2017 NBA playoffs
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 15–June 12, 2017 |
| Season | 2016–17 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Golden State Warriors (5th title) |
| Runners-up | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Semifinalists | |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Scoring leader(s) | LeBron James (Cavaliers) (591) |
| Awards | |
| MVP | Kevin Durant (Warriors) |
The 2017 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the 2016–17 season. The playoffs began on April 15, 2017, and ended on June 12, with the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors defeating the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers in five games in the NBA Finals, their third consecutive meeting in the Finals. It was the fifth title in franchise history for the Warriors and the first since 2015.
After losing the previous year's Finals against the Cavaliers in dramatic fashion, the Warriors were set for a counterattack by signing star forward Kevin Durant, who left Oklahoma City Thunder as a free agent, with whom he reached the NBA Finals five years ago before eventually losing to the LeBron James-led Miami Heat and the Conference finals the previous year, eventually losing to the Warriors. With the arrival of Durant, Golden State entered their superteam era consisting of him, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry. As a result, they clinched the Western top seed with the league-best record of 67–15, while the Cavaliers failed to take the Eastern top seed, as it went to the Boston Celtics instead for the first time since 2012.
Both the Warriors and the Cavaliers were set for historical runs on their respective paths to the NBA Finals. Whilst the reigning champions from Cleveland swept through the first two rounds before suffering a loss in Game 3 of the Conference finals against the Celtics that ended a twelve-game winning streak in consecutive playoff games starting in Game 6 of the previous year's NBA Finals, the Warriors even swept through the first three rounds entirely, joining the 2001 Los Angeles Lakers as the only times that a team went unbeaten in the playoffs heading into the NBA Finals. Both streaks are therefore considered amongst the longest ones in NBA history.
It was the first time that the same two teams have faced each other in three consecutive Finals appearances, whilst James as reigning Finals MVP extended his streak of NBA Finals appearances to seven, the longest such streak in NBA history. Given the unprecedented 12–0 run at the playoffs, the Warriors were thus considered as favourites heading into the Finals, with the outcome being very clear after the Warriors won the first three games to take a comfortable 3–0 series lead. Despite of Cleveland avoiding a sweep by winning 137–116 at home in Game 4, Golden State wrapped up the series in Game 5 to regain its crown, winning their fifth championship overall and their first after two years. Durant led both teams in scoring by averaging 35.2 points per game across the entire series, consequently earning him his first ever Finals MVP award in his career. The Warriors concluded the Finals by setting the record for the longest playoff winning streak (15) and the best record (16–1) in NBA playoff history.