When Do the 2026 NBA Playoffs Start?
Mark it down (or pretend you won’t forget), the 2026 NBA Playoffs tip off on April 18, a clean six days after the regular season mercifully wraps up.
Here’s the current NBA playoff bracket if the season ended today:
The 2025–26 regular season ends on April 12, followed immediately by the annual chaos generator known as the Play-In Tournament, which runs from April 14–17. This is the league’s way of making sure nobody truly checks out before April, and of course, to keep fan bases emotionally invested just a little longer.
How Many Teams Make the NBA Playoffs?
Sixteen teams total make the postseason:
- Eight from the Eastern Conference
- Eight from the Western Conference
Nothing fancy here, except that the final two seeds in each conference aren’t decided the old-fashioned way anymore. Instead, they’re settled via the play-in, because apparently finishing 7th through 10th wasn’t stressful enough already.
How the NBA Play-In Tournament Works
The play-in format (introduced in 2021 to discourage tanking… allegedly) gives teams ranked 7 through 10 one last chance to sneak into the bracket — or implode on national TV.
Here’s how it breaks down:
- No. 7 vs. No. 8
Winner grabs the No. 7 seed and earns the privilege of facing the No. 2 seed in Round 1.
Loser? Not dead yet — they get one more shot. - No. 9 vs. No. 10
Loser goes home. Winner advances to a do-or-die game. - Final Play-In Game
The loser of the 7-8 matchup hosts the winner of 9-10.
Winner earns the No. 8 seed and gets rewarded with a Round 1 date against the No. 1 seed, which is the basketball equivalent of “congrats, now suffer.”
It’s high drama, low margin for error, and an absolute goldmine for degenerates who love variance and win with our NBA player props cheat sheet. Naturally, we approve.
How Many Rounds Are in the NBA Playoffs?
There are four rounds in the NBA Playoffs:
- First Round
- Conference Semifinals
- Conference Finals
- NBA Finals
Every round is a best-of-seven series, meaning adjustments matter, depth matters, and hot takes from Game 1 usually age like milk or not betting against NBA public bets.
