When Do The NBA Playoffs End?
Contents
Wondering when the NBA Playoffs end? Here’s a breakdown of the schedule so you can catch all the action.
Introduction
The NBA playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament among the top eight teams in each conference, with the conference champions proceeding to the NBA Finals.
What Happens in the NBA Playoffs?
The NBA playoffs are a series of elimination games played by the top teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The winners of each series advance to the next round, until the Finals, when the last two teams remaining compete for the NBA championship.
The First Round
In the first round of the playoffs, the two teams with the best record in each conference play each other, and the team with the better record has home-court advantage. The first two games are played at the home of the team with the better record, followed by two games at the home of the team with the worse record, if necessary. If one team wins three games and another loses three games, a seventh game is played to determine which team advances to Round 2.
The Conference Semifinals
In the Conference Semifinals, the remaining 4 teams in each conference play each other in a best-of-seven series. The team with the better record in the regular season plays the team with the worst record, and the two other teams play each other. The winners of those series advance to the Conference Finals.
The Conference Finals
After the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Eastern and Western Conference Finals are held. The Conference Finals are a best-of-seven round series between the winners of the East and West Semifinals. The Conference Finals are held in late May.
The NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The annual played series was originally established in 1947 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA) Finals. The NBA Finals was named one of the “10 Greatest Sports Battles” by Sports Illustrated. The Eastern Conference champions play the Western Conference champions to determine the league champion and receive the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.
Since Inglewood, California’s Great Western Forum (later renamed to Staples Center) opened in 1999, the home court advantage has alternated between the two conferences each year. Since 1984, when the playoffs expanded to sixteen teams with eight from each conference, most NBA Finals have featured eight All-Stars, a complexion that fans had not seen since 1967.
The 2020 NBA Finals was originally scheduled to begin on June 4 and end no later than June 21. However, due to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic, it began on September 30 and ended on October 13. This marked a change from previous NBA Finals formats, which had one day off between Games 2-3 and 5-6 during a 2-3-2 format while all other games were spaced two days apart. The schedule for this edition of the Finals was due to concerns that traditional travel days would expose players and staff to an increased risk of contracting COVID-19 if they were held during a potential second wave of infections in November as public health officials had warned could happen.
The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat in six games to win their seventeenth NBA championship. Lakers’ small forward LeBron James was named Finals MVP for a record fourth time in his career.
When Do The NBA Playoffs End?
The NBA Playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament annually held after the NBA’s regular season to determine the league’s champion. The playoffs were first established in 1947, and their format have been changed several times since. The championship is usually decided in a game seven, which is why the playoffs are often referred to as the “seven-game series.” The NBA Playoffs typically last about two months.
The First Round
The First Round of the playoffs is a best-of-seven series. The team that has the better regular-season record gets home-court advantage, meaning they will host Games 1, 2, 5, and 7 (if necessary). The first round of the playoffs often features some of the best basketball of the entire postseason. With fresh legs and excitement running high, both teams usually come out firing on all cylinders. While the level of play is generally quite high in the first round, upsets are still relatively common. In recent years, we’ve seen lower seeds like the eighth-seeded Miami Heat and seventh-seeded Houston Rockets knock off conference heavyweights like the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors, respectively.
The Conference Semifinals
The second round of the NBA playoffs is known as the Conference Semifinals. The Conference Semifinals begin the weekend after the first round of the playoffs ends. The conference semifinals are comprised of the four teams from each conference that advanced from the first round. These eight teams are seeded based on their regular season record, with the best team playing the worst team and so on.
The Conference Finals
The Conference Finals are the third round of the NBA Playoffs. The two winners of the Conference Semifinals compete in this round. This round determines who will represent the Eastern and Western Conferences in the NBA Finals. The Conference Finals are a best-of-seven series.
The NBA Finals
The NBA Finals are the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western conference winners play each other in a best-of-seven game series. The team with the most wins in the series is crowned the NBA champion.
The Finals have been played every year since 1947, making it one of the oldest championship series in North American professional sports. The first Finals were played between the Philadelphia Warriors and the Chicago Stags, with the Warriors winning the series 4-2.
The most recent Finals were played between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers, with the Warriors winning 4-0. The next Finals will be played in 2020.
Conclusion
The date of the end of the NBA playoffs varies each year, depending on when the Finals are played. In recent years, the playoffs have ended in June.
