2006 NBA Standings: Complete Team Rankings and Playoff Results Breakdown

Looking back at the 2006 NBA season, I still get chills thinking about how competitive the league was that year. I remember watching the standings shift almost weekly, with teams jockeying for position right up until the final buzzer of the regular season. The Western Conference was particularly brutal—the Dallas Mavericks finished with an impressive 60-22 record, just edging out the San Antonio Spurs who posted 63-19. What many fans forget is how tight the race was for those final playoff spots. The Memphis Grizzlies barely squeaked in with a 49-33 record while the Sacramento Kings missed out despite winning 44 games. That's how stacked the West was that year.

In the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons dominated with a league-best 64-18 record, though personally I always felt their style of play was less exciting than some of the Western powerhouses. The Miami Heat finished second at 52-30, but as we'd see in the playoffs, they had another gear when it mattered most. What fascinates me about reviewing these old standings is noticing how certain teams outperformed expectations. The Phoenix Suns, for instance, went 54-28 despite dealing with significant injuries throughout the season. Their run-and-gun offense was revolutionary at the time, and I still believe Steve Nash deserved that MVP award more than anyone else.

The playoff picture that year was particularly memorable because of how many series went the distance. I'll never forget watching the Mavericks and Spurs battle through that incredible seven-game second-round series. Dallas finally got over the hump against their Texas rivals, only to fall to the Heat in the Finals. Speaking of Miami, Dwyane Wade's performance throughout those playoffs was simply legendary—he averaged 28.4 points per game in the Finals alone. Looking at the complete standings now, what strikes me is how much parity existed in the league. Eight different teams won at least 50 games, compared to just three teams hitting that mark last season.

The reference to Tolentino's comments about individual awards being tied to team performance resonates deeply when I analyze the 2006 season. Nash won his second consecutive MVP largely because the Suns exceeded expectations despite Amar'e Stoudemire playing only three games that season. Similarly, Chauncey Billups finished high in MVP voting because the Pistons were so dominant in the East. This connection between team success and individual recognition has always been part of the NBA's narrative fabric, though I sometimes wonder if it causes us to overlook phenomenal players on mediocre teams.

Reflecting on the complete breakdown of that season's results, I'm struck by how many what-ifs emerged from the playoff bracket. What if Tim Duncan's Spurs had gotten past Dallas? What if LeBron James' Cavaliers had more support in their second-round matchup against Detroit? The standings tell one story, but the playoffs wrote an entirely different narrative. Miami's championship run proved that regular season records only matter so much—it's about peaking at the right time. As someone who's followed the NBA for decades, the 2006 season remains one of my favorites because it perfectly illustrated how unpredictable basketball can be, regardless of what the standings suggest.