The 2006 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2005–06 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat defeating the Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. Dwyane Wade was named NBA Finals MVP.

This season was the last time that the Sacramento Kings made the playoffs until 2023. The Kings held the longest playoff drought in NBA playoff history at 16 years. With the MLB's Seattle Mariners qualifying for the playoffs in 2022, the Kings held the title for the longest active playoff drought among the four major North American sports leagues until 2023.

The Los Angeles Clippers made the playoffs for the first time since 1997, and advanced to the second round for the first time since 1976, when they were the Buffalo Braves. They came within one game of making the conference finals for the first time, but lost Game 7 to the Suns.

The Phoenix Suns became the eighth team to win a playoff series despite trailing 3–1 with their first round victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. They lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference finals.

The Denver Nuggets also appeared in the playoffs as the 3rd seed in the Western Conference despite a 44–38 record (due to winning their division). However, they lost to the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round, and the NBA changed how division winners are seeded starting the following season.

2006 was the playoff debut of LeBron James, who helped the Cleveland Cavaliers eke out 1–point OT victories over the Washington Wizards in Games 5 and 6 of their first-round series to advance. It was the Cavaliers first playoff appearance since 1998, and they earned their first playoff series win since 1993. The Cavaliers played against the two-time defending Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons in the next round. After being routed in Game 1 and losing Game 2 by 6, the Cavs won the next three matches in a row, and they were 1 game away from beating the Pistons. However, Detroit recovered and won the last 2, in order to take the series in 7. The Pistons and Cavaliers met in the next year's Playoffs, and the Cavaliers won that series in six games. The Pistons would not beat the Cavaliers in a playoff series again until 2025.

This season also marked the first time that two 60–win teams met before the conference finals, due to the seeding format. The San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks played against each other in the Western Conference semifinals. The Mavericks won the series in seven games, marking the first time the Mavericks beat the Spurs in a playoff series.

This year's NBA Finals also featured a number of firsts