The 16-team NBA postseason was set following the end of the regular 2026 season on April 13, based on the top 10 seeds from each conference.
Four teams each from the Eastern Conference and Western Conference, positioned between seventh and 10th, headed for play-in games.
Those contenders were competing for the right to meet the teams finishing first and second in each conference, who went straight to the first round of the play-offs along with the four teams immediately below them.
Here’s the latest on the NBA playoff schedule, which teams are involved and where to watch the action live.
NBA playoffs: Full bracket, confirmed standings 2026
Seventh seeds the Philadelphia 76ers beat the eighth-seeded Orlando Magic and the ninth-seeded Charlotte Hornets beat 10th seeds the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference play-in games.
That sent the 76ers to the play-offs as the seventh seed, with the Magic beating the Hornets for the right to be eighth seeds and meet top seeds the Detroit Pistons in the first round.
The winners of that tie advance to meet the victors of the tie between fourth seeds the Cleveland Cavaliers and fifth seeds the Toronto Raptors.
Their Conference final will be against the winners of a semi-final set up by the tie between third seeds the New York Knicks and sixth seeds the Atlanta Hawks and second seeds the Boston Celtics and the seventh seeds from the play-ins.
In the Western Conference, the seventh-seeded Phoenix Suns lost to the eighth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers and the Los Angeles Clippers, who finished ninth, lost to the 10th-placed Golden State Warriors in the play-in games under the same format.
The Trail Blazers advanced to take on second seeds the San Antonio Spurs for the right to encounter the Denver Nuggets or Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Suns met top seeds Oklahoma Thunder, with the winners advancing to meet the victors of the game between fourth seeds the Los Angeles Lakers and fifth seeds the Houston Rockets.
The winners of the Conference finals meet in the NBA Finals. All playoff rounds are best of seven-game series, with home-court advantage going to the higher-seeded teams and the team with the best regular-season record in the final.
The hosting schedule for each series adopts a 2–2–1–1–1 format. You can see the latest bracket on the NBA’s site.
NBA playoffs schedule: Play ins, first round, semifinals, finals
Here’s how the play-in schedule looks, with the winners of the ties between the seventh and eighth-placed teams advancing straight to the playoffs as seventh seeds.
Start times with an asterisk are the following day.
| Date | Conference | Fixture |
|---|---|---|
| Tue, April 14 | East | Heat 126-127 Hornets (OT) |
| Tue, April 14 | West | Trail Blazers 114-110 Suns |
| Wed, April 15 | East | Magic 97-109 76ers |
| Wed, April 15 | West | Warriors 126-121 Clippers |
| Fri, April 17 | East | Magic 121-90 Hornets 90 |
| Fri, April 17 | West | Suns 111-96 Warriors |
Here are the play-off fixtures for the first round. You can find the full schedule and results here.
| Conference | Play-off |
| East | (4) Cavaliers vs (5) Raptors |
| West | (3) Nuggets vs (6) Timberwolves |
| East | (3) Knicks vs (6) Hawks |
| West | (4) Lakers vs (5) Rockets |
| East | (2) Celtics vs (7) 76ers |
| West | (1) Thunder vs (8) Suns |
| East | (1) Pistons vs (8) Magic |
| West | (2) Spurs vs (7) Trail Blazers |
2026 NBA Finals schedule
The Conference semi-finals and final dates will be confirmed after each round. The Finals schedule looks like this, with seven games set if necessary in the first-to-four series.
| Date | Game | ET | PT | BST |
| Wed, June 3 | 1 | 20:30 | 17:30 | 01:30* |
| Fri, June 5 | 2 | 20:30 | 17:30 | 01:30* |
| Mon, June 8 | 3 | 20:30 | 17:30 | 01:30* |
| Wed, June 10 | 4 | 20:30 | 17:30 | 01:30* |
| Sat, June 13 | 5 | 20:30 | 17:30 | 01:30* |
| Tue, June 16 | 6 | 20:30 | 17:30 | 01:30* |
| Fri, June 19 | 7 | 20:30 | 17:30 | 01:30* |
How to watch NBA playoffs 2026: TV channel, live online stream
All play-in games are on Prime Video, who also have broadcast rights to the first round alongside ABC and NBC/Peacock.
Broadcast details for the Conference semi-finals and finals will be confirmed after each round. The finals are on ABC.
You can find the latest broadcasting split here.
In the US, Prime Video costs $8.99 monthly. Students pay $7.49 monthly or $69 yearly. A 30-day free trial is available.
ABC is available through ESPN Plus, starting at $29.99 per month.
Peacock costs $10.99 a month or $109.99 annually, or $16.99 per month ($169.99 a year) with downloads and no adverts.
In the UK, the NBA League Pass shows games live and costs £16.99 a month or £22.99 per month with no commercials, offline viewing and concurrent streams on up to three devices.