best-of-7 series. The 3 division winners in each conference, along with the 5 best non-division winners, qualify for the playoffs. The division winners and top second-place team are seeded 1–4 based on record, with the remaining non-division winners are seeded 5–8 on record.
Until 2006, the division champions were guaranteed no worse than the third seed, while the non-division winners could do no better than the fourth seed regardless of record. This was the source of controversy in the 2006 NBA playoffs when the 63-win Spurs and 60-win Dallas Mavericks — the teams with the second-best and third-best records in the entire league—met in the conference semifinals. In response, the NBA changed the seeding system so that the teams with the two best records in the conference are guaranteed the top two seeds even if the second-best team isn't a division champion. Meanwhile, the division champions are guaranteed no worse than the fourth seed. This ensures that the teams with the two best records in the conference cannot meet until the conference finals at the earliest.

## Playoff qualifying
### Eastern Conference

The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the East:
* Detroit Pistons (53–29, clinched Central division, best regular season record in Eastern Conference, and home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs)
* Cleveland Cavaliers (50–32)
* Toronto Raptors (47–35, clinched Atlantic division)
* Miami Heat (44–38, clinched Southeast division)
* Chicago Bulls (49–33)
* New Jersey Nets (41–41; 4–0 head-to-head vs. WSH)
* Washington Wizards (41–41, 0–4 head-to-head vs. NJ)
* Orlando Magic (40–42)

### Western Conference

The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the West:
* Dallas Mavericks (67–15, clinched Southwest division, best regular season record, and home court advantage throughout the playoffs)
* Phoenix Suns (61–21, clinched Pacific division)
* San Antonio Spurs (58–24)
* Utah Jazz (51–31, clinched Northwest division)
* Houston Rockets (52–30)
* Denver Nuggets (45–37)
* Los Angeles Lakers (42–40, 4–0 head-to-head vs. Golden State)
* Golden State Warriors (42–40, 0–4 head-to-head vs. LA Lakers)

## Bracket

This is the bracket for the 2007 NBA Playoffs. Teams in italics had home court advantage. Teams in bold advanced to the next round. Numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's original 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 | First Round | First Round | | | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | | NBA Finals | NBA Finals | NBA Finals |
| E1 | Detroit* | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E8 | Orlando | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E8 | Orlando | 0 | | | E1 | Detroit* | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | E5 | Chicago | 2 | | | | | | | |
| E4 | Miami* | 0 | | | E5 | Chicago | 2 | | | | | | | |
| E5 | Chicago | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E5 | Chicago | 4 | | | | | | E1 | Detroit* | 2 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E1 | Detroit* | 2 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E2 | Cleveland | 4 | | | | |
| E3 | Toronto* | 2 | | | | | | | | | E2 | Cleveland | 4 | | | | |
| E6 | New Jersey | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E6 | New Jersey | 4 | | | E6 | New Jersey | 2 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | E2 | Cleveland | 4 | | | | | | | |
| E2 | Cleveland | 4 | | | E2 | Cleveland | 4 | | | | | | | |
| E7 | Washington | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E7 | Washington | 0 | | | | | | | | | | E2 | Cleveland | 0 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | W3 | San Antonio | 4 |
| W1 | Dallas* | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | W3 | San Antonio | 4 |
| W8 | Golden State | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W8 | Golden State | 4 | | | W8 | Golden State | 1 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | W4 | Utah* | 4 | | | | | | | |
| W4 | Utah* | 4 | | | W4 | Utah* | 4 | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Houston | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Houston | 3 | | | | | | W4 | Utah* | 1 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W4 | Utah* | 1 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W3 | San Antonio | 4 | | | | |
| W3 | San Antonio | 4 | | | | | | | | | W3 | San Antonio | 4 | | | | |
| W6 | Denver | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W6 | Denver | 1 | | | W3 | San Antonio | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | W2 | Phoenix* | 2 | | | | | | | |
| W2 | Phoenix* | 4 | | | W2 | Phoenix* | 2 | | | | | | | |
| W7 | LA Lakers | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
* * Division winner
* Bold Series winner
* Italic Team with home-court advantage