The NBA season is long, and the path to the championship has several stages: the regular season, the play-in tournament and then four playoff rounds. If you are new to basketball, this guide explains how a team goes from the first game of the season to lifting the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Follow games on our NBA live scores page.
The regular season
There are 30 teams in the NBA, split into two conferences, the Eastern and the Western, with 15 teams each. Each conference has three divisions. Over the regular season, each team plays 82 games, half at home and half away. There are no draws in basketball, so every game has a winner, and overtime periods are played until one team leads.
Teams are ranked within their conference by winning percentage. The best record in each conference earns the top seed.
The play-in tournament
The play-in tournament decides the last two playoff places in each conference. The teams that finish 7th to 10th in their conference take part, while the top six teams qualify directly for the playoffs.
- 7th vs 8th: the winner becomes the 7th seed. The loser gets a second chance.
- 9th vs 10th: the loser is eliminated. The winner advances.
- The final game: the loser of the 7th vs 8th game plays the winner of the 9th vs 10th game for the 8th seed.
It is a short, high-stakes mini-tournament that keeps more teams in contention late in the season and means that games in April matter to more clubs.
The playoffs bracket
Sixteen teams, eight from each conference, make the playoffs. In each conference, the bracket pairs the 1st seed with the 8th, the 2nd with the 7th, the 3rd with the 6th and the 4th with the 5th. There are four rounds:
- First round: 16 teams, 8 series.
- Conference semi-finals: 8 teams, 4 series.
- Conference finals: 4 teams, 2 series. The winners are the conference champions.
- NBA Finals: the Eastern and Western champions play for the title.
How a best-of-seven series works
Every playoff series is best-of-seven: the first team to win four games advances. The higher seed has home-court advantage and hosts games 1, 2, 5 and 7, while the lower seed hosts games 3, 4 and 6 in a 2-2-1-1-1 format. In the NBA Finals, home-court advantage goes to the team with the better regular-season record.
This format reduces the effect of a single bad night, so the stronger team usually wins, although upsets still happen.
Why seeding matters
Finishing higher in the standings gives a team a theoretically easier first-round opponent and extra home games in a series. Avoiding the play-in tournament is also a big reward, since a team that finishes 6th or higher guarantees its place in the playoffs.
Tie-breakers for the standings
When two teams finish with the same record, the league uses tie-breakers such as head-to-head record, division winner status and conference record. These details can decide seeding, so they become relevant in the last week of the season.
Other things to know
- Overtime: five-minute periods are played until there is a winner.
- Game length: four quarters of 12 minutes each.
- Trophy: the winner of the Finals receives the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy.
Once you know the structure, every late-season game has a story, whether it is a team fighting for the top seed or a play-in battle. For a primer on the game itself, read our guide to reading a basketball box score.
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