How Do The NBA Playoffs Work? (Every Basketball Should Know This!)

Last Updated on October 29, 2023 by Alex PT


The NBA Playoffs feature 16 teams from each conference. They play best-of-seven series in a bracket format. The top eight teams from the regular season qualify, competing through four rounds to determine the NBA champion.t

How Do The NBA Playoffs Work?


The NBA playoffs are a single-elimination tournament that follows a best-of-seven format. The top six teams from each conference make the playoffs, along with the two winners of the play-in tournament. The teams are seeded based on their regular season record, with the top seed facing the eighth seed, the second seed facing the seventh seed, and so on.

In each round, the team with the better seed has a home-court advantage, meaning that they play Games 1, 2, 5, and 7 at home. The first team to win four games advances to the next round.

The playoffs culminate with the NBA Finals, which is a best-of-seven series between the champions of the Eastern and Western Conferences. The winner of the NBA Finals is crowned the NBA champion.

Here is a more detailed breakdown of how the NBA playoffs work:

  • Seeding: The top six teams from each conference make the playoffs automatically, based on their regular season record. The seventh and eighth seeds are determined by the play-in tournament.
  • Play-in tournament: The play-in tournament is a single-elimination tournament that takes place after the regular season to determine the final two playoff spots in each conference. The teams that finish seventh through tenth in the standings participate in the tournament.
  • Matchups: The first-round matchups are as follows:
    • 1 vs 8
    • 2 vs 7
    • 3 vs 6
    • 4 vs 5
  • Home court advantage: The team with the better seed in each matchup has home court advantage, meaning that they play Games 1, 2, 5, and 7 at home.
  • Advancing to the next round: The first team to win four games in a series advances to the next round. The playoffs continue until there is one team left standing, which is crowned the NBA champion.

The NBA playoffs are one of the most exciting and competitive sporting events in the world. The best players in the world come together to compete for the championship, and the games are always close and thrilling.

Here are some additional details about the NBA playoffs:

  • Each series in the NBA playoffs is played in a 2-2-1-1-1 format. This means that the team with home court advantage plays the first two games and the fifth and seventh games at home, while the other team plays the third, fourth, and sixth games at home.
  • If a series is tied 3-3 after six games, the teams play a seventh and deciding game. The seventh game is always played at the home court of the team with the better regular season record.
  • The NBA Finals are the only series in the playoffs that are played in a 2-3-2 format. This means that the team with home court advantage plays the first two games, the fourth, fifth, and seventh games at home, while the other team plays the third and sixth games at home.
  • The NBA playoffs typically start in mid-April and end in mid-June.

How does the NBA Play-In Tournament Work?

The NBA Play-In Tournament is a single-elimination tournament that takes place after the regular season to determine the final two playoff spots in each conference. The teams that finish seventh through tenth in the standings participate in the tournament.

The seventh- and eighth-place teams play each other, with the winner earning the seventh seed in the playoffs. The loser of that game gets another chance to reach the playoffs by playing the winner of a game between the ninth- and tenth-place teams. The winner of that game advances to the playoffs as the eighth seed.

The Play-In Tournament was introduced in 2020 as a way to add more excitement to the end of the regular season and give more teams a chance to make the playoffs. It has been well-received by fans and players alike, and it is now a permanent fixture in the NBA calendar.

Here is a more detailed breakdown of how the Play-In Tournament works:

  • Eligibility: The teams that finish seventh through tenth in each conference standings are eligible for the Play-In Tournament.
  • Format: The Play-In Tournament is a single-elimination tournament, meaning that the loser of each game is eliminated.
  • Seedings: The seventh- and eighth-place teams are awarded the top two seeds in the tournament, while the ninth- and tenth-place teams are awarded the bottom two seeds.
  • Matchups: The two teams with the top two seeds play each other, while the two teams with the bottom two seeds play each other.
  • Home court advantage: The team with the better seed in each matchup has a home court advantage, meaning that they play the game at their home arena.
  • Advancing to the playoffs: The winner of the game between the seventh- and eighth-place teams automatically advances to the playoffs as the seventh seed. The loser of that game gets another chance to reach the playoffs by playing the winner of the game between the ninth- and tenth-place teams. The winner of that game advances to the playoffs as the eighth seed.

This table consists of every seed that meets for the playoffs convention in the first round.

Convention A SeedConvention B Seed
No. one seedNo. eight seed
No. two seedNo. seven seed
No. three seedNo. six seed
No. four seed No. five seed

The conference semifinals is the next round, and the conference finals will be the 3rd round. To know the champion, each of the teams that advanced from each conference will meet in the NBA Finals. In the very first round, the number eight seed in each convention plays the number one seed. Number seven plays number two, number six plays number three, and number five plays number four. The next round is referred to as the convention semifinals, and the 3rd round will be the conference finals. The NBA Finals now will include those teams that advanced from each conference to compete for the championship.

Brief History Of The NBA Playoffs 

It was in 1949 that the National Basketball Association was started by the merger of the Basketball Association of America (National Basketball along with BAA) League although it recognizes the 3 BAA months together with the individual record of. The BAA champion was later decided for a total of three years in a best-of-seven series. However, the 1947 and 1948 BAA playoffs were its very first two competitions and it is different from the last. Although it is almost matched with the 21st Century NBA playoffs.
In 1947 as well as 1948, the Western and Eastern Division champions were confirmed for a best-of-seven series carrying out the regular season, whose winner progressed to the championship round. Meanwhile, to know some other finalists, four runners-up had the best-of-three series. The two second-place teams have been matched with the two third-place teams for others; the winners of the two series had another single as well as a very short series.
In 1947, the Philadelphia Warriors overcame the Western champion Chicago Stags 4 games to a single as well as received the runners-up bracket, which the NBA recognizes as its very first championship. Also, in 1948, the Eastern champion Philadelphia was overcome by the Baltimore for the last as well and received the runner-up. Both competitions produced a single out of the Western Division as well as a single finalist from the Eastern, but just by chance.
In 1949, the last and third BAA tournament coordinated Eastern teams exclusively as well as Western teams exclusively, actually generating Western and Eastern playoff champions to meet up with in the last. In exactly the same period, the variety of playoff teams was increased by 3 to 4 from every Division; 2 rounds of best-of-three series have been had, followed by a best-of-seven championship.
Lastly, in 1984, the tournament widened to the existing 16 teams of its, four-round knockout, and also the now complete set of the first-round series was widened to some best-of-five. In 2003 the very first round was changed to additionally be best-of-seven.
2004 started a landmark in the history of the NBA, the inclusion of the Charlotte Bobcats, the thirtieth NBA franchise, and the NBA realigned its sections. Now the conclusion of the result states that all the conventions will now have three divisions each in every five teams, hence the winner of these divisions will be given the nicest three playoff seed. However, it somewhat altered the subsequent season of the year 2005-06; Each division winner’s assured the best four seed even if they continue to get instant playoff berths.

What Is The NBA Playoffs Format

It was in the month of September 2015 that the NBA declared openly modifications to the arrangement of the NBA playoffs. The changes and modifications were announced to take effect in the subsequent 2016 NBA playoffs. Since each convention will produce the eight best teams from West and East, they will all be ranked according to their records of loss/win. NBA has adequately changed and modified the home-court advantage as well as the tie-break criteria for playoff seeding. Head-to-head results between the tied teams will be the very first tie-breaker, as well as if a team receives the division championship it will be the 2nd tie-breaker.
The playoffs were conducted by the two conferences in standard bracket format. Best-of-seven series are the format of most rounds. Since the 2-2-1-1-1 structure is used for the series, games one, two, five, as well as seven will be held by the team with the home-court advantage. Also, games three, four, as well as six will be hosted by their opponents, while games five to seven will be hosted whether needed. Teams will be not reseeded because the bracket is fixed after the playoffs. This system is contrasting with the NFL, Football League where the strongest teams are merged with the weakest teams for the following rounds. It was after 2014 that the structure was incorporated into the system, after the shareholders of the NBA team owners unanimously chose to change the structure of how the NBA Playoffs should be played from the former 2-3-2 structure on 23rd of October, 2013.
The parity of conferences is probably the most common criticism of the present structure. On several occasions, Western conference teams with good winning records ended up missing out, just like how it happened in the NBA playoffs of the year 2011, 2013 as well and 2015. While the Eastern Conference teams with losing records qualified for the playoffs, and also the weaker Eastern Conference teams often allowed it to be farther in the playoffs as a result of the conference imbalance.

Just How Many Teams Are In The NBA Playoffs?

Sixteen teams in total make up the NBA playoffs; the eight best from every of the NBA’s two conferences (West and east). NBA places each team in every conference by their record of win/loss from the regular season. Hence, the team with the highest win record will likely proceed to the next level of the playoffs.

Just How Will Be The NBA Playoffs Seeded?

Within every convention, the teams are seeded one to eight according to their regular-season report of. The team that has the best report for each convention receives the no. one seed, even though the team who has the worst report receives the no—eighth seed, as well as so on. Whenever there’s a tie after that head-to-head report is used to identify which team receives the much better seed.
Whenever there is an additional level, the bigger seed goes to the team which is a divisional champion. Must both or maybe neither team be a divisional champion, the 3rd tie-breaker will be the win-loss report from some other teams in their Division of. Win-loss percentage against convention teams is the last tie-breaker, should not one of the criteria mentioned above supply a conclusion?

Just How Do The NBA Playoffs Work?

The playoffs make use of a best-of-seven elimination structure. What this means is two teams play each other up to 7 times, with the team that wins four games progressing to the subsequent round.
In the very first round, the number eight seed in each convention plays the number one seed. Number seven plays number two, number six plays number three, and number five plays number four. The next round is referred to as the convention semifinals, and the 3rd round will be the conference finals. The NBA Finals now will include those teams that advanced from each conference to compete for the championship.
Any team that has a very outstanding regular-season record will be given the home-court advantage in each round. The formation of the home/away playoff series includes a 2-2-1-1-1. This format means that the team that has an outstanding seed plays games one, two, five as well and seven at home.

At What Time Do The NBA Playoffs Start?

The second or third week of April is when the NBA playoffs usually put up, just a few days after the final match of the regular season. The Finals will commence at the beginning of June and it will end after two weeks since the playoffs run for two good months.

At What Time Will Be The 2020 NBA Playoffs?

30th of July 2020 is when the NBA season resumed following a halt because of the global situation of the coronavirus pandemic. Twenty-two teams have agreed to finish the season in Orlando, Florida at the ESPN Wide World of Sports. This decision was made by the NBA owners, as well as the National Basketball Players Association. Each team plays eight games to determine the last playoff spot for each convention and postseason seeding.
A play in the game is had in between the 15 and 16 of August any team in the ninth sport in each conference three to four games behind the eighth seed. The team in eight needs to be overcome by the team in the ninth in two head-to-head games. The playoffs will likely then begin on seventeen August when all the play-in games are finished. The 2020 NBA Finals are slated to start in thirty September and can be played on thirteen October at the latest.

Closing Thoughts

We’ve concluded this article, we hope you loved the information on it. Do well to contact us if you have any questions.

References:

https://www.rookieroad.com/basketball/how-do-the-nba-playoffs-work-5474725/
https://blog.ticketmaster.com/nba-playoffs-format-explained/

Leave a Comment