The 2026 NBA playoffs have began in what is sure to be an exciting run toward the NBA Finals, which begin June 3 and will be broadcast by ABC.
Can the Oklahoma City Thunder, who locked in their third straight No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, repeat as champions? Which team will emerge from a crowded East field? Could there be surprises throughout?
The play-in tournament began April 14, as the Nos. 7 through 10 seeds played to determine which teams get to face the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds in each conference. The Portland Trail Blazers clinched a playoff berth with a win over the Phoenix Suns and faced the No. 2 San Antonio Spurs, who won the series 4-1. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia 76ers earned the No. 7 seed on April 15 and are playing the No. 2 Boston Celtics after defeating the Orlando Magic. On April 17, the Magic defeated the Charlotte Hornets to finalize a matchup with the No. 1 Detroit Pistons, and the Suns defeated the Golden State Warriors to face the defending champions in the West but suffered a four-game sweep.
Eight teams from each conference reach the first round and face off in a best-of-seven series to advance. All four rounds of the playoffs are best-of-seven, and teams are not reseeded after each round. The team with the better regular-season record in each series will have home-court advantage for that series. All series are played in a 2-2-1-1-1 format, with the team with the better record hosting Games 1, 2, 5 and 7.
Here's what we know about the Eastern and Western Conference playoff brackets:
Full NBA playoff bracket
Eastern Conference
1. Detroit Pistons vs. 8. Orlando Magic
2. Boston Celtics vs. 7. Philadelphia 76ers
3. New York Knicks vs. 6. Atlanta Hawks
4. Cleveland Cavaliers vs. 5. Toronto Raptors
Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City Thunder vs. 8. Phoenix Suns
2. San Antonio Spurs vs. 7. Portland Trail Blazers
3. Denver Nuggets vs. 6. Minnesota Timberwolves
4. Los Angeles Lakers vs. 5. Houston Rockets
Eastern Conference first round
(8) Orlando Magic lead (1) Detroit Pistons, 3-2
Game 1: Magic 112, Pistons 101
Game 2: Pistons 98, Magic 83
Game 3: Magic 113, Pistons 105
Game 4: Magic 94, Pistons 88
Game 5: Pistons 116, Magic 109
Game 6: Friday, TBD at Orlando
Game 7 (if necessary): Sunday at Detroit
Cade Cunningham seals the game for the Pistons with a smooth jumper
(2) Boston Celtics lead (7) Philadelphia 76ers, 3-2
Game 1: Celtics 123, Sixers 91
Game 2: 76ers 111, Celtics 97
Game 3: Celtics 108, 76ers 100
Game 4: Celtics 128, 76ers 96
Game 5: 76ers 113, Celtics 97
Game 6: Thursday, 8 p.m. ET at Philadelphia
Game 7 (if necessary): Saturday at Boston
Joel Embiid's 33 downs Celtics in Game 5 to keep 76ers alive
Shelburne: How Jaylen Brown turbocharged the Celtics back to title contention
Paul George goes textbook in the post and slams it home
(3) New York Knicks lead (6) Atlanta Hawks 3-2
Game 1: Knicks 113, Hawks 102
Game 2: Hawks 107, Knicks 106
Game 3: Hawks 109, Knicks 108
Game 4: Knicks 114, Hawks 98
Game 5: Knicks 126, Hawks 97
Game 6: Thursday, 7 p.m. ET at Atlanta
Game 7 (if necessary): Saturday at New York
New York Knicks vs. Atlanta Hawks: Game Highlights
(4) Cleveland Cavaliers lead (5) Toronto Raptors 3-2
Game 1: Cavaliers 126, Raptors 113
Game 2: Cavaliers 115, Raptors 105
Game 3: Raptors 126, Cavaliers 104
Game 4: Raptors 93, Cavaliers, 89
Game 5: Cavaliers 125, Raptors 120
Game 6: Friday, TBD at Toronto
Game 7 (if necessary): Sunday at Cleveland
Raptors' Brandon Ingram (heel) exits Game 5 loss to Cavaliers
Barrett, Barnes each score 33, revive Raptors' hopes in Game 3
Evan Mobley's 3 gives the Cavs a lead in the 4th quarter
Western Conference first round
(1) Oklahoma City Thunder eliminate (8) Phoenix Suns 4-0
Game 1: Thunder 119, Suns 84
Game 2: Thunder 120, Suns 107
Game 3: Thunder 121, Suns 109
Game 4: Thunder 131, Suns 122
The defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder sweep the Phoenix Suns to advance to the second round of the playoffs.
(2) San Antonio Spurs eliminate (7) Portland Trail Blazers 4-1
Game 1: Spurs 111, Trail Blazers 98
Game 2: Trail Blazers 106, Spurs 103
Game 3: Spurs 120, Trail Blazers 108
Game 4: Spurs 114, Trail Blazers 93
Game 5: Spurs 114, Trail Blazers 95
Dylan Harper catches a lob for a Spurs flush
(6) Minnesota Timberwolves lead Denver Nuggets 3-2
Game 1: Nuggets 116, Timberwolves 105
Game 2: Timberwolves 119, Nuggets 114
Game 3: Timberwolves 113, Nuggets 96
Game 4: Timberwolves 112, Nuggets 96
Game 5: Nuggets 125, Timberwolves 113
Game 6: Thursday, 9:30 p.m. ET at Minnesota
Game 7 (if necessary): Saturday at Denver
Ayo Dosunmu stars with a career-high 43 points off the bench to give the Timberwolves a 3-1 series lead over the Nuggets.
(4) Los Angeles Lakers lead (5) Houston Rockets 3-2
Game 1: Lakers 107, Rockets 98
Game 2: Lakers 101, Rockets 94
Game 3: Lakers 112, Rockets 108 (OT)
Game 4: Rockets 115, Lakers 96
Game 5: Rockets 99, Lakers 93
Game 6 (if necessary): Friday, 9:30 p.m. ET at Houston
Game 7 (if necessary): Sunday at Los Angeles
Jabari Smith Jr.'s triple gives Rockets 13-point lead in 4th
NBA Finals schedule
The 2026 NBA Finals will begin Wednesday, June 3, with each game tipping off at 8:30 p.m. ET. ABC will broadcast each game.
Game 1: Wednesday, June 3
Game 2: Friday, June 5
Game 3: Monday, June 8
Game 4: Wednesday, June 10
Game 5 (if necessary): Saturday, June 13
Game 6 (if necessary): Tuesday, June 16
Game 7 (if necessary): Friday, June 19
Play-in tournament
Eastern Conference
(7) Philadelphia 76ers 109, (8) Orlando Magic 97
(9) Charlotte Hornets 127, (10) Miami Heat 126 (OT)
(8) Orlando Magic 121, (9) Charlotte Hornets 90
Western Conference
(8) Portland Trail Blazers 114, (7) Phoenix Suns 110
(10) Golden State Warriors 126, (9) LA Clippers 121
(7) Phoenix Suns 111, (10) Golden State Warriors 96
How the games will work:
Game 1s: Each conference's No. 7 team in the standings will host the No. 8 team, with the winner earning the No. 7 seed in the playoffs. The losing teams get another chance in their respective conference's Game 3.
Game 2s: Each conference's No. 9 team will host the No. 10 team, with the winner moving on to Game 3. The losers are eliminated and enter the NBA draft lottery.
Game 3s: The losers of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 matchups will host the winners of the No. 9 vs. No. 10 matchups, with the victors grabbing each conference's No. 8 seed in the postseason. The losers of Game 3 enter the NBA draft lottery.