How Many Teams Make the NBA Playoffs?

Ryan Phillips | 3 Hours Ago

Nikola Jokic and LeBron James face off during the 2024 NBA playoffs. / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The 2024-25 NBA season is almost upon us as teams finalize their rosters and prepare for training camp. With that in mind, it's worth looking ahead to the season and what to expect, specifically in the postseason. Things can get a little confusing now thanks to the NBA's play-in tournament.

What follows is a look at the NBA playoffs, including how many teams make the playoffs. There are two answers—and it needs a detailed explanation.

How many teams make the NBA playoffs?

Technically, 16 teams make the NBA playoffs each season. Eight teams from the Western Conference and eight from the Eastern Conference. Those teams are seeded one through eight. The playoffs last four rounds, with each being a best-of-seven series.

But those eight teams aren't the only ones that get a shot at the postseason. The NBA has added a play-in tournament in which the teams seeded seventh through 10th in each conference battle it out in an elimination tournament for the final two playoff spots.

That means the top six seeds in each conference are guaranteed a spot in the postseason, while the next four seeds in each conference play to join them.

What is the NBA play-in tournament?

The play-in tournament was introduced in 2020 and first used during the 2020-21 season. It features the teams that finish in seventh through 10th place in both conferences battling it out in an elimination tournament for the final two playoff spots on each side of the playoff bracket.

The setup sees the teams with the better regular season record hosting each game and opens with the seventh-place team playing the eighth-place, with the winner securing a spot in the playoff field as the seventh seed. The ninth and 10th-place teams also play, with the loser being eliminated and the winner moving on to face the loser of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 matchup. The loser of the opening game hosts the winner of the No. 9 vs. No. 10 game with the winner earning the eighth seed.

Got all that?

It's an interesting and creative way to add some excitement to the end of the regular season and the beginning of the playoffs. The higher-placed teams have a huge advantage to the teams that finish ninth and 10th.

After four seasons of the format, featuring eight available playoff spots, seventh-place teams are 6-2 and have never not advanced to the playoff field. Eighth-place teams are 2-6 and have failed to advance three times. Ninth-place teams are also 6-2 and have failed to advance five times, and 10th-place teams are 2-6 and have never reached the full postseason bracket.

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