The 2005–06 NBA season was the 60th season of the National Basketball Association. It began on November 1, 2005 and ran through April 19, 2006. The Miami Heat were crowned NBA champions, defeating the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, 4–2.
A new league dress code was put into effect at the beginning of the year by commissioner David Stern.
The Miami Heat win their first NBA championship in franchise history. They become the third franchise (joining the 1969 Boston Celtics, 1977 Portland Trail Blazers, and 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers) to win the NBA Finals after losing the first two games. They are also the first of the four 1988/89 expansion franchises to win a championship.
The All-Star Game was played on February 19, 2006 at the Toyota Center in Houston with the East beating the West 122–120. LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers won the game's MVP honors.
This season marked the first season of the Charlotte Bobcats in their new arena in downtown Charlotte.
Due to the damages caused by Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Hornets played 32 regular season games in the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, 6 games at LSU's Pete Maravich Assembly Center, and just 3 games at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans in March. Due to the split, the team was officially referred to as the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets.
This season marked the first under the NBA's new Collective Bargaining Agreement, agreed upon by the owners and the player union on June 21.
The season was marked by the 30th anniversary of the absorption of four American Basketball Association members into the league: The Indiana Pacers, the New Jersey Nets, the Denver Nuggets and the San Antonio Spurs all joined in 1976.
On January 22, 2006, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant scored 81 points in a game against the Toronto Raptors. This was the second-highest single game scoring total in league history, second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in 1962.
Scottie Pippen (Bulls), Karl Malone (Jazz), and Reggie Miller (Pacers) had their numbers retired by their respective franchises.
The NBA held the Hardwood Classics program for the fifth straight season. The Bulls, Rockets, Clippers, Grizzlies, Heat, Nets, Knicks, Magic, Suns, Sonics, and Wizards all took part by wearing throwback jerseys for select games.
On the last day of the regular season, Ray Allen broke the single season record for most three-pointers, at 269.
The NBA Finals was jokingly referred to as the "American Airlines" series since both competing teams played in an arena sponsored by the same airline. The Miami Heat play their games at American Airlines Arena while the Dallas Mavericks reside in the American Airlines Center.
All five teams in the Central Division made the playoffs, marking the first time all teams in a division made the playoffs since the entire Midwest Division made it 20 years before.
The Los Angeles Clippers made it back to the playoffs for the first time since 1997 and won their first playoff series since 1976 when they were still known as the Buffalo Braves.
The Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves sport a patch in their warmups in memory of Hall of Fame player George Mikan, who died June 1, 2005 at the age of 80.
On June 20, 2006, the Miami Heat clinched the NBA Finals, with Wade being the Finals MVP, averaging the third highest points per game in finals history, at 34.7, the highest points per a four-game stretch in finals history, at 39.3, and the highest PER in finals history, at 33.8.
Notes
z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
x – Clinched playoff spot
y – Clinched division title
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. Home court advantage does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics.
Most Valuable Player: Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns
Defensive Player of the Year: Ben Wallace, Detroit Pistons
Rookie of the Year: Chris Paul, New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
Sixth Man of the Year: Mike Miller, Memphis Grizzlies
Most Improved Player: Boris Diaw, Phoenix Suns
Coach of the Year: Avery Johnson, Dallas Mavericks
Executive of the Year: Elgin Baylor, Los Angeles Clippers
Sportsmanship Award: Elton Brand, Los Angeles Clippers
The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month.
The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month.
