1966 NBA Playoffs
| Dates | March 23–April 28, 1966 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 1965–66 | ||
| Teams | 6 | ||
| Champions | Boston Celtics (9th title) | ||
| Runners-up | Los Angeles Lakers (10th finals appearance) | ||
| Semifinalists | |||
| |||
The 1966 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1965–66 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Division champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.
The Celtics won their eighth consecutive NBA title and ninth overall, defeating the Lakers in the Finals for a fifth straight time.
This was the last NBA playoffs under the "top team in each division gets a first-round bye" format established in the 1955 NBA Playoffs; the 1967 NBA Playoffs featured an eight-team tournament with no first-round byes.
Bracket
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
| 1 | L.A. Lakers | 4 | |||||||||||
| Western Division | |||||||||||||
| 3 | St. Louis | 3 | |||||||||||
| 3 | St. Louis | 3 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Baltimore | 0 | |||||||||||
| W1 | L.A. Lakers | 3 | |||||||||||
| E2 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Philadelphia | 1 | |||||||||||
| Eastern Division | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Cincinnati | 2 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Boston | 3 | |||||||||||
Western Division
Champion: Los Angeles Lakers
Division Semifinals
(1) Los Angeles Lakers have division semifinals byes.
(2) Baltimore Bullets vs. (3) St. Louis Hawks: Hawks win series 3-0
- Game 1 @ Baltimore (March 24): St. Louis 113, Baltimore 111
- Game 2 @ Baltimore (March 27): St. Louis 105, Baltimore 100
- Game 3 @ St. Louis (March 30): St. Louis 121, Baltimore 112
Division Finals
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) St. Louis Hawks: Lakers win series 4-3
- Game 1 @ Los Angeles (April 1): Los Angeles 129, St. Louis 106
- Game 2 @ Los Angeles (April 3): Los Angeles 125, St. Louis 116
- Game 3 @ St. Louis (April 6): St. Louis 120, Los Angeles 113
- Game 4 @ St. Louis (April 9): Los Angeles 107, St. Louis 95
- Game 5 @ Los Angeles (April 10): St. Louis 112, Los Angeles 100
- Game 6 @ St. Louis (April 13): St. Louis 131, Los Angeles 127
- Game 7 @ Los Angeles (April 15): Los Angeles 130, St. Louis 121
Eastern Division
Champion: Boston Celtics
Division Semifinals
(1) Philadelphia 76ers have division semifinals byes.
(2) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Cincinnati Royals: Celtics win series 3-2
- Game 1 @ Boston (March 23): Cincinnati 107, Boston 103
- Game 2 @ Cincinnati (March 26): Boston 132, Cincinnati 125
- Game 3 @ Boston (March 27): Cincinnati 113, Boston 107
- Game 4 @ Cincinnati (March 30): Boston 120, Cincinnati 103
- Game 5 @ Boston (April 1): Boston 112, Cincinnati 103
Division Finals
(1) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (2) Boston Celtics: Celtics win series 4-1
- Game 1 @ Philadelphia (April 3): Boston 115, Philadelphia 96
- Game 2 @ Boston (April 6): Boston 114, Philadelphia 93
- Game 3 @ Philadelphia (April 7): Philadelphia 111, Boston 105
- Game 4 @ Boston (April 10): Boston 114, Philadelphia 108 (OT)
- Game 5 @ Philadelphia (April 12): Boston 120, Philadelphia 112
NBA Finals
(2) Boston Celtics vs. (1) Los Angeles Lakers: Celtics win series 4-3
- Game 1 @ Boston (April 17): Los Angeles 133, Boston 129 (OT)
- Game 2 @ Boston (April 19): Boston 129, Los Angeles 109
- Game 3 @ Los Angeles (April 20): Boston 120, Los Angeles 106
- Game 4 @ Los Angeles (April 22): Boston 122, Los Angeles 117
- Game 5 @ Boston (April 24): Los Angeles 121, Boston 117
- Game 6 @ Los Angeles (April 26): Los Angeles 123, Boston 115
- Game 7 @ Boston (April 28): Boston 95, Los Angeles 93