The structure that determined the path to the championship in the National Basketball Association during that year featured sixteen teams, eight from each of the Eastern and Western Conferences. These teams, having qualified based on their regular season records, were seeded from one to eight within their respective conferences. The tournament format followed a traditional bracket system, with higher seeds matched against lower seeds in the first round, and subsequent rounds progressing based on the outcomes of these initial matchups. An example of this arrangement involves the top seed in the Eastern Conference facing the eighth seed from the same conference in a best-of-five series.
This playoff arrangement is significant because it provides a structured and equitable framework for crowning a champion. It rewards regular-season success by giving higher-seeded teams home-court advantage and theoretically easier initial matchups. Furthermore, its historical importance lies in its role within a particular NBA season, capturing the competitive landscape and reflecting the relative strengths of the participating teams. It chronicles the journey of teams aiming for the championship and provides a record of significant contests and player performances.
