Every season, all 30 NBA teams share one goal: Win the NBA Finals. Each team plays 82 games throughout the year. Only 16 teams, however, will get the chance to take home the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. We'll break down the schedule for the 2025 NBA playoffs and matchups between the best teams in basketball so you know exactly what to expect.
NBA Playoffs Overview
The NBA is divided into two main conferences (Eastern and Western Conferences), both of which are made up of three divisions with five teams each. Six teams from each of the two conferences automatically advance to the playoffs based on the regular season winning percentage. If two or more teams have the same record, standard NBA tiebreaker rules are used. Once the playoffs start, the bracket is fixed and teams are never reseeded.
The teams that finish 7th through 10th from each conference compete in the NBA Play-In Tournament to determine the final two playoff seeds. The 7th and 8th place teams get up to two chances to win one game in order to qualify for the playoffs, while the 9th and 10th place teams need to win two consecutive games to advance.
Each Playoff Series Explained
The NBA playoffs consist of four rounds: the First Round, the Conference Semifinals, the Conference Finals and the NBA Finals. In the conference playoffs, home-court advantage goes to the higher-seeded team (number one being the highest). For the NBA Finals, home-court advantage goes to the team with the better regular season record.
The playoffs follow a tournament format. Each team plays an opponent in a best-of-seven series with the first team to win four games advancing into the next round, while the other team is eliminated from the playoffs. In the next round, the successful team plays against another advancing team from the same conference. In the end, there will be only one team left from each conference.
All rounds, including the NBA Finals, are in a 2-2-1-1-1 format, which means the team with home-court advantage hosts games 1, 2, 5 and 7 while their opponent hosts games 3, 4 and 6 — with games 5, 6 and 7 being played if needed.
The league began using its current format, with the top eight teams in each conference advancing regardless of divisional alignment, in the 2015-16 season.
First Round
Beginning in 2020, play-in games were used to determine the final qualified teams in the First Round of the NBA playoffs. Since the No. 1 seed begins the playoffs playing against the No. 8 seed, the No. 2 seed plays the No. 7 seed, the No. 3 seed plays the No. 6 seed and the No. 4 seed plays the No. 5 seed, having a higher seed typically means a team faces a weaker opponent in the First Round.
Conference Semifinals
The four teams who won the best-of-seven First Round series will then move on to the Conference Semifinals.
Conference Finals
Two teams from each conference will compete against each other in the Conference Finals for the conference title and a spot in the NBA Finals.
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals happen in the final round when just one team from the Eastern Conference and one team from the Western Conference are left. The team that reaches four wins first will become the NBA champion and win the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. Each player and major contributor — including coaches and the general manager — on the winning team receives a championship ring. In addition, the league awards the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award to the best-performing player of the series.
Photo: Erik Drost / Licensed by Creative Commons/ CC BY 2.0
2025 NBA Finals Teams and Tickets
The 2025 NBA playoffs are set to begin on April 19, following a dynamic regular season that concluded on April 13. The Cleveland Cavaliers clinched the Eastern Conference's top seed with a 64-18 record, while the Oklahoma City Thunder secured the Western Conference's best record at 68-14. Both teams will have home-court advantage throughout their respective conferences' playoffs.
The following Eastern Conference teams are locked into the First Round: Boston Celtics (No. 2), New York Knicks (No. 3), Indiana Pacers (No. 4), Milwaukee Bucks (No. 5) and Detroit Pistons (No. 6). Similarly, the Western Conference teams competing in the First Round are: Houston Rockets (No. 2), Los Angeles Lakers (No. 3), Denver Nuggets (No. 4), LA Clippers (No. 5) and Minnesota Timberwolves (No. 6)
The play-in tournament, scheduled from April 15 to 18, will determine the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds in each conference. In the Eastern Conference, teams competing include the Orlando Magic versus Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls versus Miami Heat. The Western Conference play-in participants are the Golden State Warriors versus Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings versus Dallas Mavericks. These matchups promise to set the stage for an exciting postseason, with fans eagerly anticipating the battles for the championship.
NBA playoffs are known for their intensity and competitiveness, with games often decided in the final moments. You won't want to miss out on this exciting tournament! Root for your favorite team and score awesome deals and savings when you purchase postseason tickets through Undercover Tourist. A trusted ticket seller for over 20 years, Undercover Tourist offers a 100% buyer guarantee, so you can be sure your purchase is valid and secure. Visit your team's page to view available tickets.
We're pumped for the 2025 NBA Finals! Which team are you cheering for to make it to the finals?
Related: 2024-25 NBA Schedule — Everything to Know for This Season
