Playoff field now set
The full 2026 NBA postseason bracket is locked — all 20 seeds are set and the first‑round officially begins April 18. Toronto clinched the final top‑six seed in the East, while Denver closed the regular season by clinching the No. 3 seed in the West. (cbssports.com) (cbssports.com).
The National Basketball Association postseason field is locked, with all 20 seeds set before the play-in tournament opens on Tuesday, April 14. (nba.com) (cbssports.com) The first round starts Saturday, April 18, after the SoFi play-in tournament runs from April 14 through April 17 to decide the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds in each conference. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) In the Eastern Conference, the top six are Detroit, Boston, New York, Cleveland, Toronto and Atlanta, with Philadelphia, Orlando, Charlotte and Miami headed to the play-in. (nba.com) (espn.com) In the Western Conference, Oklahoma City finished first, followed by San Antonio, Denver, the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston and Minnesota, while Phoenix, Portland, the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State landed in the play-in. (nba.com) (espn.com) That means four first-round series are already set: Cavaliers-Raptors and Knicks-Hawks in the East, plus Lakers-Rockets and Nuggets-Timberwolves in the West. The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in each conference are still waiting on play-in winners. (nba.com) Toronto avoided the play-in by taking the East’s last automatic berth at No. 5 with a 46-36 record, while Atlanta also finished 46-36 but slotted sixth. Denver secured the West’s No. 3 seed at 54-28, one game ahead of the Lakers at 53-29. (espn.com) (cbssports.com) The play-in format gives the No. 7 and No. 8 teams two chances to win one game for a playoff berth, while the No. 9 and No. 10 teams must win twice. In the East, Philadelphia faces Orlando and Charlotte faces Miami; in the West, Phoenix faces Portland and the Clippers face Golden State. (nba.com) The bracket also marks a reshuffled league map: Detroit earned the East’s No. 1 seed at 60-22, and San Antonio claimed the West’s No. 2 seed at 62-20 behind Oklahoma City’s 64-18 finish. (espn.com) By Saturday, April 18, the field will shrink from 20 teams to 16, and the full first-round bracket will finally be complete. (nba.com)
