Based on the playoffs format arrangement,[a] it is played in the venue of the team holding home-court advantage for the series.
Due to the decisive nature of game sevens, they are often "played more conservatively" and receive more media and fan attention.
The other teams in the playoffs competed against each other in three best-of-three series to determine the other spot in the finals.
There have been thirteen NBA playoff seasons in which no game seven was played: 1947, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1967, 1972, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1991, and 1999.
The Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks both hold the record for most game sevens played in a single postseason, having played three game sevens in 1988 and 1994, respectively, the maximum possible at that time.