<Tr> <Th> TV partner (s) </Th> <Td> ESPN / ABC TNT NBA TV </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Official website </Th> <Td> National Basketball Association </Td> </Tr> <P> The NBA playoffs are a best - of - seven elimination tournament annually held after the National Basketball Association's regular season to determine the league's champion . </P> <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>

First round of nba playoffs 5 or 7 games