How Many Teams Go To The Playoffs In The NBA?
The NBA playoffs are a best-of-seven tournament held annually to determine the league champion. Eight teams from each conference qualify for the playoffs.
NBA Playoffs Format
The NBA playoffs are a tournament held after the conclusion of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) regular season to determine the league’s champion. The playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament, with each series played in a 2–2–1–1–1 format. The first two rounds are played within each conference, with five teams coming from the Eastern Conference and three teams coming from the Western Conference. The winners of each conference’s divisional round advance to the conference finals, with the winners of those series advancing to the NBA Finals.
How many teams make the playoffs?
For the majority of NBA history, eight teams per conference made the playoffs each year. However, in the 1969-70 season, the NBA expanded to include a ninth team per conference with the addition of the Buffalo Braves and the Cleveland Cavaliers. From that point until just recently, eight teams per conference (16 total) have made the playoffs every year.
That all changed starting in the 2015-16 season when the NBA once again expanded – this time increasing the number of playoff teams to include 10 per conference (20 total). So how does this new system work? Let’s take a look.
Under the current system, which begins with the first regular season game played on or after April 16th and goes until June, four rounds of best-of-seven conference playoff series are played. The four surviving teams from each conference – otherwise known as the “Final Four” – then advance to compete against each other in The Finals to decide who will be crowned that year’s NBA Champion.
Prior to 2016, it was very rare for a team seeded lower than 4th to make it all the way to The Finals. However, with two additional playoff spots available in each conference now, lower seeds like the 8th-seeded Golden State Warriors and 7th-seeded Toronto Raptors have been able to make Cinderella runs deep into the playoffs in recent years.
What is the seeding format?
In the NBA, the playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament among 16 teams (eight from each of the two conferences), who qualify by having one of the top eight regular season records. The conference champions are seeded 1–4 based on their regular season records, while the other 12 teams are seeded 5–16 based on their regular season records; the loser of each first-round matchup faces the winner of a corresponding second-round matchup. These seedings are used to create a single elimination bracket that determines the champion.
NBA Playoff History
The NBA playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament held after the conclusion of the NBA’s regular season to determine the league’s champion. The tournament bracket is made up of eight teams from each of the league’s two conferences: the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference. The four teams with the best record from each conference are seeded one through four based on their record, with the home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs being given to the higher seed.
How many teams have won the NBA Finals?
Since the NBA was founded in 1946, there have been 71 NBA Finals. Of those, the Eastern Conference has won 38 while the Western Conference has won 33.
What teams have had the most success in the playoffs?
In the 70-year history of the NBA, a total of 53 teams have won at least one NBA Championship. Of those 53 teams, 32 have won multiple championships, with the Lakers and Celtics leading the way with 17 apiece.
In terms of overall playoff success, however, it is the Lakers who stand alone atop the NBA’s all-time winningest franchises. Los Angeles has appeared in a total of 315 playoff games, winning 234 of them for a win percentage of 74.4%. That is nearly 10 percentage points higher than the next closest team (Boston, 64.5%).
Here is a look at the top five teams in terms of all-time playoff success:
1. Los Angeles Lakers – 74.4%
2. Boston Celtics – 64.5%
3. Golden State Warriors – 62.0%
4. San Antonio Spurs – 61.5%
5. Miami Heat – 58.2%
NBA Playoff Predictions
It’s that time of year again! The leaves are changing, the weather is cooling down, and the NBA season is just around the corner. With the new season comes a new batch of Playoff predictions. We’ve gathered the top predictions from around the internet to see who is favored to win it all this year.
Who will make the playoffs?
The 2019 NBA playoff field is set. After an exciting regular season, we finally know which 16 teams will be battling for the chance to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
In the Western Conference, the top seed belongs to the Golden State Warriors, who finished the regular season with a 57-25 record. The Warriors will be followed by the Denver Nuggets (54-28), Portland Trail Blazers (53-29), Houston Rockets (53-29), Utah Jazz (50-32), Oklahoma City Thunder (49-33), San Antonio Spurs (48-34) and Los Angeles Clippers (48-34).
On the other side of the bracket, things are a bit more wide open in the Eastern Conference. The Milwaukee Bucks earned the No. 1 seed with a 60-22 record, but they’ll have their work cut out for them if they want to make it to the Finals. The Toronto Raptors (58-24), Philadelphia 76ers (51-31), Boston Celtics (49-33), Brooklyn Nets (42-40), Indiana Pacers (48-34), Orlando Magic (42-40) and Detroit Pistons (41-41) round out the playoff field in the East.
As we look ahead to what should be an exciting postseason, let’s take a look at some key questions surrounding all 16 playoff teams.
Who will be the Finals matchups?
The NBA Playoffs are fast approaching, and there are a lot of questions still to be answered. Who will be the Finals matchups? How many teams go to the playoffs in the NBA?
The answer to the first question is still up in the air, but we can make some educated guesses. The two most likely Finals matchups appear to be the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference, and the Toronto Raptors and the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference.
As for how many teams go to the playoffs in the NBA, that answer is a little bit simpler. There are 16 teams in total that make it to the playoffs, 8 from each conference. The top seeds from each conference get a bye in the first round, while the other teams have to play each other in a best-of-seven series.
Who will win the NBA Finals?
This is a question that many NBA fans are wondering heading into the playoffs. The answer, however, is not as simple as it may seem. Many factors need to be considered when making a prediction for who will win the NBA Finals.
First and foremost, it is important to take a look at the regular season records of the teams that are competing in the playoffs. The team with the best record in the NBA is usually the favorite to win the championship, but this is not always the case. Injuries, trades, and other factors can all contribute to a team being less successful than they were during the regular season.
It is also important to consider how well a team has been playing heading into the playoffs. Some teams peak at the right time and make a run to the finals, while others struggle and are eliminated early on. The teams that have been playing well heading into the playoffs are often thought of as more dangerous than those who have not.
In addition to all of this, it is also important to remember that anything can happen in the playoffs. An underdog team can have a great run and make it all the way to the finals, or a favorite can suffer an early exit. Because of this, making a prediction for who will win the NBA Finals is not an easy task.
