How Many Teams Make It To The NBA Playoffs?

The 2024-25 NBA season is almost here, with teams finalizing their rosters and preparing for training camp. With that in mind, it’s worth looking ahead to the season and what to expect, especially in the postseason. Things can get a little confusing thanks to the NBA’s play-in tournament.

Below is a look at the NBA playoffs, including how many teams make it to the playoffs. There are two answers and they need a detailed explanation.

Technically, there are 16 teams that make the NBA playoffs each season. Eight teams from the Western Conference and eight teams from the Eastern Conference. These teams are seeded one through eight. The playoffs consist of four rounds, each a best-of-seven series.

But those eight teams aren’t the only ones with a shot at the playoffs. The NBA has added a play-in tournament where the seventh through tenth seeded teams in each conference compete in a play-in tournament for the final two playoff spots.

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

The play-in tournament was introduced in 2020 and first used in the 2020–21 season. The teams ranked seventh through 10th in each conference compete in a play-in tournament for the final two playoff spots on either side of the playoff bracket.

The setup calls for the teams with the better regular season records to host each game, with the seventh seed playing the eighth seed, with the winner earning a spot in the playoff field as the seventh seed. The ninth and tenth seeded teams also play, with the loser eliminated and the winner advancing to face the loser of the seventh and eighth seed matchup. The loser of the opening game hosts the winner of the nineth and tenth seed matchup, with the winner becoming the eighth seed.

Did you understand all of this?

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-seeded teams have a huge advantage over the ninth and tenth-seeded teams.

After four seasons of the format with eight available playoff spots, the seventh-place teams are 6–2 and have never made the playoffs. The eighth-place teams are 2–6 and have failed to advance three times. The ninth-place teams are also 6–2 and have failed to advance five times, and the 10th-place teams are 2–6 and have never made the postseason.