How Much Games Are There in an NBA Season?
There are 82 games in an NBA season.
82 regular season games
In an NBA regular season, each team plays 82 games. 41 of those games are played at home, and 41 are played away.
Pre-season games
Pre-season games are mostly held in October. Each team plays four or five games. The games don’t count towards the regular season record.
Exhibition games
Exhibition games are not included in the NBA regular season standings, but they do count towards a team’s total wins and losses. Each team plays eight exhibition games, four at home and four on the road. These games give the coaches a chance to try out different lineups and strategies and to help the players get into playing shape.
Playoff games
Playoff games are single-elimination and there are no second chances. The first team to win four games in a series advances to the next round.
The NBA Finals is a best-of-seven series. The team with the best regular season record in each conference (Eastern and Western) plays the team with the worst record, the second-best team plays the second-worst team, and so on.
In the first round of the playoffs, which is also known as the conference quarterfinals, each series is a best-of-seven. In the second round, or conference semifinals, each series is again a best-of-seven.
The third round of postseason play, which is known as the conference finals, features two best-of-seven series. One matchup features teams from the Eastern Conference while the other showcases teams from the Western Conference.
The championship round, or NBA Finals, matches up the winners of each conference for one final best-of-seven showdown.
