How many teams make the NBA Playoffs?

The NBA's playoff structure has evolved over the years and new wrinkles like the NBA Play-In Tournament and the NBA In-Season Tournament continue to shake things up. Even the most ardent fans occasionally need a refresher about how it all works, so here is what to expect from the 2023-24 NBA Playoffs.

How many teams make the NBA Playoffs?

Sixteen teams make the playoffs — eight from the Eastern Conference and eight from the Western Conference. The top six teams in each team by regular season record are guaranteed spots and seeded No. 1 through No. 6. The final two spots, No. 7 and No. 8, in each conference are determined by the results of the NBA Play-In Tournament.

How many teams make the NBA Play-In Tournament?

At the end of the regular season the No. 7 through No. 10 finishers in each conference are entered into the Play-In Tournament. In each conference, the No. 7 team plays the No. 8 team and the No. 9 team plays the No. 10 team.

The winner of the game between the No. 7 and the No. 8 teams becomes the No. 7 seed for their conference. The lost of that games plays the winner of the No. 9 and No. 10 game. The winner of that game becomes the No. 8 seed. Basically, the No. 9 or No. 10 seeds can only jump up to No. 8 and they need two wins to do that. The No. 7 and No. 8 seeds each get as many as two chances to try and win one game to stay in the playoff field.

How are the NBA Playoffs organized?

Once the NBA Play-In Tournament is concluded and the eight teams are set in each field, the first round begins. The No. 1 seed in each conference plays the No. 8 seed, No. 2 plays No. 7, No. 3 plays No. 6 and No. 4 plays No. 5. Each series is best-of-seven and the higher seed has homecourt advantage.

In the second round, the winner of the No. 1 and No. 8 series plays the winner of the No. 4 and No. 5 series, the winner of the No. 2 and No. 7 series plays the winner of the No. 3 and No. 6 series. Each series is, again, best-of-seven and the higher seed has homecourt advantage.

From there, teams advance to the Conference Finals. The winner of the bracket in each conference advances to the NBA Finals where just one of the 30 teams that began the season and 16 teams that began the postseason will be crowned champion.