How Many Teams Play in the NBA Playoffs?

The NBA playoffs are underway, and we’re here to answer the question on everyone’s mind: how many teams play in the playoffs? Keep reading to find out!

How the Playoffs Work

The NBA playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament held after the conclusion of the NBA’s regular season. Each spring, following the end of the 15-team regular season, the playoffs begin. Normally, the playoffs include eight teams from each conference—but seven teams have qualified for the playoffs in a few rare instances. From 1953 to 1969, the NBA playoffs typically included only four teams from each conference.

The NBA playoffs are a single-elimination tournament

The NBA playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held each spring following the conclusion of the NBA regular season. The tournament features 16 teams from the league’s two conferences, with each conference represented by eight clubs. The playoffs are split into four rounds, with each round consisting of best-of-seven series.

The tournament is held after the regular season

The NBA playoffs are a best-of-seven tournament held after the conclusion of the NBA regular season to determine the league’s champion. Eight teams from each conference qualify for the playoffs. The four division winners and the four teams with the next best record in each conference are seeded one through eight, with the division winners receiving seeds one through four.

The playoffs consist of four rounds

The first round of the playoffs, or the conference quarterfinals, consists of eight best-of-seven series featuring the four divisional winners from each conference (seeded 1–4) and the four wild card teams (seeded 5–8).

How Many Teams Play in the Playoffs?

The NBA playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament among the sixteen teams in the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference who qualify for the playoffs. Eight teams from each conference qualify for the playoffs. The four division winners in each conference are seeded one through four based on their regular season record, with the remaining teams seeded fifth through eighth.

There are 16 teams in the playoffs

At the end of the NBA’s regular season, 16 teams qualify for the playoffs. The format is a single-elimination tournament. Seeding is based on each team’s record. The four division winners in each conference (top seed in each conference) earn home court advantage. Seeds 5 through 8 are seeded by record.

The eight teams with the best record in each conference qualify for the playoffs

The eight teams with the best record in each conference qualify for the playoffs. The conference seeding is based on each team’s record.

The four division winners in each conference are seeded one through four based on their overall record, with the remaining four conference teams seeded five through eight.

In the first round of the playoffs, the division winner with the best record in each conference is matched against the eighth seed, the second seed is matched against the seventh seed, and so on.

The playoffs are seeded according to each team’s record

The playoffs are seeded according to each team’s record. The team with the best record gets the #1 seed, the team with the second-best record gets the #2 seed, and so on. In each round of the playoffs, the lower-seeded team is matched up against the higher-seeded team. For example, in the first round of the playoffs, the #1 seed would play the #8 seed, the #2 seed would play the #7 seed, and so on.

What Happens if Two Teams Have the Same Record?

In the NBA, the playoffs begin in April and end in June. Eight teams from each conference qualify for the playoffs. If two or more teams have the same record, the tiebreaker system is used to determine which team gets the higher seed. The tiebreaker system is as follows: head-to-head record, division record, conference record, and finally, record against teams with playoff records.

If two teams have the same record, the tie is broken by a series of tiebreakers

If two teams have the same record, the tie is broken by a series of tiebreakers. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head competition, meaning the two teams compare their records against each other. If they split their head-to-head matchups or if they did not play each other at all during the regular season, the next tiebreaker is division record. If two teams are still tied, the next tiebreaker is conference record. The final tiebreaker is record against playoff teams from the other conference, regardless of division.

The first tiebreaker is head-to-head record

In the event that two teams have the same record, the first tiebreaker is head-to-head record. If the teams split their season series, or if they didn’t play each other at all, the next tiebreaker is division record.

If two teams are still tied after division record is factored in, then it goes to conference record. The team with the better conference record will earn the higher seed.

If there are still two teams tied after all of that, then it comes down to winning percentage against playoff teams, regardless of conference. It starts with overall winning percentage against playoff teams and then goes to winning percentage against playoff teams within the conference.

The final tiebreaker is a coin flip.

The second tiebreaker is divisional record

The NBA playoff picture is always a little bit murky until the final weeks of the regular season. But with just a few weeks left to go in the 2019-20 campaign, we have a pretty good idea of which teams will be in and which teams will be out.

Even though there are only 16 spots available in the playoffs, there are actually 30 teams fighting for those spots. That’s because each team plays 82 games in the regular season, and not every team can make the playoffs.

So how does it work? Well, if two teams have the same record at the end of the regular season, the first tiebreaker is head-to-head record. If they split their season series, or if they didn’t play each other at all, then the second tiebreaker is divisional record.

For example, let’s say two teams are tied with identical records at 48-34. The first thing that would be looked at is whether or not they played each other four times during the regular season. If so, whoever won more of those games would get the higher playoff seed.

But let’s say those two teams never played each other during the regular season. In that case, we would look at their records within their respective divisions. Let’s say Team A went 25-17 against division opponents while Team B went 22-20 against division foes. In that case, Team A would get the higher playoff seed because they had a better record against their divisional opponents.

It’s worth noting that there are some exceptions to this rule. For example, if two teams are fighting for the final playoff spot and they’re both in the same division, then head-to-head record is used as the tiebreaker instead of divisional record (because it would be more fair).

Also, if two teams are tied for a divisional title (or for any seed), then head-to-head record is used as the first tiebreaker while divisional record is used as the second tiebreaker (again because it would be more fair).

How Many Games are in the Playoffs?

The NBA playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament among the sixteen teams that qualify for the playoffs. The twenty-two teams that did not make the playoffs are not included in the tournament. The NBA Finals is the championship series of the playoffs and is a best-of-seven series.

Each round of the playoffs is a best-of-seven series

With the exception of the first round, each round of the playoffs is a best-of-seven series. The team that has won four games in the series advances to the next round, while the losing team is eliminated from the playoffs.

The first team to win four games advances to the next round

In each round of the NBA Playoffs, two teams play each other in a head-to-head series. The first team to win four games advances to the next round, while the losing team is eliminated from the playoffs.

The NBA Playoffs are structured so that higher seeded teams play lower seeded teams in the early rounds. The idea behind this is that better teams should have an easier time winning early on, while the weaker teams get knocked out quickly.

However, once the Conference Finals and NBA Finals roll around, seedings no longer matter and it becomes a best-of-seven series between the two remaining teams.

So, how many games are in the playoffs? Well, it depends on how far your team makes it. If your team gets eliminated in the first round, then there will have been a total of five games played in the playoffs (four in your series plus one game in the first round between other teams).

If your team makes it all the way to the NBA Finals and wins, then there will have been a grand total of 21 games played in the playoffs (four in each of the five rounds plus seven in the finals).

When do the Playoffs Start?

The NBA playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament annually held after the NBA’s regular season to determine the league’s champion. This year, the playoffs will begin on April 18. Eight teams from each of the league’s two conferences qualify for the playoffs.

The playoffs start in April and end in June

The playoffs start in April and end in June, with the NBA Finals taking place in June. The playoffs are a best-of-seven series, meaning that the team with the better record has to win four games before the other team can win three.

The NBA Finals are the last round of the playoffs

The NBA Finals are the last round of the playoffs. The two teams that win the most games in their respective conference finals advance to the NBA Finals. The team with the better record in the regular season has home court advantage in the NBA Finals.

Best-of-seven
The first team to win four games in the best-of-seven series is declared the champion.

Playoff structure
The playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the regular season to determine the league’s champion. A playoff series is composed of a best-of-seven games.