Up in The RaftersHow Many Games Are in an NBA Season?
Each NBA team plays 82 regular season games from October to April. Here is the full breakdown of the NBA schedule, playoffs, and season history.
Each NBA team plays 82 games in the regular season. The 2025-26 season ran from October 21, 2025 to April 12, 2026, with all 30 teams completing their full 82-game schedule. Beyond the regular season, teams can play additional games through the play-in tournament, playoffs, and the Emirates NBA Cup.
The Regular Season: 82 Games Per Team
Thirty teams split across two conferences each undertake an 82-game regular season for the chance to secure a playoff berth and ultimately lift the coveted Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy.
That 82-game schedule means across the entire league, a total of 1,230 regular season games are played every year. The season runs roughly six months, from late October through mid-April, with games spread across the week on nearly every night of the calendar.
The 2025-26 NBA regular season began on October 21, 2025, and ended on April 12, 2026.
How the 82 Games Break Down
Not all 82 games are created equal. The NBA uses a structured scheduling formula that determines how many times each team faces every opponent across the two conferences.
Conference vs. Non-Conference Games
Each team plays more games against opponents within its own conference than outside of it, which helps build rivalries and makes divisional races more meaningful. Here is a simplified breakdown of how those 82 games are distributed:
Opponent Type | Games Per Season |
Same division (4 opponents) | 16-17 games (4x per opponent) |
Rest of own conference (10 teams) | ~30 games (3x per opponent) |
Opposite conference (15 teams) | ~30 games (2x per opponent) |
Total | 82 games |
Exact game counts vary slightly based on scheduling logistics each season.
This structure ensures rivalry games happen multiple times per season while still giving every team exposure to opponents from both conferences.
How the 82-Game Season Came to Be
The 82-game format did not arrive overnight. The NBA's schedule has changed dramatically since the league's founding.
In the first-ever BAA season in 1946-47, 11 teams participated with two teams playing 61 games each while the rest played 60 each. This lack of uniformity was actually a feature of the early NBA seasons.
From the launch of the Basketball Association of America in 1946, through its merger with the National Basketball League that led to the creation of the NBA in 1949, teams played from 48 to 71 games a season. The schedule changed frequently as franchises kept joining and leaving the newly created Association.
The NBA settled on a uniform 72-game schedule starting from the 1953-54 season.
The NBA introduced the 82-game format in 1967-68, more than 20 years after the league's volatile beginnings.
Key Milestones in NBA Season Length
Era | Games Per Season | Notable Change |
1946-47 (BAA launch) | 60-61 | League founding, uneven schedules |
1949-50 (NBA formed) | 62-68 | BAA/NBL merger, 17 teams |
1953-54 | 72 | First uniform schedule |
1961-62 | 80 | Expansion era growth |
1967-68 | 82 | Current format established |
1998-99 (lockout) | 50 | Labor dispute shortened season |
2011-12 (lockout) | 66 | Second labor dispute |
2019-20 (COVID) | 65-75 | Bubble season in Orlando |
2020-21 (COVID) | 72 | Compressed pandemic schedule |
2021-22 onward | 82 | Full schedule restored |
Seasons When the NBA Played Fewer Than 82 Games
Three times in recent history the league has had to adjust its schedule below the standard 82-game mark:
1998-99 Lockout: A labor dispute between the NBA and the NBPA wiped out nearly half the regular season. Teams played just 50 games, and the shortened schedule started in February 1999.
2011-12 Lockout: Another collective bargaining dispute pushed the season start to Christmas Day 2011. Teams played 66 games each.
2019-20 (COVID-19): The season was suspended in March 2020. The invited teams played only eight seeding games before the 2020 NBA Playoffs commenced, taking the total number of regular season fixtures to 75 that year.
2020-21 (COVID-19): The NBA adopted a 72-game format that year before returning to an 82-game schedule in 2021-22.
Beyond the Regular Season: How Many Total Games Are Possible?
The 82-game regular season is only the foundation. Several additional game formats extend the NBA calendar well past April.
The Emirates NBA Cup (In-Season Tournament)
For the 2023-24 season and beyond, an in-season tournament was introduced. For the most part, the games in this group and knockout tournament structure count toward the regular season. However, the tournament final is not made part of the regular season.
The third edition of the in-season NBA Cup was held from October 31 through December 16, 2025, with the New York Knicks winning it against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Play-In Tournament
Initially implemented during the 2020-21 NBA season, the play-in tournament expanded the NBA's postseason field to 20 teams. The top six teams from each conference automatically qualify for the playoffs, while the 7-seeds through 10-seeds compete in the play-in tournament for a chance to extend their seasons. There are six total play-in games across both conferences.
The 2026 Play-In Tournament tips on April 14 and continues through April 17, with the playoffs proper beginning on April 18.
The NBA Playoffs
All rounds are a best-of-seven series. A series ends when one team wins four games, and that team advances to the next round. All rounds, including the NBA Finals, are in a 2-2-1-1-1 format with regard to hosting.
Here is the maximum possible number of games a team could play in a full postseason run:
Playoff Round | Max Games in Series |
First Round | 7 |
Conference Semifinals | 7 |
Conference Finals | 7 |
NBA Finals | 7 |
Total Possible Playoff Games | 28 |
When you add the regular season, play-in games, and a maximum playoff run, a team going all the way to a Game 7 NBA Finals could play up to 111 games in a single season.
Total NBA Games Played League-Wide Per Season
Game Type | Games Per Team | Total League-Wide |
Regular Season | 82 | 1,230 |
NBA Cup Group Play | Varies | 60 |
Play-In Tournament | 1-2 (if applicable) | 6 |
Playoffs (max) | Up to 28 | Up to 105 |
Why 82 Games? The Logic Behind the Number
The 82-game schedule is not arbitrary. It serves the NBA's business and competitive interests in a few key ways.
Revenue generation. With 30 teams each playing 41 home games, arenas host over 1,200 regular season events per year. That is a massive driver of ticket sales, concessions, and local broadcast revenue. For a deeper look at how those dollars flow through the league, check out our full breakdown of the economics of the NBA.
Sample size for seeding. 82 games produces a large enough sample to meaningfully separate the best teams from the worst. A team finishing 60-22 has genuinely proven something over that span, far more than they would in a 50- or 60-game season.
Player wear and depth. The grind of 82 games tests roster depth. Teams that rely on one or two stars tend to falter, while those with balanced rotations hold up through April. Only four players have managed to play the full 82 games in 10 or more NBA seasons.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many games are in the NBA regular season in 2025-26? 82 games per team, totaling 1,230 games across all 30 franchises.
When does the NBA season start and end? The 2025-26 NBA regular season began on October 21, 2025 and ended on April 12, 2026.
How many playoff games are there in the NBA? Up to 105 games can be played across the four best-of-seven playoff rounds. A single team making it to Game 7 of the Finals could play as many as 28 playoff games on top of their 82 regular season contests.
Has the NBA ever played more than 82 games in a season? No. The standard has been capped at 82 since 1967-68. The in-season tournament final is not counted as part of the regular season game total.
Do all 30 teams play the same number of regular season games? Yes. Since the league expanded to 30 teams in 2004, every franchise plays exactly 82 regular season games barring labor stoppages or extraordinary circumstances like the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Bottom Line
The NBA regular season is 82 games long for each of the league's 30 teams, running from late October through mid-April. That format has been in place since 1967-68 and survived lockouts, a global pandemic, and the introduction of new tournament formats. Add the play-in tournament, four rounds of best-of-seven playoffs, and the in-season NBA Cup, and the full NBA calendar stretches nearly nine months from tip-off to the last game of the Finals.
Want to know how player salaries are structured across that long season? Read our breakdown of how NBA players actually get paid, including how those 82 games factor into their bi-monthly paychecks.
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