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.

The Thunder and the Pacers hold the early lead in their respective NBA Conference Finals series. Here's what you need to know.

Whichever two teams emerge from the NBA's conference finals will produce a Finals matchup we've never seen before. But not all of them are created equal. As the conference finals heat up heading into Friday's Game 2 between the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers (8 p.

The audience for the 2025 NBA Playoffs on ESPN platforms ( ESPN and ABC) is up 12% from last year, according to Nielsen. Through the Conference Semifinals (22 games), ESPN is averaging 4,883,000 viewers, making it the second-most watched NBA Playoffs since 2011.

Prior to this season, sportsbooks didn't see Indy, N.Y., Minnesota and OKC as the NBA's Final Four. See how each squad bucked the odds from preseason to now.

Alexander, Nikola Jokic or Giannis Antetokounmpo? NBA MVP award information for 2025, including announcement, finalists, favorite.

Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals between the Timberwolves and Thunder tips off Thursday night at 7:30 PM CT at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. The game will air on ESPN with Mike Breen, Doris Burke, Richard Jefferson and Lisa Salters on the call.

The Cleveland Cavaliers broke out their black sleeved jerseys when down 3-1 to the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals. The sleeved jerseys were divisive at the time, but those are now synonymous with the Cavs' greatest triumph.