We’re back! Instead of wondering what the NBA playoffs would look like with 1 through 16 overall seeds, we decided to do the work for you. Once again, in our annual simulation, we’ve run the ‘would-be’ matchups in NBA 2K to see which team would come out on top.
Not only would it be intriguing to see who could survive that gauntlet, but the East-West potential matchups could give us some great series. It could expose the world to new inter-conference rivals that we rarely see outside the NBA Finals.
With teams like the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Lakers both finishing below .500 this season, there isn’t much fuss about the teams at the bottom of the West deserving playoff berths ahead of those at the bottom of the East. Both conferences seemed top heavy this season with a few sleepers that were dark horses for potential upsets.
However, scratch all of that. We’re not looking at East versus West. But rather a conglomerate of all the teams. Check out the winner below!
Who do you think wins the Finals MVP? Kawhi Leonard of course. He averages 26 points, six rebounds, two assists, three steals on 58.3 percent shooting, including an absurd 53.6 percent from three.
Some interesting things to note:
- The Rockets–Warriors matchup still happens in the second round
- We’d get the Joel Embiid-Russell Westbrook ‘beef’ in the first round
- The Magic would still be “unlucky” and get the Raptors in the first round
- The Celtics and Thunder had identical regular season W-L records, so the higher seed went to the Celtics who won the head-to-head matchup
- The Clippers, Spurs, and Pacers all finished with the same record, and neither team won their division; therefore, the seeds went according to conference record
