Play‑In decides NBA field
The 2026 NBA Play‑In Tournament will settle the final four playoff spots, with eight teams competing for two berths in each conference under the familiar 7‑8 and 9‑10 format. ( ) Several headline teams — including Miami, Philadelphia and Golden State — still must qualify, while the Oklahoma City Thunder are already waiting as the No. 1 seed and will learn their first-round opponent after the play‑in finishes; Game 1 for the Thunder is set for Sunday at 2:30 p.m. CT. ( )
The National Basketball Association’s final four playoff spots will be decided this week, with play-in games running from Tuesday, April 14, through Friday, April 17. (nba.com) The format keeps the teams that finished seventh through 10th in each conference alive after the regular season ended Sunday, April 12. The No. 7 team hosts No. 8 for the seventh seed, while No. 9 hosts No. 10 in an elimination game; the losers of the 7-8 games then host the winners of the 9-10 games for the eighth seed. (nba.com) In the Eastern Conference, the matchups are Miami Heat at Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time, then Orlando Magic at Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time. In the Western Conference, Portland Trail Blazers visit the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday at 10 p.m. Eastern time, and Golden State Warriors visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday at 10 p.m. Eastern time. (nba.com) The winners of Suns-Trail Blazers and 76ers-Magic move straight into the bracket as No. 7 seeds. The Clippers-Warriors winner and the Hornets-Heat winner stay alive for Friday, but still need one more win to claim the No. 8 seed. (nba.com) That leaves several familiar teams with no guaranteed series yet. Philadelphia finished 45-37, Orlando also finished 45-37, Charlotte went 44-38, Miami finished 43-39, Phoenix went 45-37, Portland 42-40, the Clippers 42-40, and Golden State 37-45. (nba.com) The top six teams in each conference already skipped the play-in and locked up first-round berths. In the West, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Denver, the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston and Minnesota are in; in the East, Detroit, Boston, New York, Cleveland, Toronto and Atlanta are through. (nba.com) Oklahoma City enters the postseason as the West’s No. 1 seed at 64-18 and will face the eventual No. 8 seed. The Thunder’s schedule lists Game 1 for Sunday, April 19, at 2:30 p.m. Central time at Paycom Center. (nba.com, nba.com) The play-in has been part of the league’s postseason setup since 2021, and it gives teams outside the top eight a path into the bracket while making the seventh and eighth spots less secure. This year, every play-in game will stream on Prime Video, with the full playoffs starting Saturday, April 18. (nba.com, nba.com) By late Friday, the bracket will be complete and the first-round pairings will stop shifting. For Oklahoma City and the other teams already through, the waiting ends when the last play-in game does. (nba.com, nba.com)
