Playoff bracket set
- The full NBA playoff bracket was finalized after Sunday's games. (espn.com) - The postseason schedule now runs toward the NBA Finals, slated to begin June 3. (espn.com) - NBC Sports and Sporting News published series dates, TV channels, and streaming details for every matchup. ( )
The 2026 National Basketball Association playoff field is complete, and all 16 first-round matchups are now locked in before the Finals open on June 3. (espn.com) In the East, the bracket is Detroit Pistons-Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics-Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks-Atlanta Hawks, and Cleveland Cavaliers-Toronto Raptors. In the West, it is Oklahoma City Thunder-Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs-Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets-Minnesota Timberwolves, and Los Angeles Lakers-Houston Rockets. (espn.com) The last two spots were settled through the play-in tournament, which decides the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds in each conference. Portland claimed the West’s No. 7 seed with a win over Phoenix before the Suns took the No. 8 spot, while Philadelphia earned the East’s No. 7 seed and Orlando took No. 8 after beating Charlotte on Friday, April 17. (espn.com) The bracket now shifts into the league’s standard best-of-seven format, with no reseeding between rounds. The team with the better regular-season record gets home-court advantage and hosts Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 in a 2-2-1-1-1 setup. (espn.com) That structure leaves Oklahoma City in the strongest position on paper. NBC Sports reported the Thunder finished with the league’s best regular-season record, which would give them home-court advantage in any Finals matchup if they get there. (nbcsports.com) The opening weekend already spread games across the league’s new mix of television and streaming partners. Sporting News listed ABC, ESPN and NBC as the main television outlets, with Peacock, Prime Video, the ESPN app and other streaming packages carrying games depending on rights. (sportingnews.com) NBC’s role is new again in this postseason. NBC Sports said its playoff coverage began Sunday, April 19, marking the network’s first National Basketball Association postseason broadcasts since 2002, with up to 41 games and exclusive coverage of the Western Conference finals. (nbcsports.com) The calendar now runs from the first round, which started Saturday, April 18, through a potential Game 7 of the Finals on June 19. ESPN and NBC Sports both list Game 1 of the Finals for Wednesday, June 3, on ABC. (espn.com) (nbcsports.com) So the postseason picture is finally simple: 16 teams, four rounds, no bracket resets, and seven weeks left before the league hands out the trophy in June. (espn.com)
