The 2021 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2020–21 season. Due to COVID-19 pandemic impacting the NBA for the second consecutive year, the regular season was reduced to 72 games for each team and the start date was moved to May from its usual mid-April. It began on May 22 and concluded on July 20 with the Milwaukee Bucks defeating the Phoenix Suns in the 2021 NBA Finals. It was Milwaukee's second NBA championship, after 1971. The Bucks were also the fifth team in NBA Finals history to overcome a 2–0 deficit.
The Los Angeles Lakers were the defending champions, but lost to the Suns in the first round. With the Miami Heat losing to the Bucks in the first round, this marked the first time since 2007 that the previous year's finalists were eliminated in the first round.
The Los Angeles Clippers appeared in the conference finals for the first time in franchise history.
It was the first year the NBA used a 20-team playoff, with a two-stage system in both conferences, with 16 of the 20 teams advancing to the second stage. The first stage, the NBA play-in games, was a four-team playoff in each conference for the No. 7 to No. 10 seeds in each conference. In this format, the No. 7 and No. 8 teams need to win one game to advance to the second stage, with a double chance, while the No. 9 and No. 10 teams need to win two games to advance, eliminated by just one loss.
Overview
Notable updates to postseason appearances The Portland Trail Blazers entered their eighth consecutive postseason, which was the longest active streak in the NBA until their failure to qualify the following year. The Boston Celtics entered their seventh consecutive postseason. Both the Utah Jazz and Milwaukee Bucks entered their fifth consecutive postseason. Milwaukee also advanced to their first NBA Finals since 1974 and this was the Bucks' first Eastern Conference championship in franchise history as the team was in the Western Conference until 1980. The Philadelphia 76ers entered their fourth consecutive postseason. The Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers, and Denver Nuggets all entered their third consecutive postseason. The Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, and Dallas Mavericks all entered their second consecutive postseason. The Washington Wizards made their first postseason appearance since 2018. The Atlanta Hawks (which entered their first Conference finals appearance since 2015) and Memphis Grizzlies made their first postseason appearance since 2017. The New York Knicks made their first postseason appearance since 2013. The Phoenix Suns made their first postseason appearance since 2010. Phoenix also won the Western Conference and advanced to their first NBA Finals since 1993. The Houston Rockets missed the playoffs for the first time in nine years. The Toronto Raptors missed the playoffs for the first time in eight years. Both the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers missed the playoffs for the first time in six years. The Orlando Magic missed the playoffs for the first time in three years. The San Antonio Spurs returned to the postseason after missing the playoffs the previous year but were eliminated after losing to Memphis in the first stage of the Page–McIntyre system tournament. The Golden State Warriors returned to the postseason after missing the playoffs the previous year, being the first team to be eliminated from the Page–McIntyre system tournament with the double chance. They were the No. 8 seed, losing to the No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers in the first game of the first stage, then losing to No. 9 Memphis in the second game of the first stage.
Notable occurrences The Memphis Grizzlies became the first No. 9 seed to advance to the playoffs, defeating the Golden State Warriors in the second game of the first stage play–in. The Milwaukee Bucks swept the Miami Heat in the first round, marking the 45th straight year a sweep occurred in the NBA playoffs. The last year a sweep did not occur in the playoffs was 1976. With Miami not winning a road game, their streak of winning a road game in a playoff series ends at 23, a streak that started in 2011. This record would be surpassed by the Warriors in the following year. The Mavericks–Clippers series was the first of the 2021 playoffs to have a Game 7, making it the 22nd consecutive NBA postseason to feature a Game 7. The last time a Game 7 did not take place in the playoffs was 1999. Not counting the 2020 NBA playoffs which was held at a neutral site, the Mavericks–Clippers series was the first in NBA history where the road team won the first six games of a best–of–7 and the first since 1995 to have the road team win the first five games of a best–of–7. Both 2020 NBA finalists (Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat) were eliminated in the first round. This was the third time overall and the first since 2007 that this had happened, in which the Miami Heat were also one of the finalists who were eliminated. The Los Angeles Lakers first round loss to the Phoenix Suns marked the first time that the defending NBA champions was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs since the San Antonio Spurs in the 2015 playoffs. With the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, and Miami Heat eliminated in the first round (along with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, and Toronto Raptors failing to qualify for the playoffs), by the second round the 2021 playoffs ensured one team of its first championship in the 21st century. This Finals was the first since 1999 to not feature the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, or San Antonio Spurs. This Finals was the first since 2014 to not include Andre Iguodala, who had played in the past six finals with the Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat. For the first time in his 18-year career, LeBron James lost a first-round playoffs series when the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated by the Phoenix Suns in Game 6. This would happen again 3 years later. Damian Lillard set an NBA record of 12 three-point field goals made in a single playoff game, which was previously held by Klay Thompson in 2016. LeBron James became the only player in NBA history to be in the playoff top 10 for all five major statistical categories (points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals). Chris Paul became the first player to reach 15 assists with 0 turnovers three separate times in the NBA playoffs. Nikola Jokić joined Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players with 30 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists in an NBA playoff game. Kevin Durant became the first player in NBA history with 45 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists in a single playoff game. He also set an NBA record for most points in a Game 7 with 48 against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Los Angeles Clippers became the first team in NBA history to overcome an 0–2 deficit twice in the same postseason. They also made it to the Western Conference finals for the first time in franchise history. With the Clippers advancing to the Western Conference finals to face the Suns, this ensured that a Pacific Division team played in the NBA Finals for the seventh consecutive postseason. The Milwaukee Bucks won a Game 7 on the road for the first time in franchise history. Neither the first–seeded team nor the second-seeded team made the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year. The Atlanta Hawks became the fourth team in the last 40 years to reach the conference finals with a midseason coaching replacement. Neither first–seeded team made the conference finals for the first time since 1994. For the first time since the 2013 season, all four teams competing in the conference finals were different seed numbers (2, 3, 4, 5). Devin Booker joined Charles Barkley and LeBron James as the only players with 40–point triple–double in a conference finals game. He also joined Oscar Robertson and Luka Dončić as the only players with a 40–point triple–double before turning 25. Deandre Ayton became the first player in the shot–clock era with a 70+ FG% in any 12–game postseason span (min. 100 att), and the first since 1954–55 NBA season. Deandre Ayton became the first player in NBA history to average 15 points and 10 rebounds while shooting at least 65% from the field in a single postseason. Jae Crowder now owns the longest active finals streak when the Phoenix Suns made the NBA Finals, having also made it last year with Miami. Chris Paul became the oldest player in NBA history with 40+ points in a closeout game. He is also the second oldest player to drop 40 points in any playoff game. With Rajon Rondo losing in the Western Conference finals to the Suns, Shaquille O'Neal's 37–year streak of having a former teammate in the NBA Finals came to an end. The Phoenix Suns became the first team in NBA history to move on to the NBA Finals after missing the postseason in the prior ten seasons. They also held the worst record (.302 winning pct) in five seasons prior to an appearance in the final postseason round in the history of the NBA, NFL, NHL, or MLB. Both NBA finalists in the 2020–2021 season have not been in the finals for over two decades (the Suns in 1993, the Bucks in 1974). Trae Young became the second player in NBA history to average 28+ PPG and 9+ APG in a single playoff run (minimum 15 games, LeBron James in 2018). Trae Young tied LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki by scoring the 4th most points in a Conference finals game with 48 against the Milwaukee Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo became the 5th player in NBA history with 9+ 30/10 games in a single postseason since 1963. By winning the 2021 Eastern Conference finals, the Milwaukee Bucks are the only NBA franchise to win both the Eastern & Western Conference Titles. However, the Warriors franchise achieved the same deeds when the East and the West were called "Divisions", before they were realigned as "Conferences" in the 1970-71 expansion. Before 1970–71, the teams emerged from the East and West playoff brackets were called Eastern Division Champions and Western Division Champions, respectively. The Philadelphia Warriors won the Eastern Division in 1956, while the San Francisco Warriors won the Western Division in 1964 and 1967. The Golden State Warriors also won 7 conference titles after 1970–71. Chris Paul joins Michael Jordan as the only players with 30+ points and 9+ assists in an NBA Finals debut. Jordan accomplished this feat in 1991. He also joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Tim Duncan as players with 30+ points in an NBA Finals game age 36 or older. Deandre Ayton became the fourth player in the shot-clock era (since 1955) with at least 20 points, 15 rebounds, and shooting 80+ FG% in an NBA Finals game (Bill Russell, Kareem-Abdul Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain). Ayton joins Abdul-Jabbar as the only players to do so in their Finals debuts. Chris Paul scored or assisted on 54 points in Game 1, the 3rd most in an NBA Finals debut all time (Allen Iverson with 61 in 2001, Michael Jordan with 60 in 1991). The Phoenix Suns became the third team to make 20+ three-point shots in a Finals game, joining the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Golden State Warriors. Giannis Antetokounmpo joined Shaquille O'Neal as the only players with 40+ points and 10+ rebounds in back–to–back Finals games. He also scored 103 points through the first three Finals game of his career, ranking fourth behind Rick Barry (122), Allen Iverson (106), and Willis Reed (104). Devin Booker set a new record for most points for a player in his first NBA playoffs appearance, accumulating 601 points, overtaking Ricky Barry (521) and Julius Erving (518). The Suns became the first team in NBA history to lose a Finals game despite shooting better than 50% and keeping their opponent below at least 42%. Khris Middleton and Devin Booker became the 4th pair of opponents to put up at least 40 points in the same game.