2026 NBA Playoffs: Expected start date, schedule, how to watch, format

With the 2024/25 NBA playoffs now in the rearview, we take a look ahead at the 2026 edition.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are NBA champions for the first time in franchise history after defeating the Indiana Pacers 4-3 in the 2025 NBA Finals.

There are a lot of notable storylines already heading into the 2025/26 NBA season that can impact next season's playoffs, from potential season-long injuries to Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton, to Kevin Durant joining the Houston Rockets, to uncertainty with the New York Knicks head coach, and more.

Continue reading for a guide to all things 2026 NBA playoffs, including what we know about a potential start date and schedule, how to watch and stream every game, the format, and more.

2026 NBA Playoffs expected start date

The 2026 NBA Playoffs are expected to start in mid-April 2026. A potential start date is Saturday, April 18, 2026.

The NBA playoffs have began on the third Saturday in April for each of the last three years, succeeding the NBA Play-In Tournament, which plays out over the course of the week and ends on Friday.

2026 NBA Playoffs schedule

While the complete 2026 NBA playoff schedule won't be confirmed until the games actually play out, we do know the general times each postseason round will be held.

First round: Mid-April 2026. A potential start date is Saturday, April 18, 2026.

Second round: Early May 2026. The first round typically spans just over two weeks, so the conference semifinals will likely start the first week of May 2026.

Conference Finals: Late May 2026. The conference semis span two weeks as well, making the conference finals start around the third week of May, depending on each series length.

NBA Finals: Early June 2026. The last five NBA Finals have began in the first week of June. The start date depends fully on the length of each conference finals series.

How to watch the 2026 NBA Playoffs, TV channel and streaming

The NBA Playoffs will have two new homes starting in 2026.

In a brand new 11-year rights deal beginning in 2025/26, ABC/ESPN, NBC and Amazon Prime Video will broadcast the NBA playoffs. Since 2003, the NBA playoffs had aired on ABC/ESPN, TNT and NBA TV.

According to an official NBA release, ABC/ESPN will air "about 18 games" in the first two rounds each year through 2035/36, and one of the two conference finals in 10 of 11 years.

ABC will air the NBA Finals, having done so since 2003.

NBC Sports, with streaming available on Peacock, will air "between 22 and 34" first and second round games. Amazon Prime Video will stream "between 14 and 26" first and second round games.

NBC and Amazon Prime Video will switch off who airs the non-ABC/ESPN conference finals. In 2036, the final year of the deal, the two conference finals will air on NBC and Amazon Prime Video.

NBA Playoffs format

After the conclusion of the 82-game regular season, 16 of 30 NBA teams reach the playoffs, with the top-six finishers in each of the Eastern and Western Conferences, based on regular season record and tiebreakers, automatically clinching playoff berths.

The seventh through 10th-placed teams in each conference participate in the Play-In Tournament, which determines the 7th and 8th seeds in each conference's playoff bracket.

In the opening round, eight total series are played between the 1-seed and 8-seed, 2-seed and 7-seeds, 3-seed and 6-seed, 4-seed and 5-seed from each conference. Each series is best-of-seven, meaning the first team to four wins advances. The higher seed earns home-court advantage and plays Game 1, 2, 5, and 7 at home, while the lower seed plays Game 3, 4 and 6 at home.

The second round features the winners of 1 vs. 8 and 4 vs. 5 playing each other, and the winners of 2 vs. 7 and 3 vs. 6 playing each other in each conference. With eight total teams left at this stage, four series are played to determine the conference finalists. Each series is best-of-seven with the same home-court advantage rules mentioned above.

The winners of each series make up the Eastern Conference Finals and Western Conference Finals. The winner of each series meet in the NBA Finals, a best-of-seven series in which the team with the better regular season record earns home-court advantage.