From the First Round to the Final Buzzer: The Insider’s Guide to the Nuts and Bolts of the Basketball Playoffs

The NBA playoffs are a time when the best teams in the league battle it out for the championship. But how do they actually work? Let’s take a look.

What Are the NBA Playoffs?

The National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs are a best-of-seven playoff tournament held annually to crown the NBA champions. The tournament starts in late April, following the conclusion of the regular season, and concludes with the Finals in June.

How Do the Nba Playoffs Work?

The NBA Playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament among the sixteen teams that qualified for the playoffs by having one of the top eight records in either the Eastern or Western Conference. The tournament is bracketed so that the two division winners from each conference play each other in the first round, regardless of record. The four remaining teams re-seed according to regular season record and play each other in the second round. In subsequent rounds, matchups are reseeded yearly so that the team with home court advantage plays the lower-seeded team.

What Is the Playoff Format?

The National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament among the 16 teams that qualify for the playoffs, based on their regular season records. The tournament is an annual event that culminates in the NBA Finals.

How Many Teams Make the Playoffs?

In the NBA, there are a total of 16 teams that make the playoffs. 8 teams from each conference make the playoffs, and the teams are seeded based on their regular season record. The playoffs are a single-elimination tournament, meaning that once a team loses, they are out of the playoffs.

Who Determines the Playoff Matchups?

The NBA Playoff matchups are determine by the standings at the end of the regular season. The team with the best record in each conference is seeded first, the team with the second-best record is seeded second, and so on.

What Is the Seeding Process?

The seeding process for the NBA playoffs is very simple. The better a team’s record is, the higher they will be seeded. For example, if a team has a record of 60-22, they will be seeded higher than a team with a record of 40-42.

What Is Home Court Advantage?

In the NBA, the team with the better regular-season record earns home-court advantage in the playoffs. The first two rounds of the playoffs are played within each conference, pitting division winners against wild cards and second-place clubs against third-place clubs.

In the first round of the playoffs, the division winner with the best record in each conference plays the eighth seed, or lowest remaining seed. The division winner with the second-best record in each conference faces the seventh seed.
The remaining two first-round matchups are determined by which team has home court advantage — meaning, which team would host Games 1, 2 and (if necessary) 5 and 7 in that series. The third seed plays the sixth seed, and the fourth seed plays fifth. Home court advantage goes to whichever team has a better regular season record.

How Do the Playoffs Affect the Nba Draft?

The NBA playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament held after the conclusion of the NBA’s regular season to determine the league’s champion. The playoffs affect the NBA draft in a few ways.

First, teams that make it to the playoffs are not eligible to receive the first overall pick in the draft. Instead, they will pick later in the draft order, based on their playoff performance.

Second, teams that make it to the playoffs have a better chance of signing free agents and keeping their own players, because they can offer them more money and more playing time.

Finally, teams that do well in the playoffs tend to get more media attention, which can help them attract fans and generate revenue.