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A home-court advantage in the NBA playoffs is crucial. It helps the home team gain confidence and momentum after every successful play, putting immense pressure on the opposition team to perform efficiently and to the best of their abilities.
So how does a NBA team secure a home-court advantage? Let's get right into it. The NBA playoffs have the same format for every series, from round one to the finals. The NBA playoffs are a best-of-seven contest. A team that wins four games of the series advances to the next round of the NBA.
Games are played on the home court of both teams. The scheduling favors the team with the higher seeding. They also have four games at home, while their lower-seeded opponents have three. The first two games are on the higher seed's home court, giving them the advantage of possibly taking a 2-0 lead.
Games 3 and 4 are home fixtures for the lower seeding. If the series extends to five games or more, Games 5 and the decisive Game 7 will be on the higher seed's home court and Game 6 on the lower seed's.
That's what home-court advantage is all about in the NBA. The chance to open a seven-game series at home in the first two games and to close it at home if it stretches to seven games can be a decisive factor.
Teams with home-court advantage have been highly successful in the NBA
The top four teams in the standings of each conference have home-court advantage in the NBA playoffs' opening round. The third and fourth seed in the standings most likely lose their advantage from the second round onwards as they face the top and second seeds from that point on.
Nevertheless, the opening-round win gives them plenty of momentum, helping them prevail to the next stage regardless of being the road team to start the series. In the league's 75-year history, the No. 1 seed has won the chip 53 times, the No. 2 seed 12 times, the No. 3 seed eight times and the No. 4 seed and No. 6 seeds once apiece.
A No. 8 seed has advanced to the NBA finals only once. The New York Knicks achieved the feat in 1999. Meanwhile, a No. 7 seed's best finish has been the conference finals. A sixth seed has only won on chip (Houston Rockets in 1995), and a No. 5 seed's best finish has been the NBA Finals (Miami Heat 2020).
