How many rounds are there in NBA playoffs? Current playoff structure explored

The NBA playoffs stand out as the most thrilling period in professional basketball, featuring a distinctive qualification format. This unique tournament follows a specific format to determine which teams battle for the ultimate title.

As February comes to a close, we are on the brink of the stretch run for the 2023-24 NBA season. Still curious about the number of rounds in the NBA playoffs? Keep reading below for an overview of all the rounds leading up to the 2024 NBA playoffs.

How many rounds are in the NBA playoffs?

The NBA playoffs haven't always been the way they are today. Back in the day, the first round used to be shorter, played as a best-of-three series. Even when the playoffs grew to include four rounds, the first round was still a best-of-five competition.

The NBA playoffs start with the play-in tournament. While that isn't the official start of the playoffs, many consider it to be a part of the actual playoffs. The play-in tournament consists of four teams from the Eastern and Western Conferences.

The top two seeds (7-8) play against each other. The winner gets the #7 seed in the conference and plays the #2 seed. For the 9-10 seeds, they play against each other and take on the team that lost the 7-8 game.

For example, if the Miami Heat lose to the Atlanta Hawks and the Toronto Raptors beat the Chicago Bulls, Miami still has a chance to get in by beating Toronto. The winner of that game will be the #8 seed and take on the #1 seed.

There are many other playoff scenarios, and learning how many rounds are there in the NBA playoffs is something we're here to discuss. Once the play-in tournament is over, the real playoff games get started. The match-ups are as follows:

• #1 vs #8
• #2 vs #7
• #3 vs #6
• #4 vs #5

After the first round is over, the playoffs have two more rounds until the NBA Finals. The winner of the (1-8) game plays the winner of the (4-5) game. The winner of the (3-6) takes on the winner of (2-7) for a chance to make the conference finals.

After the teams play in the second round - also called the conference semi-finals - they have one more round before the NBA Finals. The two teams from each conference that win the second round play the conference final for a chance to get to the NBA Finals.

The teams that win the conference finals play for the NBA championship. So, if you're wondering how many rounds are there in the NBA playoffs, the answer will be four rounds if the play-in isn't factored into that.