Play‑in set; first round starts
The NBA play‑in finished this week and the full 2026 playoff bracket is locked, with the first-round best‑of‑seven series scheduled to begin Saturday, April 18. (ESPN reported the postseason field was finalized after the play‑in, and CBS Sports published the first‑round schedule and game times) (espn.com) (cbssports.com).
The 2026 National Basketball Association playoff field is almost complete, and the first four first-round series tip off Saturday, April 18. (nba.com) (cbssports.com) Four series were locked before Friday’s final play-in games: New York Knicks vs. Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors in the East, plus Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston Rockets in the West. (espn.com) (cbssports.com) The play-in decides the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds in each conference, with teams seeded seventh through 10th playing single-elimination games for the last two playoff spots. The main bracket then shifts to best-of-seven series. (espn.com) (nba.com) Philadelphia already claimed the East’s No. 7 seed by beating Orlando 109-97 on Wednesday, and Portland took the West’s No. 7 seed with a 114-110 win over Phoenix on Tuesday. That set Boston vs. Philadelphia and San Antonio vs. Portland in the first round. (nba.com) (espn.com) Friday’s last two play-in games will fill the No. 8 spots: Orlando Magic vs. Charlotte Hornets in the East at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, and Phoenix Suns vs. Golden State Warriors in the West at 10 p.m. Eastern. The winners move on to face top-seeded Detroit and defending champion Oklahoma City. (nba.com) (espn.com) Saturday’s opening schedule starts with Raptors at Cavaliers at 1 p.m. Eastern, followed by Timberwolves at Nuggets at 3:30 p.m., Hawks at Knicks at 6 p.m., and Rockets at Lakers at 8:30 p.m. Eastern. CBS Sports and the league schedule list Prime Video, ABC, NBC and ESPN among the opening-round broadcasters. (cbssports.com) (nba.com) The bracket format does not change after the play-in: eight teams per conference advance, there is no reseeding, and every round uses a 2-2-1-1-1 home-court format based on regular-season record. That gives the higher seed Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 at home. (espn.com) The first round stretches into early May, and Game 1 of the National Basketball Association Finals is scheduled for June 3. By late Friday night, the full 16-team bracket will be in place. (nba.com) (espn.com)
