How Many Games are in an NBA Season Including Playoffs?
The NBA season is 82 games long. There are also playoffs, which are single-elimination tournaments. The playoffs are made up of the eight teams from each conference with the best records.
82 Regular Season Games
The regular season starts in October and ends in April. Each team plays 82 games. 41 of those games are played at home, and 41 are played away. The NBA schedule is very balanced. Each team plays every other team 4 times during the regular season. 2 of those games are played at home, and 2 are played away.
Playoffs
The NBA Playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament that takes place each year after the NBA’s regular season to determine the league’s champion. The playoffs are composed of four rounds: the first two are best-of-seven series played between the eight first-place teams in each conference, and the last two rounds are best-of-seven series played between the conference champions.
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 winning team of the series receives the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, which replaced the Walter A. Brown Trophy in 1983.
The host city for the NBA Finals is selected by a vote among the 30 team owners of the NBA. The city is then home to both teams during the series. This is similar to other North American major professional sports leagues (MLB, NHL, etc.), where all games in their respective championship series are played in two 2 venues. However, unlike other leagues, the NBA Finals has occasionally been played outside of North America, such as when Salt Lake City hosted games 3 and 4 of jazz vs bulls final in 1998 due to construction delays at what is now Vivint Smart Home Arena.
The Los Angeles Lakers have played in 31 NBA Finals (including their win as the Minneapolis Lakers in 1949), winning 17 times. The Boston Celtics have appeared in 21 finals, winning 14 times – both records. The Golden State Warriors have reached six straight Finals (2015–2020), winning three times in that span.
