How Many NBA Teams Play in the Playoffs?

The NBA playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament held annually to determine the league’s champion. Eight teams from each conference (Western and Eastern) qualify for the playoffs.

How the Playoffs Work

Out of the 30 teams in the NBA, 16 make it to the playoffs. 8 teams from the Western Conference and 8 teams from the Eastern Conference. The teams are seeded according to their regular season record. The team with the best record in each conference is given the #1 seed, the team with the second-best record is given the #2 seed, and so on.

The NBA playoffs are a tournament held after the conclusion of the regular season to determine the league’s champion.

The NBA playoffs are a tournament held after the conclusion of the regular season to determine the league’s champion. The tournament consists of four rounds of best-of-seven series. The winners of each round advance to the next round until the final round, whose winner is crowned the league champion and receives the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.

In each conference, eight teams are seeded one through eight based on their regular season record. The conference champion (i.e., the team with the best record in that conference) is seeded first, while the other division winners are seeded second through fifth. The remaining teams are seeded sixth through eighth.

During the first round of playoffs, which is also known as the “conference quarterfinals”, the lower-seeded team in each series hosts games one, two, five and seven (if necessary), while the higher-seeded team hosts games three, four and six (if necessary). In subsequent rounds, known as the “conference semifinals”, “conference finals”, and “NBA Finals”, home-court advantage is given to whichever team had a better regular season record; thus, they would host games one, two, five and seven (if necessary) in those rounds.

The NBA playoffs are structured so that higher seeds have an easier path to reach the Finals; for example, it is impossible for a lower seed to win more than one series before playing any team with a better record than them in that Conference. Conversely, it is possible for a higher seed to lose its first playoff series without even playing any team with a worse record than them in that Conference; this has only happened nine times in NBA history (six times if we exclude Conference Finals).

The playoffs consist of four rounds: the first three are best-of-seven series, and the Finals is a best-of-seven series.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament annually held after the conclusion of the NBA regular season. The winner of the NBA Finals receives the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, which is named after former NBA commissioner Larry O’Brien.

The playoffs consist of four rounds: the first three are best-of-seven series, and the Finals is a best-of-seven series. All times are in Eastern Time (ET). Seeds listed are seeds within their conference.

The playoffs are bracketed by two play-in tournaments: the first round of the playoffs, and the Finals.

The NBA playoffs are a best-of-seven tournament held after the conclusion of the regular season to determine the league’s champion. The playoffs follow a strict bracket format, with each team playing two games against their opponents, one at home and one away. The first team to win four games advances to the next round, until only two teams remain. These two teams then face off in the Finals, with the winner being crowned NBA champion.

Only 16 teams make the playoffs each year, out of a total of 30. The playoff field is made up of the eight teams from each conference with the best record. However, if a team outside of the top eight in its conference has a better record than any of the top eight teams in the other conference, it will “play in” to the playoffs as well.

Once the playoff field is set, it is bracketed by two play-in tournaments: the first round of the playoffs, and the Finals. In each tournament, all but two teams are eliminated after three losses. The play-in tournaments determine which team gets seeded seventh and eighth in their respective conferences for the first round of the playoffs proper.

The first round of the playoffs features all 16 teams: those seeded 1-8 in their conference play each other, as do those seeded 9-16. The team seedings are re-ordered after every round so that, for example, if a higher-seeded team beats a lower-seeded team in Round 1 then they will play another higher-seeded team in Round 2 (and vice versa). After Round 1 there are only 8 teams remaining: those that won their first series advance to Round 2 to compete against each other.

Rounds 3 (the Conference Finals) and 4 (the NBA Finals) follow a similar pattern: whoever wins their respective series advances to face another series winner from the other conference, until only two teams are left standing. These two teams then compete against each other in a best-of-seven series to determine who will be crowned NBA champion for that season.

How Many Teams Play in the Playoffs?

The NBA playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the NBA’s regular season to determine the NBA champion. The playoffs are a best-of-seven format; the team with the better record in the regular season earns home-court advantage in the series. A total of 16 teams (8 from each conference) qualify for the playoffs.

16 teams play in the playoffs.

16 teams play in the playoffs. 8 teams from each conference. The conference seeds 1-8 advance to the playoffs. The division winners are seeded 1-3 and the next best 5 teams from each conference are seeded 4-8.

8 teams from each conference make the playoffs.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament held after the conclusion of the NBA’s regular season to determine the league’s champions. Eight teams from each of the league’s two conferences qualify for the playoffs.

The four divisional winners in each conference (seeded 1–4 in order of regular season record) earn home court advantage for the first round of the playoffs, which they host regardless of whether their record is better or worse than that of other qualifying teams. The next best four teams in each conference (seeded 5–8) are “wild cards”, and also enter the playoff tournament as does a team from each conference with an inferior win-loss record that won its division.

The top seed in each conference gets a bye to the second round.

The top seed in each conference gets a bye to the second round. The next four seeds in each conference (2, 3, 4, 5) play each other in the first round in best-of-7 series. The winners of those series advance to the second round where they play the top seed in their conference in best-of-7 series.

What Happens if There’s a Tie?

The NBA playoff system is a tournament that takes place every year to determine the champion of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The playoffs are an elimination tournament consisting of four rounds of best-of-seven series. The winners of each series advance to the next round until the final round, whose winner is crowned the NBA champion.

If there’s a tie for the final playoff spot in either conference, the two teams will play each other in a one-game playoff.

While the NBA regular season is 82 games long, the playoffs are a whole different animal. In the playoffs, every game matters and there is no room for error. The postseason is also when the basketball really gets good, as the best teams in the league battle it out for a chance to lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

But what happens if two teams tie for the final playoff spot in either conference? In that case, the two teams will play each other in a one-game playoff. The winner of that game will then earn the right to compete in the playoffs, while the loser goes home empty-handed.

One-game playoffs are nothing new in the NBA; they’ve been used to decide playoff spots ever since 1950. In recent years, we’ve seen a few of them each season, as teams battle it out until the very end for a chance to keep playing.

So if you’re wondering how many NBA teams make the playoffs, the answer is 16…unless there’s a tie, in which case it’s 17.