| NBA playoffs | |
| Year: | 2011 |
| Season: | 2010–11 |
| Dates: | April 16–June 12, 2011 |
| Num Teams: | 16 |
| Winners: | Dallas Mavericks |
| Count: | 1 |
| Second: | Miami Heat |
| Semifinal1: | Chicago Bulls |
| Semifinal2: | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| Prev Season: | 2010 |
| Next Season: | 2012 |
The 2011 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2010–11 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks defeating the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. Dirk Nowitzki was named NBA Finals MVP.
The San Antonio Spurs entered their fourteenth consecutive postseason. They also entered as the top seed in the Western Conference for the first time since 2006, in addition to entering the postseason with 50+ regular season wins for the twelfth consecutive season.
The two-time defending champions, the Los Angeles Lakers entered their sixth consecutive postseason. However, this would be their first since 2007 without posting the top seed in the Western Conference.
The Dallas Mavericks entered their eleventh consecutive postseason, and their eleventh straight appearance having won 50+ games in the regular season.
The Oklahoma City Thunder entered the playoffs with their first Northwest Division title under this incarnation.
The Portland Trail Blazers entered their third consecutive postseason.
The New Orleans Hornets also returned to the playoffs for the third time in four seasons. However, this was also their final postseason appearance before the franchise was renamed the Pelicans before the 2013–14 season. They lost in the first round to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games, and would not return to the playoffs until 2015.
The Memphis Grizzlies also made the playoffs for the first time since 2006. Unlike their previous three appearances, in which they were swept in the first round, The Grizzlies broke their trend by winning Game 1 of their series against the Spurs, their first playoff win in franchise history.
The Phoenix Suns, despite a run to the Western Conference finals last postseason, missed the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. This would also mark the start of a ten-season postseason drought for the Suns.
The Utah Jazz missed the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
The Denver Nuggets entered their eighth consecutive postseason and their first since 1995 without Carmelo Anthony on the roster.
The Chicago Bulls achieved several "firsts" since 1998: the East's best record, a Central Division title, and over 60 victories. They also clinched the NBA's best record for the first time since 1997, guaranteeing home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
The Miami Heat entered their third consecutive postseason, and their first in the Big 3 era of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh. They would also open the playoffs at home for the first time since 2006. Their in–state rivals, the Orlando Magic, entered their fifth consecutive postseason. In addition, for the first time, both franchises would open their playoff runs at home.
The New York Knicks made the playoffs for the first time since 2004, but this was their first playoff appearance as an above-.500 team since 2001. However, they were swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round.
The Philadelphia 76ers appeared for the third time in four seasons. However, they lost in the first round to the Miami Heat.
The Indiana Pacers made the playoffs for the first time since 2006, despite posting a sub .500 record. However, they lost to the Chicago Bulls in the first round.
By losing Game 1 of their series against the New Orleans Hornets, the Los Angeles Lakers joined the San Antonio Spurs as the first top seeds to lose an opening game of the playoffs since the 16–team playoff format was introduced.
In Game 1 of the first round series between the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic tied a franchise record with 46 points (31 in the first half), tying Tracy McGrady's total in Game 2 of the 2003 First Round against the Detroit Pistons. This also marked the first home playoff game with new Amway Center (now is Kia Center)
In Game 4 of their first round series against the Dallas Mavericks, the Portland Trail Blazers overcame a 23-point deficit to tie the series at 2. However, the Mavericks would go on to win the series in six games, giving the Trail Blazers their sixth consecutive first round series loss. They would not return to the playoffs until 2014.
With their first round win over the Denver Nuggets, the Oklahoma City Thunder won their first playoff series since relocating from Seattle. This also marked the first playoff series win for Kevin Durant.
With their first round sweep of the New York Knicks, the Boston Celtics swept a best–of–7 playoff series for the first time since winning the 1986 Eastern Conference finals with a 4–game sweep of the Bucks; prior to the series win they had not swept a series overall since 1992, in Larry Bird's final season. However, they lost to the Miami Heat in the conference semifinals.
With their first round series victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, the Miami Heat won their first playoff series since 2006, when they last won the NBA Championship. It also marked the first playoff series win for Erik Spoelstra as a head coach.
With their first round series win over the Indians Pacers, the Chicago Bulls won their first playoff series since 2007.
In Game 6 of their first round series against the San Antonio Spurs, the Memphis Grizzlies followed up their first playoff win by winning their first playoff series. They became the fourth eighth seeded team to beat a top seeded team in the first round, and the second team to do so since the first round expanded to a best–of–seven format in 2003. The Golden State Warriors were the most recent team to accomplish this feat.
With their series loss to the Atlanta Hawks, the Orlando Magic became the first team coached by Stan Van Gundy to lose a first round playoff series.
For the first time since the current NBA Playoff format was introduced in 2003, no first-round series was pushed to a Game 7.
The Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks met in the playoffs for the first time since 1988. It also marked the lone postseason meeting that Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki would ever have. The series was extremely notable for the following reasons.
Game 4 of the Heat–Celtics series was Shaquille O'Neal's final NBA game; he would announce his retirement three weeks later. It also marked the second time (the first being 2007) that his and Kobe Bryant's teams were eliminated in the same playoff series since the duo broke up in 2004.
With their conference semifinals win over the Atlanta Hawks, the Chicago Bulls returned to the conference finals for the first time since 1998, when they last made the NBA Finals.
Game 7 of the Grizzlies–Thunder series also ensured a 12th straight postseason with at least one Game 7 played. The last without one was the 1999 NBA playoffs. The 2011 Playoffs also marked the first time since 2007 that only one series went to a Game 7. By winning this game, the Oklahoma City Thunder made their first Western Conference finals appearance since 1996 (when they were known as the Seattle SuperSonics), and their first under the current incarnation.
For the first time since 2007, no #1 or #2 seed participated in the Western Conference finals.
With their Western Conference finals series win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Dallas Mavericks returned to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2006.
With their Eastern Conference finals series win over the Chicago Bulls, the Miami Heat returned to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2006, guaranteeing an NBA Finals rematch with the Dallas Mavericks. It also marked the first time since 1990 that the Chicago Bulls lost an Eastern Conference finals series, and the first time since 1989 that the Bulls lost the ECF at home. As of 2024, this was the Bulls' most recent Eastern Conference finals appearance.
In a rematch of the 2006 NBA Finals, there were some extremely notable moments.
The 3 division winners and 5 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 champion is guaranteed to be ranked at least fourth, regardless of their record and their winnings.
The tiebreakers that determined seedings were:
| Seed | Team | Record | Clinched | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playoff berth | Division title | Best record in Conference | Best record in NBA | ||||
| 1 | 62–20 | March 9 | March 9 | April 8 | April 13 | ||
| 2 | 58–24 | March 10 | April 3 | — | — | ||
| 3 | 56–26 | March 7 | March 20 | — | — | ||
| 4 | 52–30 | March 16 | — | — | — | ||
| 5 | 44–38 | March 26 | — | — | — | ||
| 6 | 42–40 | April 3 | — | — | — | ||
| 7 | 41–41 | April 1 | — | — | — | ||
| 8 | 37–45 | April 6 | — | — | — | ||
| Seed | Team | Record | Clinched | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playoff berth | Division title | Best record in Conference | ||||
| 1 | 61–21 | March 9 | April 3 | April 6 | ||
| 2 | 57–25 | March 20 | March 20 | — | ||
| 3 | 57–25 | March 20 | — | — | ||
| 4 | 55–27 | March 27 | April 6 | — | ||
| 5 | 50–32 | April 3 | — | — | ||
| 6 | 48–34 | April 5 | — | — | ||
| 7 | 46–36 | April 6 | — | — | ||
| 8 | 46–36 | April 8 | — | — | ||
Notes
Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. 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. If two teams with same record met in a round use normal tiebreakers. Tiebreakers in NBA Finals are head-to-head and record vs opposite conference.