Playoffs are live
The NBA playoff bracket is finalized and the postseason kicked off on April 18. (espn.com) The Thunder and Celtics enter as the favorites in their respective conferences, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander opened as an early favorite for Finals MVP with Victor Wembanyama also near the top of the board. (espn.com) (si.com)
The National Basketball Association playoffs opened Saturday, April 18, with a full 16-team bracket set after the play-in tournament ended Friday. (espn.com) The league’s first round runs in a best-of-seven format, with no reseeding between rounds and home court going to the team with the better regular-season record. The schedule published by the league lists the play-in on April 14-17 and the first round beginning April 18. (nba.com) In the East, the bracket opens with Detroit vs. Orlando, Boston vs. the No. 7 seed, Cleveland vs. Atlanta, and New York vs. Indiana. In the West, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Denver and Houston are on the board as the conference begins its first-round series. (espn.com) Oklahoma City entered the postseason as the betting favorite to win the 2026 Finals at +110, with San Antonio next at +500 and Boston at +550 on ESPN’s futures board. ESPN’s betting report also said the Thunder and Celtics were the conference favorites after the regular season and play-in wrapped. (espn.com) That puts the spotlight on two teams that have been near the top of the title market for months: the Thunder in the West and the Celtics in the East. It also puts pressure on a bracket that now includes rising teams such as Detroit and San Antonio alongside recent contenders like Denver and Boston. (espn.com) (nba.com) The individual awards market is already tied to those team expectations. Sports Illustrated’s opening Finals Most Valuable Player odds listed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander first at +130, followed by Victor Wembanyama at +500, then Nikola Jokic at +1000 and Jayson Tatum at +1100. (si.com) Those numbers reflect a simple playoff rule: Finals MVP almost always comes from the champion, so the shortest odds usually belong to stars on teams expected to survive four rounds. Gilgeous-Alexander’s position tracks with Oklahoma City’s title price, while Wembanyama’s reflects San Antonio’s move into the top tier of contenders. (si.com) (espn.com) The bracket is now fixed, which means every path is visible from opening weekend through the Finals in June. From here, the postseason story shifts from seeding math and play-in survival to four best-of-seven rounds starting Saturday night. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2)
