Unveiling the Intricacies of NBA Play-offs: How They Unfold and Who Claims Victory
Discover how the NBA play-offs work and what it takes to win the championship.

The NBA play-offs are an exciting four-round tournament to determine the NBA Championship. Out of the 30 teams in the regular season, sixteen qualify. The top six teams with the most wins in each Conference secure their spots automatically, while teams from 7th to 10th compete in a 'play-in tournament' for the remaining places. The teams are seeded based on their final position in the Conference table.
In each round, the team with the better regular-season record has home-court advantage, playing games one, two, five, and seven at home. Each round follows a best-of-seven format, and the first team to win four games progresses. The first round sees matchups like the first seed versus the eighth seed.
The winners of specific series advance, and the Conference final winners face off in the NBA finals, which in 2025, begins on 5 June.