How do the NBA Playoffs work? Taking a closer look at the marquee event set to start next month
The NBA season is wrapping up in a few weeks. Teams in playoff positions are looking to finish strong and head into the playoffs on a positive note.
Every postseason, there are marquee match-ups that fans look forward to watching. The Play-In tournament adds excitement to both conferences.
NBA Playoffs explained
The NBA Playoffs feature three rounds in the Western and Eastern Conferences. The teams that win each conference will face off in the NBA Finals. The best teams in the league compete against each other with the goal of capturing the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
The First round, Conference Semifinals, and the Conference Finals have a best-of-seven format. This means that the first team to win four games in a series will advance to the next round. The NBA Finals also has the same format.
There have been some iconic moments in the NBA playoffs. There is no guarantee that a team with a two or three-game lead will end up winning a series. Just look at what happened to the Golden State Warriors when they were up 3-1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals.
There are 16 teams that qualify for the NBA Playoffs. Eight teams represent each conference. The first-round match-ups are as follows: the top seed will face the eighth seed, the second seed will face the seventh seed, the third seed will face the sixth seed, and the fourth seed will face the fifth seed.
In the second round, the winner of the first-seed vs. eighth-seed matchup will go on to face the winner of the fourth-seed vs. fifth-seed matchup. The winner of the third vs. sixth seed will face the winner of the second vs. seventh seed.
The final two teams in each conference will compete to earn a spot in the NBA Finals.
NBA Play-In Tournament
NBA commissioner Adam Silver introduced the Play-In Tournament in 2020. Teams with the seventh through tenth-highest winning percentages in each conference will participate in the tournament. This will determine which teams make up the final two playoff seeds in each conference.
The seventh-placed team will face the eighth-placed team in each conference to determine the seventh seed. The loser of that match-up will face the winner of the matchup between the 9th-placed and 10th-placed team. The winner of this game will determine the eighth seed.
The Play-In tournament will take place between April 11-14. The NBA playoffs will start on April 15.