How Many NBA Games Are Played in a Year?
The NBA schedule is a hectic one, with games nearly every day for six months out of the year. But just how many games are played in a season?
82 Regular Season Games
The NBA regular season consists of 82 games per team, played over a span of approximately six months from late October/early November to mid-April. Teams play an average of four games per week, with a handful of teeams playing five games in some weeks. Each team plays every other team in its conference twice during the regular season (home and away), and each team plays every team in the other conference once (again, home and away).
41 Home Games
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a men’s professional basketball league in North America, composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). It is widely considered to be the premier men’s professional basketball league in the world.
The NBA regular season typically runs from October to April, with each team playing 82 games. Games are played on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. A typical week during the NBA regular season will feature 10 games, although this varies depending on the week
41 Away Games
The NBA typically schedules 41 away games per team. The home team always has an advantage, so by giving each team an extra home game, the league hopes to create a more even playing field. The trade-off is that some fans miss out on seeing their favorite players and teams.
4 Pre-Season Games
The NBA Preseason is the time when the NBA’s 30 teams tune-up for the regular season by playing a series of exhibition games. These games do not count towards a team’s regular season record. The number of preseason games each team plays varies, but is generally between two and four games.
0-8 Playoff Games
The NBA playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament among the sixteen teams that qualify for the playoffs, based on their regular season records. The tournament determines the champion of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The first round of the playoffs, or opening round, comprises four best-of-five series between eight lower seeds. The four winners advance to face the top four seeds in two best-of-seven Conference Semifinals.
