Sixteen teams in total make the NBA playoffs, eight teams from both the Eastern and Western Conference. The top six seeds in each conference advance based on the regular season record. The final two seeds in each conference are determined by the NBA Play-In Tournament.

All four rounds of the NBA playoffs are best-of-seven, and teams are not reseeded after each round. The team with the better regular-season record in each series will have home-court advantage for that series. All series are played in a 2-2-1-1-1 format, with the team with the better record hosting Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 (if necessary).

The second round of the 2025 NBA playoffs is in full swing, and the East's top seed now finds itself on the brink of elimination. The Indiana Pacers are up 3-1 in their best-of-seven against the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers after a blowout win on Sunday night in Game 4.