NBA playoffs are live
The 2026 NBA playoffs officially start today with the full bracket set after the regular season and play‑in rounds, and coverage of schedules and matchups is live across outlets. Yahoo Sports and The Athletic frame Oklahoma City as a headline favorite coming in, and pundits are weighing first‑round matchups, legacy questions for stars, and who might wear down after play‑in stress. (sports.yahoo.com) (nytimes.com)
The 2026 National Basketball Association playoffs open Saturday, April 18, with all 16 spots filled and eight first-round series on the board. (nba.com) Saturday’s Game 1 slate starts with Toronto at Cleveland at 1 p.m. Eastern, followed by Minnesota at Denver at 3:30 p.m., Atlanta at New York at 6 p.m., and Houston at the Los Angeles Lakers at 8:30 p.m. Eastern. (sports.yahoo.com) Sunday’s openers bring Philadelphia at Boston at 1 p.m. Eastern, Phoenix at Oklahoma City at 3:30 p.m., Orlando at Detroit at 6:30 p.m., and Portland at San Antonio at 9 p.m. Eastern. (sports.yahoo.com) The bracket was finalized Friday night when Orlando beat Charlotte 121-90 for the East’s No. 8 seed and Phoenix beat Golden State 111-96 for the West’s No. 8 seed. Philadelphia had already claimed the East’s No. 7 seed on April 15, and Portland locked up the West’s No. 7 seed on April 14. (nba.com) That leaves Detroit-Orlando, Boston-Philadelphia, New York-Atlanta and Cleveland-Toronto in the East, with Oklahoma City-Phoenix, San Antonio-Portland, Denver-Minnesota and Lakers-Rockets in the West. The National Basketball Association uses best-of-seven series in every round and does not reseed after each round. (espn.com) Oklahoma City enters as the defending champion and the West’s No. 1 seed, and ESPN noted the Thunder secured their third straight No. 1 seed in the conference. The Athletic framed Oklahoma City as “primed for a repeat” in its playoff preview published April 17. (espn.com) (nytimes.com) The East arrives with a different look at the top. Detroit is the No. 1 seed, Boston is No. 2, New York is No. 3 and Cleveland is No. 4, setting up a bracket that starts with Detroit hosting Orlando and Boston hosting Philadelphia on Sunday. (espn.com) The play-in results also shaped the immediate strain on the bracket. Orlando and Phoenix had to survive winner-take-all games Friday night, while Philadelphia and Portland advanced earlier in the week and got an extra day before their series begin. (nba.com) (sports.yahoo.com) The postseason runs into June, with ESPN listing June 3 as the start of the NBA Finals on ABC. By then, the field that opens this weekend will be down from 16 teams to two. (espn.com)
