Amanda Knapp
The NBA playoffs are an annual tournament held after the regular basketball season to determine the league champion. The tournament features four rounds: the First Round, Conference Semi-finals, Conference Finals, and the NBA Finals. In each round, two teams play each other in a best-of-seven series, meaning the first team to win four games advances to the next round. The NBA Finals feature the winners of the Eastern Conference and Western Conference, who compete for the NBA Championship.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of teams | 30 |
| Number of conferences | 2 (East and West) |
| Number of teams per conference | 8 |
| Number of games per team in the regular season | 82 |
| Number of rounds in the playoffs | 4 |
| Number of games in a playoff series | 7 |
| Number of wins needed to win a playoff series | 4 |
| Home-court advantage | Given to the team with the better regular-season record |
| Format of home and away games | 2-2-1-1-1 |
| Start date of the 2025 NBA Playoffs | April 19 |
| Start date of the 2025 NBA Finals | June 5 |
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What You'll Learn
Home-court advantage
The NBA playoffs are a four-round, best-of-seven tournament, with the first team to win four games advancing to the next round. In each round, the team with the better regular-season record is rewarded with home-court advantage. This means that of the seven games in a series, the team with the better seed plays games 1, 2, 5, and 7 at home. This follows a 2-2-1-1-1 home/away format.
The NBA playoffs date back to 1947, when the NBA was known as the Basketball Association of America. The format has changed over the years, with the current four-round format being adopted in 2003. Since 2021, the final two playoff spots in each conference have been decided by a play-in tournament.
The NBA playoffs are an annual tournament held after the league's regular season to determine the league champion. The regular season starts in late October and lasts until mid-April, with each team playing 82 games. At the end of the regular season, the top 8 teams from each conference make the playoffs. The first round of the playoffs is a best-of-seven series, with the winning team advancing to the next round.
The NBA Finals are the culmination of the NBA playoffs, where the conference champions from the Eastern and Western Conferences meet to determine the NBA Champion. The NBA Finals are also a best-of-seven series, with the first team to win four games taking the championship.
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Play-in tournaments
The NBA Play-In Tournament is a preliminary tournament that occurs before the NBA Playoffs, which is the main tournament of the postseason. The Play-In Tournament was first introduced in the 2019-20 season as part of the NBA's return-to-play plan during the COVID-19 pandemic. The format of the tournament was made permanent in 2022.
The Play-In Tournament is designed to increase competition and excitement among teams ranked 7th to 10th in each conference. These teams compete for the final two playoff seeds in their respective conferences. The tournament consists of two rounds, with single-elimination and double-elimination formats. In the first round, the 9th-place team hosts the 10th-place team, with the loser being eliminated. The 7th place team then hosts the 8th place team, with the winner securing the 7th seed.
In the second round, the loser of the 7/8 game hosts the winner of the 9/10 game, and the winner of this game receives the 8th seed. The winner of the match between the loser of the 7/8 game and the winner of the 9/10 game always plays on the second day of the NBA Playoffs to allow for adequate rest.
The Play-In Tournament has resulted in some notable achievements, such as the 2022-23 Miami Heat reaching the NBA Finals as a 7th seed, and Jayson Tatum setting a record for most points (50) in a single Play-In Tournament game in 2021.
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Best-of-seven format
The National Basketball Association (NBA) was established in 1949 by a merger of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League. The BAA champion was determined in a best-of-seven series in all three of its seasons before the merger. The NBA has used a best-of-seven format for its playoff finals since its inception, and this format has been used for the Conference (or Division) Finals since 1958, the Conference (or Division) Semifinals since 1968, and the First Round since 2003.
The NBA Playoffs are the end-of-season tournament to determine the NBA champion from the best teams of the previous season. The tournament consists of 16 teams, eight from each of the NBA's two conferences (East and West). The playoffs follow a 2-2-1-1-1 home/away format, with the team with the better seed playing games 1, 2, 5 and 7 at home. The other teams play games 3, 4, and 6 at home. Games 5, 6, and 7 are only played if needed.
The best-of-seven format means that a team must win four games to win the series. The necessity of a seventh game is not known until the outcome of the sixth game is determined, as a series may not reach that far. Due to its decisive nature, game sevens are often "played more conservatively" and receive more media and fan attention.
Since 2021, six teams from each of the two conferences have automatically advanced to the playoffs based on the regular season's winning percentage. The teams finishing seventh through tenth from each conference compete in a play-in tournament to determine the final two playoff seeds.
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Conference finals
The NBA Conference Finals is the third round of the four-round NBA playoffs. The Conference Finals are played in a best-of-seven series, like the NBA playoffs and Finals. The two series are played in late May each year after the first and second rounds of the Playoffs and before the Finals.
The Conference Finals determine which teams from each conference will progress to the NBA Finals. The NBA Conference Finals began in 1949, initially as a best-of-three series. It became a best-of-five series in 1951 and has been a best-of-seven series since 1957. The Los Angeles Lakers have won the most conference titles (19), while the Boston Celtics have won the second-most (11).
In the first round of the NBA playoffs, the 1st seed in each conference plays the 8th seed, the 2nd seed plays the 7th seed, the 3rd plays the 6th, and the 4th plays the 5th. The bracket progresses in this manner until the Conference Finals. The NBA playoffs use a best-of-seven elimination format, meaning a team needs four victories to win a round and progress.
Since 2021, the final two playoff spots in each conference have been decided by a play-in tournament. The tournament features the teams ranked 7th to 10th in each conference, who play each other in a combination of single-elimination and double-elimination. The seventh-placed team plays the eighth-placed team, with the winner taking the seventh seed in their conference. The ninth-placed team then plays the 10th-placed team, and the losing team is eliminated. The loser of the first game then plays the winner of the second, for the eighth seed.
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NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the annual postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association (NBA) that takes place after the league's regular season to determine the league champion. The NBA was initially founded in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The BAA became the NBA in 1949 after merging with the National Basketball League (NBL).
The NBA playoffs follow a four-round, best-of-seven tournament format, with the first team to win four games progressing to the next round. The first three rounds are the First Round, Conference Semi-finals, and Conference Finals. The NBA Finals is the fourth and final round, where the conference champions from the Eastern Conference Finals and Western Conference Finals play each other to determine the NBA Champion.
The NBA Finals follow a 2-2-1-1-1 format, meaning the team with the better regular-season record hosts games 1, 2, 5, and 7, while their opponent hosts games 3, 4, and 6. If needed, game 7 is played at the team with the better regular-season record. This format was changed to a 2-3-2 format in 1985 to ease the amount of cross-country travel, but it was changed back to 2-2-1-1-1 in 2014.
The 2025 NBA Finals are underway, with the Pacers facing the Thunder. The Pacers' explosive offense will go up against the Thunder's relentless defense on the NBA's biggest stage.
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Frequently asked questions
The NBA, or the National Basketball Association, is the annual postseason tournament of the league that bears its name. The NBA dates back to 1947 when it was known as the Basketball Association of America.
The NBA playoffs follow a best-of-seven format, with four rounds: the First Round, Conference Semi-finals, Conference Finals, and the NBA Finals. Teams play each other up to seven times, with the team that wins four games first progressing to the next round.
There can be anywhere between 60 and 105 total games in an NBA playoff series.
Since 2021, six teams from each of the two conferences automatically advance to the playoffs based on regular-season winning percentage. Teams finishing seventh through 10th from each conference first compete in a play-in tournament to determine the final two playoff spots.
