How Many NBA Teams Make the Playoffs?

The NBA regular season is coming to an end, which means it’s time to start thinking about the playoffs. But how many teams actually make it?

NBA Teams

The NBA playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament held annually to determine the league champion of the National Basketball Association (NBA). There are sixteen teams in the NBA playoffs: the top eight teams from each of the league’s two conferences, based on their regular season win-loss records.

Eastern Conference

In the Eastern Conference, there are 15 teams. The top 8 teams make the playoffs.

Western Conference

In the Western Conference, there are currently 15 teams fighting for a chance to compete in the NBA playoffs. The top 8 teams with the most wins will qualify for the playoffs.

As of right now, the teams that are most likely to clinch a spot in the playoffs are the Los Angeles Lakers, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George’s Los Angeles Clippers, James Harden and Russell Westbrook’s Houston Rockets, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum’s Portland Trail Blazers, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray’s Denver Nuggets, Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert’s Utah Jazz, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram’s New Orleans Pelicans, and Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis’ Dallas Mavericks.

The team that is currently in 8th place is the Memphis Grizzlies, who have a record of 32 wins and 31 losses. The team that is behind them in 9th place is the San Antonio Spurs, who have a record of 30 wins and 33 losses. The Spurs are only 2 games behind the Grizzlies, so they still have a chance to make it to the playoffs.

The other teams in the Western Conference (in order from most to least wins) are the Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers (the other team), Houston Rockets (the other team), New Orleans Pelicans (the other team), Portland Trail Blazers (the other team), Denver Nuggets (the other team), Utah Jazz (the other team), Dallas Mavericks (the other team), Memphis Grizzlies (the team in 8th place), and San Antonio Spurs (the team behind Memphis in 9th place).

NBA Playoffs

In the NBA, the playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament among sixteen teams that have qualified from their respective conferences. Eight teams from the Eastern Conference and eight teams from the Western Conference qualify for the playoffs.

Qualifications

In order to qualify for the NBA playoffs, a team must have one of the following:
-The best record in its conference
-A top-four seed in its conference

The playoff seedings are determined by regular-season records. The team with the best record in each conference is seeded first overall, and the team with the worst record is seeded eighth. The other six teams are seeded second through seventh based on their records.

Seeding

In the NBA, the team that finishes with the best record in each conference is rewarded with the top seed in that conference’s playoff bracket. The playoff bracket consists of sixteen teams total, eight from each conference. The other fourteen teams are seeded in the bracket based on their regular season record. The playoffs are a single-elimination tournament, meaning that once a team loses, they are out of contention for the NBA championship.

The first round of the playoffs is referred to as the “first seed vs. eighth seed”, “second seed vs. seventh seed”, etc., matchup. The higher-seeded team controls home court advantage in each series. In other words, if the eighth seed beats the first seed in their matchup, they will play all future games at home until they either lose or win the NBA championship. Home court advantage is significant in basketball because teams typically fare much better playing in front of their own fans than on the road.

The second round of the playoffs is referred to as the “conference semifinals”, where each conference’s top four seeds advance to play one another. The two winners from each conference’s semifinals advance to that conference’s finals, or championship series. These two teams then play each other until one team wins four games and advances to the NBA Finals.

The NBA Finals is a best-of-seven series between the Eastern Conference and Western Conference champions, where again, home court advantage goes to the team with better regular season record. The winner of this series is awarded the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy and crowned NBA champion for that season.

NBA Finals

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the world’s top basketball league. Each year, the NBA Finals take place between the champions of the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. The Eastern Conference champion is the team with the best regular-season record in the Eastern Conference, while the Western Conference champion is the team with the best regular-season record in the Western Conference.

Championship

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 team that wins the series is awarded the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, which replaced the Walter A. Brown Trophy in 1983. Prior to that, the trophy was known as the NBA Finals Championship Trophy (1947–1982) and the NBA World Championship Trophy (1949–1986). The winning team of each year’s NBA Finals also receives rings for each player and coach, paid for by the team’s owner.