Kristian Ferrell
The NBA playoffs is an annual tournament held after the league's regular season to determine the league champion. The playoffs begin with the conference semifinals, where the top four seeds in each conference are seeded according to their win-loss totals. After the semifinals, the winners play in the conference finals, and the two conference champions then play each other in the NBA Finals to determine the league champion.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| What comes after the semi-finals | Conference Finals, NBA Finals |
| Number of teams in the Conference Finals | 4 |
| Number of teams in the NBA Finals | 2 |
| NBA | National Basketball Association |
| NBA Playoffs | Annual postseason tournament of the NBA |
| NBA Playoffs format | Four-round, best-of-seven tournament |
| NBA Conference Finals | Eastern Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals |
| NBA Conference Finals participants | Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder |
| NBA Conference Finals winner | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| NBA Finals participants | Pacers, Thunder |
| NBA Finals winner | Thunder |
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What You'll Learn
The Conference Finals
The NBA was aligned into two conferences with two divisions each before 2004, guaranteeing the top two seeds to the division champions and the third seed to the best non-division winner. This meant that the top two teams in a conference could not meet until the Conference Finals. After the NBA realigned its two conferences into three divisions each, the seeding rules remained largely unchanged. However, if the top two teams in a conference were in the same division, the division runner-up could only attain the fourth seed. This raised the possibility of the top two conference teams facing off in the conference semifinals instead of the Conference Finals.
The NBA Playoffs have featured variations in the seeding and tournament structure over the years. Since the 2020-21 season, six teams from each of the two conferences automatically advance to the Playoffs, while teams finishing seventh through tenth compete in a play-in tournament for the final two playoff seeds. The NBA Playoffs date back to 1947, when the NBA was known as the Basketball Association of America, and featured a three-stage tournament similar to the Stanley Cup playoffs of the 1930s.
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The NBA Finals
The playoffs culminate with the NBA Finals, where both conference champions from the NBA conference finals play each other in a best-of-seven series. The winner of the NBA Finals is crowned the NBA Champion.
The Philadelphia Warriors won the inaugural NBA championship in 1947, defeating the Chicago Stags in five games. The Lakers won the first NBA championship after the BAA-NBL merger in 1950, becoming the first team to win back-to-back championships. The Boston Celtics dominated the early years of the NBA, winning 11 of the 12 NBA Finals they reached from 1956-57 to 1968-69, including eight straight championships from 1959 to 1966.
More recently, the Golden State Warriors attained the best record in the 2016-17 season, winning the Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers with a record of 16-1. The 2024 NBA Finals saw the Celtics defeat the Mavericks in Game 5, clinching the title with a 4-1 series win. The 2025 NBA Finals were won by the Thunder, who secured their first championship since relocating to Oklahoma City.
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The tournament structure
The NBA playoffs is the annual postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association (NBA) held after the league's regular season to determine the league champion. The tournament structure has evolved over the years, but currently, it follows a four-round, best-of-seven format.
Beginning with the 2020 season, the NBA playoffs are held after a preliminary postseason tournament known as the NBA play-in tournament. In this preliminary round, teams finishing seventh through tenth in each conference compete for the final two playoff seeds.
After the play-in tournament, the main NBA playoffs begin. Six teams from each of the two conferences automatically advance, based on their regular-season winning percentage. These teams are seeded, with the top three seeds typically reserved for division champions. The first round of the playoffs then commences, with the higher-seeded teams facing off against the lower-seeded teams in a series of best-of-seven games.
The winners of the first round advance to the conference semifinals, also known as the division semifinals. This round further narrows down the field, with the remaining teams battling it out in another round of best-of-seven series. The winners of the conference semifinals progress to the conference finals, where they compete for a chance to represent their conference in the NBA Finals.
The NBA Conference Finals feature the top teams from each conference, usually determined by regular-season records. The Eastern Conference and Western Conference champions emerge from these finals and advance to the ultimate showdown—the NBA Finals. The NBA Finals is a best-of-seven series, and the winner of this series is crowned the NBA Champion, hoisting the most prestigious trophy in men's basketball.
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Teams and players
The NBA playoffs is the annual postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association (NBA) held after the league's regular season to determine the league champion. The playoffs date back to 1947 when the NBA was then known as the Basketball Association of America. The playoffs eventually expanded to the present-day four-round, best-of-seven tournament in 2003.
In a typical NBA playoff, six teams from each of the two conferences automatically advance to the playoffs based on the regular season's winning percentage. The teams finishing seventh through tenth from each conference first compete in a play-in tournament to determine the final two playoff seeds.
The NBA playoffs begin with the quarterfinals, where the top two teams are seeded directly to one semifinal. Here, they play each other in a best-of-seven series. Teams finishing second and third qualify for the best-of-three quarterfinals, where the two second-placed teams are paired in one quarterfinal, and the two third-placed teams are paired in another. The winners of these quarterfinal matches then play each other in a best-of-three semifinal.
In the 2024 NBA Cup semi-finals, the Atlanta Hawks, led by Trae Young, beat the New York Knicks 108-100. The Houston Rockets also made it to the semi-finals after defeating the Golden State Warriors 91-90. These two teams then faced off against the Milwaukee Bucks and Oklahoma City Thunder, respectively, in the semi-finals.
The winners of the semi-final matches then proceed to the final championship round, also known as the NBA Finals. This is a best-of-seven playoff where the conference champions from the NBA conference finals play each other to determine the league champion.
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Previous winners
The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA) that takes place after the semi-finals. The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league champion. The winning team is awarded the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy.
The Minneapolis Lakers dominated the early years of the NBA, winning five of the first ten titles. They also won the inaugural NBA championship in 1950, becoming the first team to repeat as champions. The Philadelphia Warriors won the inaugural BAA Finals in 1947, and another championship in 1956. The Baltimore Bullets won the championship in 1948, becoming the only defunct team to win a championship.
The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers had a rivalry in the 1980s, facing off in the 1984, 1985, and 1987 NBA Finals. The Celtics won in 1984, but the Lakers came out on top in 1985 and 1987. The Lakers went on to win back-to-back titles in 1988 and 1989, becoming the first team to achieve this since 1969.
In 1993, the Bulls faced the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals. The Bulls won, becoming the third team in history to three-peat. Michael Jordan then retired from basketball, and the Houston Rockets, led by Hakeem Olajuwon, won the 1994 and 1995 NBA titles. The Golden State Warriors attained the best record of 16-1 in 2017, losing only to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4 of the Finals. The Oklahoma City Thunder won the most recent NBA championship, earning their first title since relocating to Oklahoma City.
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Frequently asked questions
The winners of the semi-finals go on to play in the final championship game.
Only two teams make it past the semi-finals to compete in the final game.
The NBA postseason format includes a four-round, best-of-seven tournament. Six teams from each of the two conferences advance to the playoffs, while the remaining four spots are determined through a play-in tournament.
The NBA playoffs are the postseason tournament games that lead up to the NBA finals. The playoffs culminate with the NBA finals, where the conference champions from each conference play each other.
The semi-finals refer to the penultimate round of games in a tournament, after which the two remaining teams compete in the final championship game. The conference semi-finals are a part of the NBA playoffs and refer to the semi-final round played between teams within the same conference.
