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Your Guide to the 2024 NBA Playoff Schedule

by Leap on May 28, 2024
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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 2024 NBA playoffs and matchups between the best teams in basketball so you know exactly what to expect.

NBA Playoffs - Winning Basketball Team Stock Photo

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 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 seventh through tenth from each conference compete in the NBA Play-In Tournament to determine the final two playoff seeds. The seventh and eighth place teams get up to two chances to win one game in order to qualify for the playoffs, while the ninth and tenth 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 of 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 first seed begins the playoffs playing against the eighth seed, the second seed plays the seventh seed, the third seed plays the sixth seed and the fourth seed plays the fifth 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.

NBA Playoffs - Cavaliers vs Hawks Photo: Erik Drost / Licensed by Creative Commons/ CC BY 2.0

2024 NBA Finals Teams and Tickets

The 2024 SoFi Play-In Tournament began in April with 16 teams and is down to the final two as the Finals begin on Thursday, June 6th. The Dallas Mavericks will be traveling to Boston to take on the Celtics in a best of 7 series.

The Mavericks have had an impressive run beating the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals to make it to the championship. The Celtics have continued the success from their season and beat the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers to make it to the finals.

The series should be one to remember as the Celtics seek to win their 11th championship and their first since 2008. The Mavericks will look to win their second NBA championship and first since 2011.

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 percent 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 2024 NBA finals! With it being down to the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks, who do you have winning? 

Related: 2023-24 NBA Schedule — Everything to Know for This Season

Keep hopping, Leap!
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Apr 19, 2024 at 3:01 p.m.
Keegan Says...

i need one of it

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