Russell Westbrook's Triple-Double Marathon

Lore & Background

The Miami Heat headed into the playoffs with a franchise–best 66 wins, topping the league in the regular season. Their 2012 Finals opponents, the Oklahoma City Thunder, topped the Western Conference with 60 wins, making it the first time since 2006 that the two teams who faced off in the previous year's finals topped their respective conferences in the next regular season. This was also the final NBA Playoffs played under commissioner David Stern.

Reader's Guide

The six division winners and 10 other teams with the most wins from each conference qualified for the playoffs. The seedings are based on each team's record; however, a division winner is guaranteed to be ranked at least fourth, regardless of record. Tiebreakers include division leader wins tie from team not leading a division, head-to-head record, division record, conference record, record vs. playoff teams (own conference then other conference), and point differential. Home court advantage for the playoffs does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record. Teams with home court advantage are shown in italics.

Did You Know?

• The Miami Heat swept a playoff series for the first time since 2005, winning every game by double digits.
• Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals featured Ray Allen's game-tying three pointer and Chris Bosh's game-winning block, rated as one of the greatest NBA Finals games ever played.
• This was the last NBA Finals series played under the 2–3–2 format.