It was the third of four straight Eastern Conference championships for Boston, who won 67 games that year, and went 40–1 at home.

Second-year player Michael Jordan put on a record-setting performance in Game 2 of the Bulls' first-round series against the Celtics, scoring 63 points in a 2-OT loss, which surpassed Elgin Baylor's 61-point performance from the 1962 NBA Finals and still stands as the NBA Playoff scoring record.

Jordan averaged 44.7 points per game in the series, but was unable to prevent the Bulls from being swept by a more experienced, more talented Celtics team.

The Bulls set a dubious mark by posting the second worst record for a playoff-qualifying team in history, going just 30–52 during the season.

Game 2, where the record was set, was ranked by TV Guide as the 26th Most Memorable Moment in Television History,[citation needed] and is credited with boosting the NBA's popularity surge and eventual rise to near the top of the United States television sports market,[citation needed] trailing only football by the mid-90s.

[citation needed] The 1986 playoffs marked the third time in four years that the Milwaukee Bucks advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, but it would be their last appearance in the series until 2001.