Basketball
NBA Playoffs 2025: Ultimate Guide for Beginners
The pinnacle of American basketball gets underway on the 19th of April and will conclude in June as the NBA Playoffs return for another exciting year.
It is considered to be the most testing competition in basketball with the best teams from all over America coming together to compete for Basketball’s most coveted prize. Below we cover the ins and outs of the tournament including the teams, players, prize money and format.
Below is all the information you need about this year’s NBA playoffs 2025.
Introduction to the NBA playoffs 2025
The NBA play-offs is a post-season tournament, the idea of which is to take successes from the regular league’s season into a knockout style tournament to crown the season’s NBA champion. The NBA Playoffs 2025 start on the 19th of April and will conclude as early as the 27th of May depending on how many games it takes to settle the NBA Finals.
There are 16 teams competing from the Eastern and Western Conference which will eventually be whittled down to just two, one from each conference, and only one will be crowned NBA champions.
What are the NBA Playoffs 2025?
The NBA Playoffs are a post-season knockout style tournament played between 16 teams, eight from the Western Conference and eight from the Eastern Conference. These are seen to be the best 16 teams in the world and the knockout style tournament end with the NBA Finals, which crown the NBA Champions, the best team in basketball for that year.
Aside from the money, the playoffs are crowning glories for the careers of many players, and many debates about which player is better than who come down to NBA playoffs and finals records as it is the toughest test in basketball.
When do the NBA Playoffs 2025 Start?
The playoffs begin on the 19th of April and will run until at least the 27th of May, potentially finishing as late as the 2nd of June. The 13th of June is when the fourth game of the finals is played – this will only be the end of the finals if one team is 4-0 up in the series. If not, the series will continue until one team has won four games, with the seventh game scheduled for the 22nd June.
Where are the NBA playoffs 2025 played?
The NBA playoffs are not held at a specific venue, with teams playing at their regular season home courts. In a seven-game series the first two games will be played at the higher ranked team’s court with the second two being played at the home of the lower ranked team. If the series continues past four games the venue will alternate, starting with the higher ranked team, in order to give a home advantage to the team with the higher ranking. This will continue until up to seven matches have been played.
Understanding the Format of the NBA Playoffs 2025
In this section we dive into the workings of the NBA playoffs 2025, how the rounds work, how playoff brackets are decided, and what happens in the event of a tie.
How do the NBA Playoffs 2025 Work?
In a straight knockout style tournament, the first phase is an intra-conference knockout tournament consisting of three stages. There are two conference brackets consisting of eight teams from each conference in the first round. After a first round, conference semifinals and conference finals stage, there is one team from each conference remaining and they will face off in the NBA Finals, with the winner crowned NBA Champions.
What is the Playoff bracket for the NBA Playoffs 2025?
There are two playoff brackets in the NBA Playoffs 2025, one for the Eastern Conference and one for the Western Conference.
The teams qualify for the playoff brackets through the regular season, with the top eight from each conference entering their respective playoff brackets, seeded one to eight based on their finishing position in their conference in the regular season.
Within the playoff brackets, teams from within the same conference face off in a knockout style tournament with a first round, conference semifinals and conference finals stage, leaving just one team in each bracket who play against each other in the NBA finals.
How many rounds are there in the NBA playoffs 2025?
There are three rounds of intra-conference games, followed by one NBA finals series. We break down how each round works below.
First round: Based on their regular season finish, teams are seeded 1 through 8 within their conference to form an eight team NBA playoff bracket. The number one seed plays the number eight seed with two playing seven, three playing six and four playing five. All of these are seven-game series.
Conference semi-finals: The conference semi-finals are still intra-conference games, with the winners of the first-round games meeting at this stage. The winners of the first seed vs eighth seed match play the winner of the fourth vs fifth seed game. The winners of the third seed vs sixth seed match play the winners of the second seed vs seventh seed match. All of these are a seven-game series.
Conference finals: After the conference semi-finals stage there are just two teams left in each conference. The two remaining teams in each conference face off against each other in the conference finals, the winners of which will be crowned conference champions.
NBA Finals: The two conference champions go head-to-head in a seven-match series with the winner being crowned 2025 NBA Champions.
What happens if a series is tied in the NBA Playoffs 2025?
In a best of seven series there cannot be a tie in the end, as the first team to win four matches will win the series.
In the event of a tie in a singular game an overtime period lasting five minutes will be played and the team with the most points at the end of the overtime will be the winners. There is no limit to the amount of five-minute overtime periods that can be played in a single match.
This ensures that there cannot be a tie in the series.
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Predictions and Analysis for the NBA Playoffs 2025
This section will look at each team’s chances of winning the NBA Playoffs 2025, and their odds in the betting market.
The Thunder have been one of the most impressive teams this season and are the favourites at 17/10. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been playing at an MVP-calibre level, leading the team with his scoring, playmaking, and defensive prowess. OKC’s young core, including Chet Holmgren, is developing quickly, and their defence has improved dramatically. With head coach Mark Daigneault’s system, they’ve been a well-balanced, hard-to-beat team that is peaking at the right time.
The Celtics are the defending Eastern Conference champions and have remained a dominant force in the NBA. Jayson Tatum continues to develop into one of the league’s top players, while Jaylen Brown complements him perfectly. Boston’s defence, spearheaded by Defensive Player of the Year candidate Robert Williams and veteran Al Horford, is still one of the best in the league. They have the experience of playoff runs and a deep roster with great depth, hence their price of 2/1.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have quickly become one of the most exciting teams in the East. With the addition of Donovan Mitchell, they’ve elevated their offense to another level. Mitchell has given them a true superstar who can take over games, while Darius Garland offers great playmaking and scoring. They also have one of the most imposing defences, led by the duo of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, who are both elite shot-blockers and rebounders. The Cavs have the right balance of offense and defence to make a deep playoff run; they’re 11/2 to triumph this year in the playoffs.
