<P> In September 2015, the NBA announced changes to the formula used to determine the format of the 2016 NBA Playoffs . The top eight teams in each conference (East and West), ranked in order by win - loss records, qualify for the playoffs . The tie - break criteria for playoff seeding and home - court advantage have also changed; head - to - head results between the tied teams is the first tie - breaker, and whether a team won its division championship is the second tie - breaker . </P> <P> These seedings are used to create a bracket that determines the match - ups throughout the series . Once the playoffs start, the bracket is fixed; teams are never "reseeded", unlike in the National Football League (NFL) and Major League Soccer (MLS) where the strongest remaining teams face the weakest teams in subsequent rounds . The first round of the NBA playoffs, or conference quarterfinals, consists of four match - ups in each conference based on the seedings (1--8, 2--7, 3--6, and 4--5). The four winners advance to the second round, or conference semifinals, with a match - up between the 1--8 and 4--5 winners and a match - up between the 2--7 and 3--6 winners . The two winners advance to the third round, or conference finals . The winner from each conference will advance to the final round, or the NBA Finals . </P> <P> All rounds are best - of - seven series . Series are played in a 2--2--1--1--1 format, meaning the team with home - court advantage hosts games 1, 2, 5, and 7, while their opponent hosts games 3, 4, and 6, with games 5--7 being played if needed . This format has been used since 2014, after NBA team owners unanimously voted to change from a 2--3--2 format on October 23, 2013 . </P> <P> The most common criticism of the current structure is related to parity of conferences . On numerous occasions, Eastern Conference teams with losing records qualified for the playoffs, while Western Conference teams with winning records ended up missing them, including the 2011, 2013 and the 2015 NBA Playoffs . </P>

When did nba go to 7 game first round