How Do the NBA Playoffs Work? NBA Playoffs Explained

Here’s everything you need to know about the NBA playoffs, from the series format to how the teams are seeded.

What are the NBA playoffs?

The NBA Playoffs are the end-of-season tournament to determine which team deserves the NBA title. They’re battled out by the best teams across the last season, to crown the ultimate champion.

How many teams are in the NBA playoffs?

The playoffs are comprised of 16 teams in total – eight from each of the NBA’s two conferences (East and West). The teams in each conference are ranked by their win-loss record from the regular season; the six teams with the most wins from each conference then progress immediately to the playoffs.

The 7th-10th-placed teams in each conference then play for the remaining four spots in a ‘play-in tournament’.

What is the NBA play-in tournament?

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 format that is a combination of single- and double-elimination.

First, the seventh-placed team plays the eighth-placed team, with the winner handed 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.

How many games are in the NBA playoffs?

In the NBA playoffs, there can be anywhere between 60 and 105 total games. This is because there are four rounds – the First Round, Conference Semi-finals, Conference Finals, and the NBA Finals – each of which are a best-of-seven, meaning a team needs 4 victories to win the round.

How does NBA playoff seeding work?

In each conference, the top six teams are seeded 1 to 6 based on their regular-season record. The team with the best record in each conference receives the no. 1 seed, while the team with the worst (among those six franchises) record receives the no. 6 seed, and so on.

NBA playoff rules for seeding when there’s a tie

But what if there’s a tie? There are four tiebreakers to separate teams, applied in the following order:

1. The season head-to-head record is used to determine which team receives the better seed.

2. If the head-to-head is also level, however, the higher seed goes to the franchise that is a divisional champion.

3. Should both or neither team be divisional champion, the third tie-breaker is the win-loss record against other teams in their division.

4. And if that doesn’t separate the teams, win-loss percentage against conference teams is the final tie-breaker!

The seventh and eighth seeds in each conference are decided by the play-in tournament. As the season ramps up after the mid-season NBA All-Star break, teams jostle for position, hoping to earn a spot in the postseason playoffs.

How do the NBA playoffs work?

The playoffs use a best-of-seven elimination format. This means two teams play each other up to seven times, with the team that wins four games first progressing to the next round.

In the first round of the NBA playoffs, the 1st seed in each conference plays the 8th seed, while 2 plays 7, 3 plays 6, and 4 plays 5. The bracket will then progress like this:

The second round is then known as the conference semi-finals, and the third round is the conference finals. The teams that progress from each conference then meet in the NBA Finals to determine the champion.

How is home advantage determined in the NBA playoffs?

In each round, the team with the better regular-season record is rewarded with home-court advantage. A playoff series follows a 2-2-1-1-1 home/away format; and of the seven games in a series, the team with the better seed plays games 1, 2, 5 and 7 at home.

When do the NBA playoffs start?

The 2025 NBA Playoffs will begin with the play-in tournament on April 15, which will run until April 18. When the play-in tournament is complete, the NBA Playoffs will begin on April 19.

The NBA Finals are scheduled to take place starting on June 5. If necessary, Game 7 of the Finals is scheduled to take place on June 22, which is the latest possible date the season will end.

How to bet on the NBA playoffs

All the latest NBA odds can be found on the Betway sportsbook. Before finalising your online sports betting selections, make sure to check out our experts’ NBA insights.

We also offer basketball betting odds for other leagues that might be of interest, such as the NCAAB.