The 1973 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1972–73 season.
The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.
The playoff format was modified, as only the divisional champions qualified automatically; two wild-cards were also added from each conference.
Once qualification was determined, the four qualifiers were seeded 1–4 based on record; divisional position no longer mattered.
The Bullets had home-court advantage in the 1972 playoffs versus the Knicks and in the 1971 playoffs versus Philadelphia, even though their record was worse than New York's and Philadelphia's were those seasons, because they had won their division, while the Knicks and Sixers were runners-up.