The 16-team NBA postseason was established after the end of the 2026 regular season on April 13, based on the top 10 finishes in each conference.
Four teams from the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference, ranked between seventh and tenth place, headed to the play-in games.
Those contenders were vying for the right to face the teams that finished first and second in each conference, who went directly to the first round of the play-offs along with the four teams immediately below them.
Here’s the latest on the NBA playoff schedule, which teams are participating and where to watch the action live.
NBA playoffs: complete bracket, confirmed classification 2026
The seventh-seeded Philadelphia 76ers will face the eighth-seeded Orlando Magic, and the ninth-seeded Charlotte Hornets will face the 10th-seeded Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference play-in games.
The winners of the game between the 76ers and Magic advance to the play-offs as the seventh seed, and the losers face the Hornets or Heat for the right to be the eighth seed and will face the top seed, the Detroit Pistons, in the first round.
The winners of that game advance to face the victors of the game between the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers and the fifth-seeded Toronto Raptors.
Their conference final will be against the winners of a semifinal organized by games between the third-seeded New York Knicks and the sixth-seeded Atlanta Hawks and the second-seeded Boston Celtics and the seventh-seeded play-ins.
In the Western Conference, the seventh-seeded Phoenix Suns face the eighth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers, and the ninth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers face the 10th-seeded Golden State Warriors in play-in games under the same format.
The Western Conference’s eighth seeds will face top-seeded Oklahoma City in the first round, with the winners advancing to face the victors of the game between the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Lakers and the fifth-seeded Houston Rockets.
Their conference final will be against the winners of a semifinal organized by games between the third seeds, the Denver Nuggets, and the sixth seeds, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the second seeds, the San Antonio Spurs, and the seventh seeds, from the play-ins.
The winners of the conference finals will then meet in the NBA finals. All playoff rounds are a best-of-seven series, with home field advantage for the highest-ranked teams and the team with the best regular-season record in the finals.
The presentation schedule for each series adopts a 2–2–1–1–1 format. You can see the latest support in the NBA site.
NBA playoffs schedule: play ins, first round, semifinals, finals
Here’s what the play-in schedule looks like, with the winners of the playoffs between the seventh- and eighth-ranked teams advancing directly to the playoffs as the seventh seeds.
Start times with an asterisk are the next day.
| Date | Conference | Fixed items | ET start time | P.T. | eastern standard time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday April 14 | This | Heat (10) vs Hornets (9) | 19:30 | 16:30 | 00:30* |
| Tuesday April 14 | West | Pioneers (8) vs Suns (7) | 22:00 | 19:00 | 03:00* |
| Wednesday April 15 | This | Magic (8) vs 76ers (7) | 19:30 | 16:30 | 00:30* |
| Wednesday April 15 | West | Warriors (10) vs Nail clippers (9) | 22:00 | 19:00 | 03:00* |
| Friday, April 17 | This | 7/8 loser vs winner 9/10 | 19:30 | 16:30 | 00:30* |
| Friday, April 17 | West | 7/8 loser vs winner 9/10 | 22:00 | 19:00 | 03:00* |
Here you have the play-off schedule for the first games of the first round. Start times with an asterisk are the next day.
| Date | Conference | Fixed items | eastern time | P.T. | eastern standard time |
| Saturday, April 18 | This | (4) Knights vs (5) Birds of prey | 13:00 | 10:00 | 18:00 |
| Saturday, April 18 | West | (3) nuggets vs (6) Timber Wolves | 15:30 | 12:30 | 20:30 |
| Saturday, April 18 | This | (3) Knicks vs (6) Hawks | 18:00 | 15:00 | 23:00 |
| Saturday, April 18 | West | (4) Lakers vs (5) Rockets | 20:30 | 17:30 | 01:30* |
| Sunday, April 19 | This | (2) Celts vs (7) seed | 13:00 | 10:00 | 18:00 |
| Sunday, April 19 | West | (1) Thunder vs (8) seed | 15:30 | 12:30 | 20:30 |
| Sunday, April 19 | This | (1) Pistons vs (8) seed | 18:30 | 15:30 | 23:30 |
| Sunday, April 19 | West | (2) Spurs vs (7) seed | 21:00 | 18:00 | 02:00* |
2026 NBA Finals Schedule
Conference semi-finals and final dates will be confirmed after each round. The Finals schedule looks like this, with seven games set if necessary in the first-to-four series.
| Date | Game | eastern time | P.T. | eastern standard time |
| Wednesday June 3 | 1 | 20:30 | 17:30 | 01:30* |
| Friday June 5 | 2 | 20:30 | 17:30 | 01:30* |
| Monday June 8 | 3 | 20:30 | 17:30 | 01:30* |
| Wednesday June 10 | 4 | 20:30 | 17:30 | 01:30* |
| Saturday June 13 | 5 | 20:30 | 17:30 | 01:30* |
| Tuesday June 16 | 6 | 20:30 | 17:30 | 01:30* |
| Friday June 19 | 7 | 20:30 | 17:30 | 01:30* |
How to watch NBA playoffs 2026: TV channel, live stream online
All play-in games are on Prime Video, which also has first-round streaming rights along with ABC and NBC/Peacock.
The broadcast details of the Conference semi-finals and finals will be confirmed after each round. The finals are on ABC.
This is the split broadcast of the first matches of the first round of the play-off.
| Date | Fixed items | TV/broadcast |
| Saturday, April 18 | (4) Knights vs (5) Birds of prey | main video |
| Saturday, April 18 | (3) nuggets vs (6) Timber Wolves | main video |
| Saturday, April 18 | (3) Knicks vs (6) Hawks | main video |
| Saturday, April 18 | (4) Lakers vs (5) Rockets | alphabet |
| Sunday, April 19 | (2) Celts vs (7) seed | alphabet |
| Sunday, April 19 | (1) Thunder vs (8) seed | alphabet |
| Sunday, April 19 | (1) Pistons vs (8) seed | NBC/Peacock |
| Sunday, April 19 | (2) Spurs vs (7) seed | NBC/Peacock |
In the USA, main video It costs $8.99 monthly. Students pay $7.49 monthly or $69 annually. A 30-day free trial is available.
ABC is available through ESPN+from $29.99 per month.
Peacock It costs $10.99 per month or $109.99 per year, or $16.99 per month ($169.99 per year) with downloads and no ads.
In the United Kingdom, the NBA League Pass shows live games and costs £16.99 a month or £22.99 a month with no commercials, offline viewing and simultaneous streaming on up to three devices.
