# 2022 NBA playoffs
The 2022 [NBA playoffs](https://www.edgepedia.org/nba-playoffs) was the [National Basketball Association](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-basketball-association)'s postseason tournament for the 2021-22 season, in which 16 teams qualified through conference seeding plus the Play-In Tournament and the [Golden State Warriors](https://www.edgepedia.org/golden-state-warriors) defeated the Boston Celtics four games to two in the NBA Finals to win the franchise's seventh championship.[1](https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2022/the-finals) The playoffs began on April 16, 2022, following a Play-In Tournament held April 12-15.[2](https://www.nba.com/news/2022-nba-play-in-tournament-schedule) • [3](https://www.nba.com/news/play-in-tournament-returns-for-2021-22-season)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dates | Play-In Tournament April 12-15; playoffs from April 16; Finals from June 2, with a Game 7 slot on June 19 if necessary[3](https://www.nba.com/news/play-in-tournament-returns-for-2021-22-season) • [4](https://cdn-uat.nba.com/news/2022-nba-playoffs-schedule) |
| Champion | Golden State Warriors, 4-2 over the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals[1](https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2022/the-finals) |
| Finals MVP | Stephen Curry, the first Finals MVP of his career, after 34 points in the clinching Game 6[1](https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2022/the-finals) |
| Title count | Golden State's 7th NBA championship, its 4th in 8 years, passing the Chicago Bulls (6) for 3rd most in league history[1](https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2022/the-finals) |
| Play-In adoption | The Play-In Tournament was officially adopted as a full-time part of the NBA playoff picture in 2022[5](https://www.nba.com/news/play-in-tournament-history) |
| First round | Ended with no Game 7 for the first time since 2011, and no team without home-court advantage advanced[6](https://as.com/baloncesto/2022/04/30/nba/1651291548_899137.html) |
| Finals scoring | Warriors averaged 104.8 points to Boston's 100.8; Curry led the series at 31.2 points per game, Jayson Tatum led Boston at 21.5[1](https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2022/the-finals) |
## Play-In Tournament
The 2022 postseason began with the Play-In Tournament, which the NBA's Board of Governors had approved for the 2021-22 season and which took place April 12-15, falling after the regular season concluded on April 10 but before the playoffs commenced on April 16.[3](https://www.nba.com/news/play-in-tournament-returns-for-2021-22-season) That year the tournament became a full-time part of the playoff picture, featuring the Nos. 7-10 teams in each conference battling for the 7th and 8th playoff seeds.[5](https://www.nba.com/news/play-in-tournament-history) • [7](https://cdn-uat.nba.com/playoffs/2022/play-in-tournament)
In the Western Conference, the [Minnesota Timberwolves](https://www.edgepedia.org/minnesota-timberwolves) beat the [Los Angeles Clippers](https://www.edgepedia.org/los-angeles-clippers) 109-104 in a 7-vs-8 game.[2](https://www.nba.com/news/2022-nba-play-in-tournament-schedule) The New Orleans Pelicans took the No. 8 seed: [CJ McCollum](https://www.edgepedia.org/cj-mccollum) scored 32 points as New Orleans withstood a late San Antonio run to advance to a Play-In game against the Clippers, and in the decisive game on April 15 Brandon Ingram scored 30 points and the Pelicans used a 24-7 fourth-quarter run to clinch the spot.[7](https://cdn-uat.nba.com/playoffs/2022/play-in-tournament)
## Playoff field and first round
The 16-team bracket that followed included the [Denver Nuggets](https://www.edgepedia.org/denver-nuggets), a sixth seed opening against Golden State in their fourth consecutive postseason, with center Nikola Jokic campaigning for back-to-back Most Valuable Player trophies after finishing in the league's top 10 for points, assists, and rebounds per game.[8](https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2022/04/15/denver-nuggets-golden-state-warriors-nba-playoffs-2022)
The first round closed on April 30 in Minnesota with a statistical rarity: no series required a seventh game, the first time that had happened since 2011, and no team without home-court advantage advanced, so the top four seeds in each conference all moved on.[6](https://as.com/baloncesto/2022/04/30/nba/1651291548_899137.html) The season also produced an unusual qualifying pattern: 2022 was one of only two years, with 1971, in which three teams with records over .500 failed to make the playoffs.[9](https://apnews.com/article/fdb09f9574d2a17d05ab1add2a4c3fe2)
## NBA Finals: Warriors vs. Celtics
[The Finals](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-finals), presented by [YouTube TV](https://www.edgepedia.org/youtube-tv), matched the Eastern Conference champion Celtics against the Western Conference champion Warriors and began June 2 in San Francisco, where Golden State held home-court advantage.[10](https://pr.nba.com/nba-finals-2022-presented-by-youtube-tv-by-the-numbers/) • [4](https://cdn-uat.nba.com/news/2022-nba-playoffs-schedule) It was a meeting of the league's two best regular-season defenses and of two largely homegrown rosters, each built through draft picks, a key trade or two, and free-agency fill-ins.[11](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/2022-nba-finals-how-celtics-warriors-wear-down-their-opponents-in-completely-different-ways/) • [12](https://www.nba.com/news/how-the-2022-nba-finals-rosters-were-built) The Celtics, chasing an 18th title, had won seven road games in the playoffs, including a Game 7 in Miami.[13](https://www.nba.com/news/2022-finals-preview-warriors-celtics)
**Game 1 went to Boston in stunning fashion.** The Celtics ended the game on a 20-5 run to win 120-108 in San Francisco, becoming the first team to win a Finals game by double digits after trailing by double digits entering the fourth quarter. Their win probability fell as low as 4 percent when they were down 15 near the end of the third, and the 40-16 fourth quarter was the most lopsided final period in Finals history. Boston made its first seven threes of the quarter, and the teams combined for a Finals-record 40 three-pointers. [Al Horford](https://www.edgepedia.org/al-horford), in his first Finals game, scored 26 points with a career-high six threes; [Stephen Curry](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-curry) led Golden State with 34 points, including six first-quarter threes, a Finals record.[14](https://www.axios.com/2022/06/03/boston-celtics-stunning-comeback-finals)
**Golden State answered in the third quarters.** The Warriors won Game 2, 107-88, behind Curry's 29 points and a decisive third-quarter run capped by a [Jordan Poole](https://www.edgepedia.org/jordan-poole) shot from just inside midcourt; through two games Golden State had outscored Boston by 35 points in the third quarter.[15](https://www.nba.com/news/inside-the-box-score-2022-nba-finals-game-2) • [1](https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2022/the-finals) The Celtics took Game 3, 116-100, with [Jayson Tatum](https://www.edgepedia.org/jayson-tatum) and [Jaylen Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/jaylen-brown) combining for 53 points and dominating the paint 52-26.[1](https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2022/the-finals) Curry then scored 43 points, including a late three-pointer, as the Warriors won Game 4, 107-97, to even the series and retake home-court advantage.[1](https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2022/the-finals) In Game 5, Andrew Wiggins posted 26 points and 13 rebounds in a 104-94 win that gave Golden State a 3-2 lead; Curry went 0 for 9 from three in that game while Klay Thompson added 21.[1](https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2022/the-finals)
Across the series the third quarter was the Warriors' engine: they outscored the Celtics 182-149 in third quarters, a plus-33 margin worth 30.3 to 24.8 points per game.[16](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/uploads/sites/1610612744/2022/10/Golden_State_Warriors_2022_23_Media_Guide.pdf)
## The championship clincher
The Warriors closed the series in Boston on June 16, winning Game 6, 103-90, behind Curry's 34 points (6 of 11 on three-pointers), seven rebounds, and seven assists. [Andrew Wiggins](https://www.edgepedia.org/andrew-wiggins) added 18 points, six rebounds, five assists, four steals, and three blocks, and Draymond Green had 12 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists, while Jaylen Brown scored 34 for Boston.[1](https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2022/the-finals) The victory gave the Warriors their fourth championship in eight years and the franchise's seventh, moving them past the Chicago Bulls' six into third place on the all-time list, and Curry was named Bill Russell Finals MVP for the first time in his career.[1](https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2022/the-finals)
The run had a recurring shape. Golden State rallied from double-figure deficits to win seven times in the 2022 playoffs, including the clinching Game 6.[16](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/uploads/sites/1610612744/2022/10/Golden_State_Warriors_2022_23_Media_Guide.pdf) Younger pieces contributed throughout, with Poole averaging 18.4 points per game in the playoffs as a late-first-round pick developed in house.[17](https://time.com/6183103/warriors-celtics-nba-finals-curry-durant/)
## References
1. [2022 NBA Finals: Warriors vs. Celtics, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2022/the-finals)
2. [2022 NBA Play-In Tournament Schedule, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/2022-nba-play-in-tournament-schedule)
3. [NBA Board of Governors approves Play-In Tournament for 2021-22 season, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/play-in-tournament-returns-for-2021-22-season)
4. [2022 NBA Playoffs schedule, NBA.com](https://cdn-uat.nba.com/news/2022-nba-playoffs-schedule)
5. [SoFi Play-In Tournament history, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/play-in-tournament-history)
6. [El martillazo final de los Grizzlies, AS.com](https://as.com/baloncesto/2022/04/30/nba/1651291548_899137.html)
7. [2022 Play-In Tournament, NBA.com](https://cdn-uat.nba.com/playoffs/2022/play-in-tournament)
8. [How to fake it: Denver Nuggets open NBA playoffs, Axios](https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2022/04/15/denver-nuggets-golden-state-warriors-nba-playoffs-2022)
9. [Inside the Numbers: Some notes going into the NBA playoffs, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/fdb09f9574d2a17d05ab1add2a4c3fe2)
10. [NBA Finals 2022 presented by YouTube TV: By The Numbers, NBA Communications](https://pr.nba.com/nba-finals-2022-presented-by-youtube-tv-by-the-numbers/)
11. [2022 NBA Finals: How Celtics, Warriors wear down their opponents, CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/2022-nba-finals-how-celtics-warriors-wear-down-their-opponents-in-completely-different-ways/)
12. [How the 2022 NBA Finals rosters were built, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/how-the-2022-nba-finals-rosters-were-built)
13. [Finals preview: Storied Celtics, proven Warriors clash for 2022 championship, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/2022-finals-preview-warriors-celtics)
14. [Boston Celtics stage stunning comeback in Game 1, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2022/06/03/boston-celtics-stunning-comeback-finals)
15. [Inside The Box Score: 2022 NBA Finals, Game 2, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/inside-the-box-score-2022-nba-finals-game-2)
16. [Golden State Warriors 2022-23 Media Guide, NBA.com](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/uploads/sites/1610612744/2022/10/Golden_State_Warriors_2022_23_Media_Guide.pdf)
17. [The Finals Are Happening. But NBA Twitter Can't Get Past the Curry-Durant Drama, TIME](https://time.com/6183103/warriors-celtics-nba-finals-curry-durant/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Basketball and court team sports › NBA and WNBA (North American professional basketball) › NBA and WNBA seasons, champions, and records › NBA seasons and team seasons › NBA playoffs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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