We’re officially in the final push to the NBA Playoffs. Soon the league’s 30 teams will be narrowed down to 20, and then to just 16, each with a chance to go all the way and secure the 2026 NBA Championship. 

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But how do the playoffs work? How does the Play-In Tournament help determine who gets to advance? What will the bracket look like? If you’re a casual NBA viewer or a newcomer to the league, you might have these questions, so we’re here to help. Let’s take a quick look at how the NBA Playoffs work, from Play-In to Finals. 

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Which teams play in the NBA Playoffs?

Playoff qualification is based first on regular season records. The teams with the top six best records in each conference — the Eastern and the Western — are granted automatic playoff berths, heading straight for a spot in the First Round.

The teams in seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth place in each conference will head to the Play-In Tournament, battling it out in single-game elimination rounds to secure the final two playoff spots for each conference. That means when the Playoffs proper begin, we’ll have eight teams in the Western Conference and eight teams in the Eastern, all vying for a single spot in the NBA Finals. 

How does the NBA Play-In Tournament work?

A total of eight teams will participate in the Play-In Tournament, four from the West and four from the East. The tournament is divided into two rounds: In the first round, the seventh and eighth place teams in each conference play each other, and the ninth and tenth place teams in each conference play each other.

The winner of the Seven vs. Eight game advances to the Playoffs as the 7th seed. The loser of the Nine vs. Ten game is eliminated, while the winner of the Nine vs. Ten game advances to play the loser of the Seven vs. Eight game. The winner of that game then moves on to the Playoffs as the 8th seed, completing the playoff bracket. 

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How do the NBA Playoffs work?

The Play-In Tournament completes the playoff bracket, giving us eight teams in the Eastern Conference and eight teams in the Western Conference. From there, it all breaks down like a traditional bracket. The team with the best record is the 1 seed, the team with the second-best record is the 2-seed, and so on. In the first round, the 1 seed plays the 8 seed, the 2 seed plays the 7 seed, and on down the line. The top four teams all get home-court advantage.

Each matchup in the NBA Playoffs proper is a best-of-seven series, with the winner advancing to the next round. The four teams in each conference who win in the first round will advance to the Semifinals, the two winners there will head to the Conference Championships, and the winner of each Conference heads to the NBA Finals to play for all the marbles. 

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When are the NBA Playoffs?

The last day of the 2025-2026 NBA regular season is April 12. All 30 teams will play games that day, before breaking for a day while the playoff brackets and rosters are set. The Play-in Tournament begins April 14 and continues through April 17. The Playoffs proper will then begin on April 18 and run throughout the rest of April and May. It all builds up to the NBA Finals, which tip off June 3 and could run up to June 19, depending on how many games are required to complete the series.