1983 NBA Playoffs

The 1983 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1982-1983 season. This was the final postseason using the 12-team format, before the NBA expanded the postseason to 16 teams the next season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers sweeping their nemesis, the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers, four games to none in the NBA Finals.

Moses Malone was named NBA Finals MVP; he notably made a prediction about the Sixers' chances prior to the start of the playoffs, saying "Fo', fo', fo'"-- predicting that the Sixers would sweep all three series. They came close; they only lost one game, to Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference finals. The Sixers set a record for highest winning percentage in the playoffs that would not be broken until the Lakers went 15-1 in 2001.

It was the third time in four years that the Lakers and 76ers had met in the NBA Finals, with the Lakers winning the previous two series.

After missing the playoffs the previous year, the Portland Trail Blazers began a string of 21 consecutive playoff appearances in 1983 lasting until 2003. They made the playoffs 25 out of 26 years from their title-winning season of 1977 to 2003.

Bracket

4RoundBracket-Byes | RD1=1st Round

RD1=First Round
RD2=Conference Semifinals
RD3=Conference Finals
RD4=NBA Finals
group1=Western Conference
group2=Eastern Conference

RD1-seed03=4
RD1-team03=Seattle
RD1-score03=0
RD1-seed04=5
RD1-team04=Portland
RD1-score04=2

RD1-seed05=3
RD1-team05=Phoenix
RD1-score05=1
RD1-seed06=6
RD1-team06=Denver
RD1-score06=2

RD1-seed11=4
RD1-team11=New Jersey
RD1-score11=0
RD1-seed12=5
RD1-team12=New York
RD1-score12=2

RD1-seed13=3
RD1-team13=Boston
RD1-score13=2
RD1-seed14=6
RD1-team14=Atlanta
RD1-score14=1

RD2-seed01=1
RD2-team01=Los Angeles
RD2-score01=4
RD2-seed02=5
RD2-team02=Portland
RD2-score02=1

RD2-seed03=6
RD2-team03=Denver
RD2-score03=1
RD2-seed04=2
RD2-team04=San Antonio
RD2-score04=4

RD2-seed05=1
RD2-team05=Philadelphia
RD2-score05=4
RD2-seed06=5
RD2-team06=New York
RD2-score06=0

RD2-seed07=3
RD2-team07=Boston
RD2-score07=0
RD2-seed08=2
RD2-team08=Milwaukee
RD2-score08=4

RD3-seed01=1
RD3-team01=Los Angeles
RD3-score01=4
RD3-seed02=2
RD3-team02=San Antonio
RD3-score02=2

RD3-seed03=1
RD3-team03=Philadelphia
RD3-score03=4
RD3-seed04=2
RD3-team04=Milwaukee
RD3-score04=1

RD4-seed01=W1
RD4-team01=Los Angeles
RD4-score01=0
RD4-seed02=E1
RD4-team02=Philadelphia
RD4-score02=4

External links

* [http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_1983.html Basketball-Reference.com's 1983 NBA Playoffs page]