What Teams Made It To The Nba Playoffs?

The regular season is over and the NBA playoffs are here! See which teams made it to the postseason and find out who’s favorite to win it all.

The Eastern Conference

The Milwaukee Bucks (1), Toronto Raptors (2), Philadelphia 76ers (3), and Boston Celtics (4) all clinched their spot in the 2019 NBA playoffs from the Eastern Conference. The Indiana Pacers (5) didn’t make it as the final wild card spot went to the Brooklyn Nets (6).

The Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of the league’s original eight teams, the Celtics play their home games at TD Garden, which they share with the National Hockey League (NHL)’s Boston Bruins. The Celtics are one of the most successful teams in NBA history; they have won the most championships of any NBA franchise with 17, and currently hold the record for the most recorded wins of any NBA team with 3,495.

The Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They were established in 1995 as part of the NBA’s expansion into Canada.

Following the abandoned §§1 million expansion fee for an NBA franchise in Toronto, a group headed by Toronto businessman John Bitove and American entrepreneur Sterling Brossard acquired an NHL hockey team, the Toronto Huskies, who had played only one season in the league. Brossard and Bitove applied to the NBA to buy an expansion franchise on behalf of a group that included corporate leaders such as Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce chairman Jack Cockwell, Molson Breweries heir Hart Massey, and Labatt Brewing Company president Peter Pocklington. In particular, former Huskies players Tony Mandarich and Leo Rautins became integral to creating what would become known as “Raptor basketball”.

The Raptors qualified for their first playoff berth during the 2000–01 season. Sixteen years later, they became division champions for the first time when they clinched their fourth Atlantic Division title on April 8, 2016 with a 108–93 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. They set a franchise record for wins in a regular season with 59 during the 2015–16 season and reached their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance where they lost Game 7 to LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers (-6.5) finished the regular season with the best record in the Eastern Conference at 52-30. They will take on the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The Sixers have not made it to the NBA Finals since 2001, when they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Sixers are led by All-Star center Joel Embiid, who averaged 27.5 points and 13.6 rebounds per game this season. Embiid will be matched up against Nets’ center Jarrett Allen in the first round. The Sixers also have All-Star point guard Ben Simmons, who averaged 16.9 points, 8.8 assists, and 7.7 rebounds per game this season.

The Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and play at the Fiserv Forum. Former U.S. Senator Herb Kohl was the long-time owner of the team, but on April 16, 2014, a group led by billionaire hedge fund managers Wes Edens and Marc Lasry agreed to purchase a majority interest in the team from Kohl, a sale which was approved by the owners of the NBA and its Board of Governors one month later on May 16. The new owners appointed Peter Feigin as the franchise’s fifth president.

In 2015, Forbes valued the Bucks at $600 million, ranking them 30th valuations of NBA teams. On July 15, 2016, following Kohl’s sale to Edens and Lasry, it was announced that a new locally-owned group led by Steve Kaplan and Joshua Harris acquired a minority stake in ownership of the Bucks from Kohl, with Edens and Lasry retaining majority control.

The Western Conference

The Western Conference is made up of two divisions, the Pacific and the Southwest. In the Pacific Division, we have the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Phoenix Suns, and the Sacramento Kings. In the Southwest Division, we have the Dallas Mavericks, the Houston Rockets, the Memphis Grizzlies, the New Orleans Pelicans, and the San Antonio Spurs.

The Golden State Warriors

The Warriors are currently the only team in the NBA with a chance to finish the regular season undefeated at home. They have won 33 games in a row at Oracle Arena, dating back to last season, and their 45-4 record is the best 49-game start in NBA history. The Warriors have already clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, and they are on pace to win 70 games for just the second time in franchise history (the other was the 2015-16 team that won 73 games).

The Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league’s Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Center, located in Downtown Houston. Throughout the Rockets’ history, they have won two NBA championships and four Western Conference titles.

The Portland Trail Blazers

After winning 49 games last season, the Portland Trail Blazers certainly made a mark in the Western Conference. With all-star Damian Lillard leading the way, the Blazers made it to the second round of the playoffs where they lost to the eventual champion Golden State Warriors. Nevertheless, it was a successful season for Portland and they will look to build on that momentum in the coming year.

The Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder are a professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays its home games at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

The Thunder were previously the Seattle SuperSonics, an American Basketball Association (ABA) expansion team that joined the NBA in 1976. After 39 years in Seattle, the team relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008 and changed their name to reflect upon the state’s rich Western heritage and Native American influences.