2000 NBA Playoffs
| 2000 NBA playoffs | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Season | 1999–2000 | ||||
| Teams | 16 | ||||
| Champions | Los Angeles Lakers (12th title) | ||||
| Runner-up | Indiana Pacers (1st finals appearance) | ||||
| Semifinalists | |||||
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The 2000 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1999-2000 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers 4 games to 2. Shaquille O'Neal was named NBA Finals MVP.
The San Antonio Spurs were the champions going into the playoffs, but were eliminated by the Phoenix Suns in the first round, marking the first time since 1987 that a title-winning team did not repeat. They were also the first defending champion to be eliminated in the first round since the Philadelphia 76ers in 1984.
The Lakers' win was the first title for Shaq and Kobe Bryant, both considered future first-ballot Hall of Famers, and first in the post-Magic Johnson–Kareem Abdul-Jabbar–James Worthy era. A. C. Green, the only player left from the Lakers' Showtime era, was in the starting lineup for this team as well.
For the Pacers, it was their first Eastern Conference title after four previous appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals; however, after this season, the team was radically altered with key players Antonio Davis, Derrick McKey and Mark Jackson moving to other teams and Rik Smits retiring. Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals was the last game Patrick Ewing ever played as a Knick. The 2000 playoffs was the last involving the Ewing-led Knicks, and New York would not win another playoff series until 2013.
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