The 2017 playoffs nba bracket was essentially a two-month-long waiting room. We all knew it. You knew it, I knew it, and the oddsmakers in Vegas definitely knew it. It was the year of the "Inevitability Era," where the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers were on a collision course that felt written in the stars—or at least written in the luxury tax receipts.
It was a weird time to be a basketball fan. On one hand, you were watching some of the highest-level execution in the history of the sport. On the other hand, the actual drama of the bracket was... well, it was kind of non-existent. The Warriors had just added Kevin Durant to a 73-win team. The Cavs had LeBron James playing at a physical peak that defied biology. Everything else felt like a side show.
The Western Conference: A total buzzsaw
Looking back at the Western Conference side of the 2017 playoffs nba bracket, it’s honestly hilarious how lopsided things were. Golden State didn’t just win; they deleted people.
They started with the Portland Trail Blazers. Poor Portland. Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum played their hearts out, but they were essentially trying to put out a forest fire with a squirt gun. The Warriors swept them. Then came the Utah Jazz in the semifinals. Same story. Another sweep.
The real "what if" moment of the entire 2017 playoffs nba bracket happened in the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. Remember Game 1? The Spurs were actually up by 25 points. Gregg Popovich had a masterclass plan, and Kawhi Leonard was playing like an absolute cyborg. Then, the Zaza Pachulia incident happened. Kawhi went down with an ankle injury, the Warriors stormed back to win that game, and the Spurs never recovered.
It was brutal.
The Warriors finished the Western Conference playoffs 12-0. They didn't lose a single game. It wasn't just dominance; it was a total lack of friction. If you were a fan of any other team in the West, you weren't watching for a title; you were watching to see who could lose the most respectably.
LeBron’s East and the fake contenders
Over in the Eastern Conference, things were slightly more "competitive," if you use that word loosely. The Boston Celtics actually snagged the number one seed during the regular season, which led a lot of people to believe that maybe, just maybe, LeBron’s reign was over.
📖 Related: George Mason vs St Joseph: Why This A-10 Matchup is Must-Watch Basketball
Nope.
The 2017 playoffs nba bracket showed us that regular-season seeding is a lie when LeBron James is involved. The Cavs started by sweeping the Pacers and then sweeping the Raptors. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan were basically traumatized by the end of that series. It was the peak of "LeBronto."
The Celtics managed to take one game off the Cavs in the Conference Finals thanks to an Avery Bradley game-winner, but that was it. Boston was dealing with Isaiah Thomas’s hip injury, which was heartbreaking to watch given the season he’d just had. Without a healthy IT, they were basically fodder. The Cavs walked into the Finals with a 12-1 record.
Think about that. The two teams in the Finals had a combined record of 24-1 leading up to the big stage. That is a level of predictability we haven't seen since, and honestly, we might never see again.
Why the 2017 playoffs nba bracket was actually historic
While people complain about the lack of parity, the 2017 playoffs nba bracket gave us the highest concentration of talent on a single court in NBA history. We’re talking about:
- Kevin Durant (Peak)
- Stephen Curry (Unanimous MVP era)
- LeBron James (Chasing Jordan)
- Kyrie Irving (The greatest tough-shot maker)
- Klay Thompson and Draymond Green (DPOY/All-NBA)
It was basically an All-Star game played with the intensity of a blood feud.
The Warriors’ 16-1 run through the entire postseason is still the gold standard. They didn’t just win the bracket; they broke the sport. It forced every other front office in the league to rethink how they built teams. You couldn't just be "good" anymore. You had to be a "Superteam."
The Finals: The actual clash of titans
When the two sides of the 2017 playoffs nba bracket finally met, the basketball was actually incredible, even if the series only went five games. Game 3 was the heartbreaker for Cleveland. They had the Warriors on the ropes in the final minutes. Then Kevin Durant pulled up for that transition three over LeBron.
That shot essentially ended the 2017 season.
Cleveland won Game 4 in a historic shooting display where they made 24 three-pointers. It was the only game Golden State lost in the entire two-month stretch. But the Warriors closed it out in Game 5. Kevin Durant got his ring and his Finals MVP, and the debate about his move to the Bay Area reached a fever pitch.
Misconceptions about the 2017 run
A lot of people say the 2017 playoffs nba bracket was "boring."
I disagree.
It was inevitable, which is different. There’s a certain beauty in watching a team like the 2017 Warriors play basketball. The ball movement, the gravity of Curry, the efficiency of Durant—it was like watching a perfect machine. And on the other side, watching LeBron James average 33.6 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists in the Finals while losing in five games tells you everything you need to know about the level of competition.
Actionable insights for basketball historians
If you're looking back at this era to understand how the modern NBA was shaped, don't just look at the scores. Look at the roster construction.
💡 You might also like: Tiger Woods Net Worth 2024: What Most People Get Wrong
- Check the salary cap spike. The only reason the 2017 playoffs nba bracket looked like this was because of the $24 million cap jump in 2016. It allowed a 73-win team to sign a top-three player in the world.
- Analyze the "Switching" defense. This was the year where "positionless" basketball became the requirement for survival. If you couldn't switch 1 through 5, the Warriors or Cavs would hunt you until you were off the floor.
- The value of the 3-pointer. This postseason cemented the idea that you cannot win a championship without elite volume from deep. The Cavs and Warriors were 1st and 2nd in offensive rating for a reason.
The 2017 playoffs nba bracket remains a polarizing chapter in league history. It was the peak of the talent-stacking era, a time when the destination was known, but the journey was still spectacular to watch. To truly appreciate it, you have to stop looking for the "upset" and start appreciating the "execution."
Go back and watch Game 3 of those Finals. Watch how the spacing works. Watch the defensive rotations. It was the highest level of basketball ever played, even if we all knew how the movie ended before it started.