<P> The reasoning behind this seeding arrangement is that a non-division winner could have a better record than the winners of the two divisions other than the non-division winning team in question . If the three division winners were seeded 1 through 3 for the playoffs in order of their records , and all non-division winners seeded 4 through 8 , it would be possible for the two best teams of the conference to meet in the Conference Semifinals . This actually happened in the 2006 NBA Playoffs when the two best teams in the Western Conference , the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks , both from the Southwest Division , faced one another in the Western Conference Semifinals while the 3rd seed , the Northwest Division - leading Denver Nuggets , had fewer wins than the 4th , 5th , 6th , and 7th seeds. The NBA proposed and approved of the current format to ensure that the best two teams of a conference can meet no earlier than the Conference Finals . </P>
<P> The reasoning behind this seeding arrangement is that a non-division winner could have a better record than the winners of the two divisions other than the non-division winning team in question . If the three division winners were seeded 1 through 3 for the playoffs in order of their records , and all non-division winners seeded 4 through 8 , it would be possible for the two best teams of the conference to meet in the Conference Semifinals . This actually happened in the 2006 NBA Playoffs when the two best teams in the Western Conference , the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks , both from the Southwest Division , faced one another in the Western Conference Semifinals while the 3rd seed , the Northwest Division - leading Denver Nuggets , had fewer wins than the 4th , 5th , 6th , and 7th seeds. The NBA proposed and approved of the current format to ensure that the best two teams of a conference can meet no earlier than the Conference Finals . </P>
does the east or west have more nba championships
does the east or west have more nba championships
Western Conference
Western Conference