When Is The Last NBA Game of 2021?

The 2021 NBA season is finally here!
After an unprecedented offseason, the league’s 30 teams will tip off the 2021 campaign on Tuesday, Dec. 22.
The regular season will conclude on Sunday, May 16, with the NBA Playoffs set to begin later that week.
The NBA Finals will then take place in July, with the exact dates and times to be determined.

The Playoffs

The playoffs are the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The playoffs began on April 16, 2021, and will end no later than July 22, 2021. The NBA Finals will be played between the Western and Eastern conference champions.

The First Round

The first round of the playoffs is scheduled to begin on Saturday, May 22, 2021. The last game of the first round is scheduled for Thursday, June 3, 2021.

The Conference Semifinals

The Conference Semifinals are the second round of the NBA playoffs. The four teams from each conference that advanced from the first round (the “Conference Quarterfinals”) play each other in two best-of-seven series. The winners of those series advance to the “Conference Finals”.

In the Conference Semifinals, the matchups are:

(1) The team with the best record in each conference plays the team with the eighth-best record in that conference, regardless of divisional alignment.

(2) The remaining two first-place teams in each conference play each other. This matchup is also irrespective of divisional alignment.

The Conference Finals

In the NBA, the Conference Finals are the last round of playoffs before the NBA Finals. The two teams that win their respective conference finals series earn a spot in the NBA Finals. In the Conference Finals, each team plays each other team in their conference twice. The first team to win four games in the series advances to the NBA Finals.

The Conference Finals are typically held in late May or early June. The NBA Finals are then held in June.

The Finals

The last NBA game of the 2021 season is the Finals. The Finals are the championship series of the NBA. The teams that make it to the Finals are the ones that have made it through the playoffs.

The NBA Finals Schedule

The NBA Finals are the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The winning team of the series receives the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.

The Finals were originally named the World Series of Basketball, and it was first held in 1947. The NBA Finals were initially broadcasted on radio, but they began to be televised in 1953. The championship series has been played every June since 1987.

The Finals were originally played between the winners of the Eastern and Western Division, but it changed to its current format in 1970 when the NBA merged with the rival American Basketball Association.

The NBA Finals Format

The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The winning team of the series receives the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.

The NBA Finals has been played at the end of every NBA and Basketball Association of America season in history, dating back to 1947. Most often, the two teams with the best records in their respective conferences qualify for the Finals. Between 1947 and 1957, qualifying for the Finals was based on winning a division title. From 1958 onward, when the NBA was formed after merging with the BAA, qualifying for finals has been based on winning a conference title.

The league finals until 1971 were played in late March or early April, coinciding with the end of the regular season. Since 1988, when Magic Johnson and Larry Bird led their teams to victory in one of professional basketball’s most famous Game 7s,[1] The Finals have been held in June, coinciding with Memorial Day weekend. From 1975 to 1987 (with a few exceptions), games 1–2 were played on Wednesdays, games 3–4 on Fridays and games 5–7 on Sundays; since 1988 all games have been played on weekdays (Monday through Friday). Games 1, 2, 5, 6 are played at home arenas of team with better regular season record while games 3, 4 and 7 are always played at home arena of team with worse regular season record; home court advantage does not guarantee that game will be held at given team’s arena though – e.g. if arenas of both teams hosting games 1 and 2 as well as games 5–7 are unavailable due to other events taking precedence then all games will be held at remaining team’s arena regardless who had better regular season record or whether it is more fair to swap arenas used for game 1 and 2.

In 1985, when the league changed its playoff format so that each conference would have only three division winners plus five wild card teams qualify for postseason play,[2] it also changed how teams would qualify for The Finals:[3]

The first-place team in each division would automatically qualify for postseason play;

The second-place and third-place teams from each division would qualify for postseason play via wildcard berths;

In order to be eligible for a wildcard berth, a team had to finish either:

No more than four games behind their division winner (this requirement was dropped in 1987[4]); or

No more than two games ahead of the fourth place team from their own division (this requirement was added in 1989[5]).

If two or more teams finished tied in any given scenario above then such teams would enter a playoff mini-tournament where they would compete against each other until one emerged as victorious – e.g. if third placed team from one division and fourth placed team from another division finished tied then they would compete against each other in order to decide which one would receive final playoff berth from their conference while loser would miss playoffs altogether.[6]

The system remained unchanged until 1993 when minor changes were made – e.g., first round playoff series increased from best-of-five to best-of-seven.[7] In 1996 major changes were made – two divisions per conference format was abandoned so now each conference had only three divisions with five teams qualifying for playoffs from each conference:

Division winners received automatic berths into Conference Semifinals;

Non-division winners that finished as second or third seeds in their respective conferences received automatic berths into Conference Quarterfinals;

Fourth and fifth seeds had to win Conference First Round series (best-of-five) against Conference Seventh and Sixth seeds respectively so as to advance into Conference Quarterfinals where they joined top three seeds.[8]

In 1999 yet another major change took place – this time conferences were abolished altogether so now sixteen best teams regardless of conference affiliation qualified for playoffs:[9][10]

Eight highest seeded teams received automatic byes into Conference Semifinals while remaining eight teams started playing first round playoff series (best-of-five);[11][12][13] once first round concluded seedings were adjusted so that highest remaining seed faced lowest remaining seed while second highest remaining seed faced third highest remaining seed etc.;

Winners of those quarterfinal series advanced into Semifinals where they joined eight bye teams;[14][15][16][17] once semifinal series concluded seeding were readjusted similar fashion as it was done after conclusion of first round except now top overall remaining seed faced lowest overall remaining seed etc.;

How Many Games Are in the NBA Finals?

The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion.

The winners of the Finals are awarded the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, which replaced the Walter A. Brown Trophy in 1983. Starting with the 2020 NBA Finals, home-court advantage in the Finals is given to the team with the better regular season record, regardless of whether or not that team earned home-court advantage in their respective conference finals.

The first five games of the series are played at the home arena of each team in alternating order, while games 6 and 7 (if necessary) are played at a common venue. Currently, games 1, 2, 5 and 7 are played on Sunday nights while games 3 and 4 are played on Tuesday nights.