Minneapolis was the Central Division (now defunct, no relation to the current Central Division[لغات أخرى]) playoff champion, while the Anderson Packers were the Western Division playoff champion.[4] Due to the NBA's realignment into three divisions,[5][6] the team with the best regular season record after the Divisional Finals advanced automatically to the NBA Finals, while the other two teams faced off in the NBA Semifinals to determine the other finalist. Eastern Division playoff champion Syracuse had the best regular season record among the division playoff champions, causing Minneapolis to face Anderson in the NBA Semifinals.[4][7]
