Which Teams Are in the 2025 NBA Playoff & Play-In Bracket? Everything to Know
The playoff to get into the NBA Playoffs is on!
Last weekend, the 82-game NBA regular season came to a close with a flurry of meaningful games that finally decided which teams are in the 2025 playoffs, which teams are out, and which teams still have some tough work left in order to make the playoffs, where the games will get even tougher.
From April 15-18, toughness will prevail in the 2025 NBA Play-In Tournament, where teams on the cusp compete in do-or-die games that will fill out the final 2025 NBA Playoff bracket. So how does it all work? Let's take a closer look while we excitedly wait for the NBA to return to NBC next season.
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Who plays in the 2025 NBA Play-In Tournament?
Tuesday, April 15
Tuesday night's Play-In action featured both the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference's 7th and 8th seeded teams. The top six teams are already in the Playoffs, and the winner of both of Tuesday's games is joining them.
The first game featured the East's 8-seed, the Atlanta Hawks, visiting the 7th-seeded Orlando Magic. The Magic prevailed, which means they move on to the NBA Playoff bracket, where they'll be the 7-seed against the Boston Celtics in a seven-game series.
In the West, the 8th-seeded Memphis Grizzlies headed to the Bay Area to face Steph Curry and the 7th-seeded Golden State Warriors. The Warriors came out to play, and claimed the No. 7 seed in the West, so they'll now face the Houston Rockets in a seven-game Playoffs series.
So now we know 14 of the 16 teams in the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
Wednesday, April 16
As far as the last two teams, well, that's going to take some more math, starting with the two Play-In games Wednesday, April 16. In the first game, the 10th-seeded Miami Heat traveled to Chicago and knocked off the 9th-seeded Bulls. So the Heat now faces the loser of the Tuesday night Eastern Conference Play-In game, the Hawks, while the losing Bulls are going golfing, as they've been officially eliminated.
In the West, the 10th-seeded Dallas Mavericks visited the 9th-seeded Sacramento Kings and crushed them. The winning Mavs go on to face the loser of Tuesday night's Western Conference Play-In game, the Grizzlies; the Kings are going home.
Friday, April 18
We won't officially know the final two NBA Playoff spots until Friday, when the winner of the East's 9/10 game in the Play-In Tourney, the Heat, faces the loser of the East's 7/8 game, the Hawks at 7 p.m. ET. Then after that, at 9:30 p.m. ET, the West's 9/10 winner, the Mavericks, will face the 7/8 loser, the Grizzlies. The winner of both games moves on to become the East and West's 8-seed in the NBA Playoffs, while the losers go home. Got it?
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Which teams are in the 2025 NBA Playoffs?
Once the Play-In Tournament concludes, the real action heats up, with eight grueling seven-game series, four in the East, and four in the West. The higher-seeded team has home-court advantage in every series.
The Eastern Conference bracket for the 2025 NBA Playoffs
(1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (8) TBD (see above) beginning Sunday, April 20, at a to-be-determined time.
(2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Orlando Magic beginning Sunday, April 20, at 3:30 p.m. ET.
(3) New York Knicks vs. (6) Detroit Pistons beginning Saturday, April 19, at 6 p.m. ET.
(4) Indiana Pacers vs. (5) Milwaukee Bucks beginning Saturday, April 19, at 1 p.m. ET.
The Western Conference bracket for the 2025 NBA Playoffs
(1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (8) TBD (see above) beginning Sunday, April 20, at a to-be-determined time.
(2) Houston Rockets vs. (7) TBD Golden State Warriors beginning Sunday, April 20, at 9:30 p.m. ET.
(3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Minnesota Timberwolves beginning Saturday, April 19, at 8:30 p.m. ET.
(4) Denver Nuggets vs. (5) L.A. Clippers beginning Saturday, April 19, at 3:30 p.m. ET.
In both Conferences, the winner of the 1 vs 8 series faces the winner of the 4 vs. 5 series in the Conference semifinals, while the winner of the 2 vs. 7 series faces the winner of the 3 vs. 6 series in the other Conference semifinals, which begin May 5-6, but could move up to May 3-4, depending on how quickly the first round series go,
The winners of all the semifinal series will face off in the Eastern and Western Conference finals, respectively, beginning May 20-21, but could go as early as May 18-19.
Whoever wins both those series will face off in the 2025 NBA Finals, beginning June 5.
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When does the NBA return to NBC?
After some 20 years away, the NBA on NBC returns to NBC in October of 2025, with weekly Tuesday night games, as well as Monday games streaming exclusively on Peacock.
For more on this year's NBA Playoffs, head over to NBC Sports!
