1967 NBA playoffs
The 1967 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1966-67 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Philadelphia 76ers defeating the Western Division champion San Francisco Warriors 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.
| Dates | March 21–April 24, 1967 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 1966–67 | ||
| Teams | 8 | ||
| Champions | Philadelphia 76ers (2nd title) | ||
| Runners-up | San Francisco Warriors (4th finals appearance) | ||
| Semifinalists | |||
| |||
It was the 76ers' second NBA title in franchise history; their first had come in 1955 as the Syracuse Nationals.
The Boston Celtics were denied the chance to win their ninth straight championship, though they would win the title the following two seasons.
The expansion Chicago Bulls made the playoffs in their debut season, and the New York Knicks returned to the postseason for the first time since 1959. It is the longest gap in Knicks franchise history, a record they matched when they missed the playoffs starting in 2004 and ending in 2011.
The 1967 NBA playoffs marked a change in the league's playoff format; every tournament since 1955 had given the top-ranked team in each division a first-round bye, but starting this season, the NBA upped the number of playoff teams to eight, thereby eliminating a first-round bye for the regular-season division champions.
Bracket
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
| 1 | San Francisco | 3 | |||||||||||
| 3 | L.A. Lakers | 0 | |||||||||||
| 1 | San Francisco | 4 | |||||||||||
| Western Division | |||||||||||||
| 2 | St. Louis | 2 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Chicago | 0 | |||||||||||
| 2 | St. Louis | 3 | |||||||||||
| W1 | San Francisco | 2 | |||||||||||
| E1 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Philadelphia | 3 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Cincinnati | 1 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||
| Eastern Division | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Boston | 1 | |||||||||||
| 4 | New York | 1 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Boston | 3 | |||||||||||
Western Division
Champion: San Francisco Warriors
Division Semifinals
(1) San Francisco Warriors vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers: Warriors win series 3-0
- Game 1 @ San Francisco (March 21): San Francisco 124, Los Angeles 108
- Game 2 @ Los Angeles (March 23): San Francisco 113, Los Angeles 102
- Game 3 @ San Francisco (March 26): San Francisco 122, Los Angeles 115
(2) St. Louis Hawks vs. (4) Chicago Bulls: Hawks win series 3-0
- Game 1 @ St. Louis (March 21): St. Louis 114, Chicago 100
- Game 2 @ Chicago (March 23): St. Louis 113, Chicago 107
- Game 3 @ St. Louis (March 25): St. Louis 119, Chicago 106
Division Finals
(1) San Francisco Warriors vs. (2) St. Louis Hawks: Warriors win series 4-2
- Game 1 @ San Francisco (March 30): San Francisco 117, St. Louis 115
- Game 2 @ San Francisco (April 1): San Francisco 143, St. Louis 136
- Game 3 @ St. Louis (April 5): St. Louis 115, San Francisco 109
- Game 4 @ St. Louis (April 8): St. Louis 109, San Francisco 104
- Game 5 @ San Francisco (April 10): San Francisco 123, St. Louis 102
- Game 6 @ St. Louis (April 12): San Francisco 112, St. Louis 107
Eastern Division
Champion: Philadelphia 76ers
Division Semifinals
(1) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (3) Cincinnati Royals: 76ers win series 3-1
- Game 1 @ Philadelphia (March 21): Cincinnati 120, Philadelphia 116
- Game 2 @ Cincinnati (March 22): Philadelphia 123, Cincinnati 102
- Game 3 @ Philadelphia (March 24): Philadelphia 121, Cincinnati 106
- Game 4 @ Cincinnati (March 25): Philadelphia 112, Cincinnati 94
(2) Boston Celtics vs. (4) New York Knicks: Celtics win series 3-1
- Game 1 @ Boston (March 21): Boston 140, New York 110
- Game 2 @ New York (March 25): Boston 115, New York 108
- Game 3 @ Boston (March 26): New York 123, Boston 112
- Game 4 @ New York (March 28): Boston 118, New York 109
Division Finals
(1) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (2) Boston Celtics: 76ers win series 4-1
- Game 1 @ Philadelphia (March 31): Philadelphia 127, Boston 113 (Wilt Chamberlain's unofficial quadruple-double)
- Game 2 @ Boston (April 2): Philadelphia 107, Boston 102
- Game 3 @ Philadelphia (April 5): Philadelphia 115, Boston 104 (Wilt Chamberlain grabs an NBA playoff record 41 rebounds)
- Game 4 @ Boston (April 9): Boston 121, Philadelphia 117
- Game 5 @ Philadelphia (April 11): Philadelphia 140, Boston 116 (K.C. Jones's final NBA game)
NBA Finals
(1) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (1) San Francisco Warriors: 76ers win series 4-2
- Game 1 @ Philadelphia (April 14): Philadelphia 141, San Francisco 135 (OT; Wilt Chamberlain blocks Nate Thurmond's layup in regulation to force OT)
- Game 2 @ Philadelphia (April 16): Philadelphia 126, San Francisco 95
- Game 3 @ San Francisco (April 18): San Francisco 130, Philadelphia 124
- Game 4 @ San Francisco (April 20): Philadelphia 122, San Francisco 108
- Game 5 @ Philadelphia (April 23): San Francisco 117, Philadelphia 109
- Game 6 @ San Francisco (April 24): Philadelphia 125, San Francisco 122
See also
- 1967 NBA Finals
- 1966-67 NBA season