NBA Playoffs
First implemented in 1984, the NBA Playoffs’ current format involves 16 teams competing in four rounds. The first round was best-of-five until 2003 when it became a best-of-seven matchup. Since the 2016 playoffs, the top six teams in the Eastern and Western Conferences qualify according to their win-loss records.
The coronavirus pandemic changed how teams qualify for the NBA Playoffs as the league managed two shortened seasons. Now, the play-in tournament grants two teams with playoff seeds No. 7 and No. 8 employing a four-team, three-game format.
- Number of participating teams: 16
- Rounds: four
- Format: best of seven games
- Most NBA Playoff appearances: Los Angeles Lakers (63)
- Least NBA Playoff appearances: New Orleans Pelicans (7)
- Longest NBA Playoff drought: Sacramento Kings (last appearance: 2005-06)
- Longest active NBA Playoff appearance streak: Portland Trail Blazers (8 consecutive playoffs since 2013-14)
- Longest NBA Playoff streak ever: San Antonio Spurs and Philadelphia 76ers (22 consecutive seasons)
Featured articles:
NBA Playoffs: How Does the NBA Play-In Tournament Work?
The Most Significant NBA Playoff Injuries of All Time
Larry Bird Cried Foul in the 1998 NBA Playoffs and Drew a Brutal Response From Phil Jackson
Visit NBA.com‘s NBA Playoffs section.
Read the latest articles about the NBA Playoffs:
The Brooklyn Nets are only a month away from starting their NBA Finals run, but they just lost a key contributor to a shocking retirement.
Dan Majerle reveals the strategy he used against Michael Jordan in the 1993 NBA Finals and the shock he felt when MJ called him out in ‘The Last Dance.’
Ray Allen’s famous three-pointer for the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals technically should never have counted.
Michael Jordan, who won six NBA titles, and Tom Brady, who just won his seventh Super Bowl, actually once won a championship together.
Seven-time NBA champion Robert Horry welcomed now-seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady to the ‘7-Chip Club’ with a hilarious image.
Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard has started playing back-to-back games for the first time since April 2017. He could make the difference in the team’s playoff seeding.
A look at the NBA franchises that have never won a championship, some of whom have never even reached the NBA Finals.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver says planners of the bubble in Orlando quickly realized they had overlooked one consideration.
It safe to say that 2020 didn’t go as anyone planned. NBA commissioner Adam Silver, for example, had to save his league from a $1.5 billion disaster.
It’s crazy to think that there are still people out there that don’t appreciate LeBron James, who won his fourth NBA title on Sunday night.
