The 2019 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2018–19 season. The playoffs began on April 13 and ended on June 13 with the Eastern Conference champion Toronto Raptors defeating the two-time defending NBA champion and Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors in 4 games to 2 to win their first title in franchise history. Kawhi Leonard was named the NBA Finals MVP for the first time since 2014.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this was the last postseason until 2022 to be played in its traditional April through June schedule. This was also the last NBA Finals featuring coaches wearing formal business attire, as the business attire for coaches was completely abandoned following the 2020 pandemic.

• The Denver Nuggets made the playoffs for the first time in six years.
• The Golden State Warriors entered the postseason for the seventh straight year, a new franchise record. This was also their final season at Oracle Arena, as they moved to the new Chase Center the following season. They won the championship in 2015, 2017 and 2018.
• The San Antonio Spurs made the playoffs for the 22nd consecutive season; they have not missed the playoffs since drafting Tim Duncan, who retired in 2016. However, as of 2024, this was their most recent postseason appearance.
• The Los Angeles Clippers made the playoffs for the first time since 2017, featuring a roster without Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, or DeAndre Jordan.
• The Los Angeles Lakers missed the playoffs for the sixth year in a row despite the addition of LeBron James. This was also the first NBA Playoffs to not feature James since 2005.

• The Milwaukee Bucks entered the postseason with a 60–win season, their first since 1980–81, and with the best record in the league, the first time that has occurred since 1973–74.
• The Orlando Magic made the playoffs for the first time since 2012, breaking the longest Eastern Conference playoff appearance drought to date.
• The Brooklyn Nets made the playoffs for the first time in four years.
• The Detroit Pistons made the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
• The Cleveland Cavaliers, despite being the four-time defending Eastern Conference Champions, missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014, largely due to the departure of LeBron James to the Los Angeles Lakers.
• The Miami Heat missed the playoffs for the third time in five years.

• In Game 2 of their series against the reigning champion Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Clippers completed the largest comeback in NBA playoff history, overcoming a 31–point deficit.
• Game 3 of the Bucks–Pistons series was the first playoff game played in the city of Detroit since Game 6 of the 1985 Eastern Conference semifinals, which took place at Joe Louis Arena. Postseason games featuring the Pistons had previously been held in the Palace of Auburn Hills and the Pontiac Silverdome.
• The Boston Celtics swept the Indiana Pacers in the first round, marking the 43rd straight year a sweep occurred in the NBA playoffs. The last year a sweep did not occur in the playoffs was 1976. It was also the Celtics’ first playoff sweep since 2011.
• With their first round sweep of the Detroit Pistons, the Milwaukee Bucks won their first series since 2001 when they defeated the Charlotte Hornets in the conference semifinals.
• Game 5 of the Trail Blazers–Thunder series was extremely notable thanks to Damian Lillard’s 37 foot series winning 3–pointer over Paul George, capping a 118–115 victory for the Portland Trail Blazers. It was the second series winning three pointer made by Damian Lillard (the other being in 2014 against the Houston Rockets). It would also be Paul George’s and Russell Westbrook’s final game as members of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
• The Nuggets–Spurs series was the first of the 2019 playoffs to have a Game 7, making it the 20th consecutive NBA postseason with a Game 7. The last time a Game 7 did not take place in the playoffs was in 1999.
• All of the top seeds won the first round for the first time since 2008.

• Game 3 of the Trail Blazers–Nuggets series was the first quadruple overtime game played in the playoffs since 1955 (and second overall), as well as the first quadruple overtime game ever played during the shot clock era.
• With their conference semifinals victory over the Boston Celtics, the Milwaukee Bucks made the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2001. In addition, this was the first time since 1983 that the Bucks defeated the Celtics in a playoff series.
• Kawhi Leonard scored the first Game 7 buzzer-beater in NBA history, helping the Toronto Raptors defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 92–90 in the second round.
• Game 7 of the Nuggets–Blazers series was extremely notable for CJ McCollum’s block on Jamal Murray, evoking memories of a similar block in 2016.
• With their Game 7 victory Portland Trail Blazers advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2000. They also won a Game 7 on the road for the first time in franchise history.
• The Warriors–Rockets series is notable for Stephen Curry's 33–point second half. With their series victory, they advanced to the Western Conference finals for the fifth consecutive season.

• Stephen Curry (Warriors) and Seth Curry (Portland Trail Blazers) played each other in the Western Conference finals, becoming the first set of brothers to face each other in an NBA playoff series.^[1]
• With their Western Conference finals sweep against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Golden State Warriors earned their fifth consecutive trip to the NBA Finals, making them the second franchise in the NBA postseason history to do so after the Boston Celtics did it in ten consecutive years, starting from 1957 to 1966.
• The Portland Trail Blazers earned the dubious distinction of losing three straight games to the Golden State Warriors despite posting double digit leads in Games 2, 3, and 4.
• With their Eastern Conference finals victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, the Toronto Raptors advanced on to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.
• Stephen Curry surpassed Shaquille O'Neal for most points in a sweep with 146 points.

• The Toronto Raptors won the NBA Championship for the first time in franchise history, defeating the Golden State Warriors in six games in the 2019 NBA Finals.
• Kawhi Leonard joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James as the only players to win Finals MVP with more than one team, and became the first Finals MVP winner from both conferences.
• Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals was the last NBA game ever played at Oracle Arena, as well as the final NBA game ever played in Oakland.

Within each conference, the eight teams with the most wins qualified for the playoffs. The seedings were based on each team's record.

Each conference's bracket was fixed; there was no reseeding. All rounds were best-of-seven series; the series ended when one team won four games, and that team advanced to the next round. All rounds, including the NBA Finals, were in a 2–2–1–1–1 format. In the conference playoffs, home court advantage went to the higher-seeded team (number one being the highest). Seeding was based on each team's regular season record within a conference; if two teams had the same record, standard tiebreaker rules were used. Conference seedings were ignored for the NBA Finals: Home court advantage went to the team with the better regular season record, and, if needed, ties were broken based on head-to-head record, followed by intra-conference record.

On March 1, 2019, the Milwaukee Bucks became the first team to clinch a playoff spot.^[2]

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.