The NBA Playoffs are here!
The fight for basketball's biggest prize has grown thanks to the parity across the league in recent years. As a result, there's huge anticipation for this season's Playoff battles.
Before the NBA's postseason gets underway, here's a run-through of all you need to know about the NBA Playoffs.
| What | NBA Playoffs |
| When | April 15th to June 18th, 2023 |
| How to watch | ESPN, ABC, TNT and NBA TV |
| Odds | MIL Bucks +250, BOS Celtics +300, PHX Suns +400, GS Warriors +900, PHI 76ers +900, DEN Nuggets +1000 |
What are the NBA Playoffs?
While NBA teams play an 82-game regular season, it's the Playoffs which decide who ends the campaign as the champions.
The regular season standings are taken after the final game and used to map out the bracket, which charts the route to the NBA Finals for every contender.
How many teams make the NBA Playoffs?
The NBA Playoffs feature 16 teams, with eight teams from both the Eastern Conference and Western Conference making it into the postseason.
Previously, the top eight teams from both sets of standings qualified for the Playoffs. However, that's been changed by the addition of the Play-In Tournament.
Now teams from seventh to 10th from the east and west face off for the final two Playoff spots in each conference.
What channel can I watch the NBA Playoffs on?
The NBA Playoffs will be broadcast across ESPN, ABC, TNT and NBA TV in the United States. There will also be some first-round games shown on regional sports networks.
What is the NBA playoff picture?
The NBA Playoff picture is set, as all 16 teams have clinched their spot in the postseason following the conclusion of the fourth annual Play-In Tournament.
Title favorites Milwaukee Bucks lead the east standings and are +110 to win the conference, while Kevin Durant's Phoenix Suns are the +190 favorites to win the west.
How does the NBA Playoffs bracket work?
The NBA Playoff bracket is quite straightforward, with teams seeded based on the standings.
Teams battle against the other sides in their conference across the first three rounds, before the respective conference champions meet in the NBA Finals.
The top team in each conference face the eight-seed and the teams are paired from top against bottom through to the four/five seed matchup.
The higher seed in each series plays at home in four of the seven games, meaning the top sides in each conference have the easiest route to the Finals in theory.
When do the NBA Playoffs start?
This season's Playoffs begin on Saturday, April 15th, the day after the Play-In Tournament ends.
The opening weekend of the Playoffs should bring us the opening game from all eight first-round series across both conferences.
The Conference Semifinals are scheduled to start on May 1st and 2nd, while the Conference Finals are scheduled in for May 16th and 17th.
Game 1 of the 2023 NBA Finals is set for June 1st, with the series running through to June 18th if it goes to seven games.
Who is the oldest player in the NBA playoffs?
The oldest player to play for a team who have confirmed their spot in the NBA Playoffs is the Philadelphia 76ers' P.J. Tucker.
The Sixers' big free agent signing of the summer has played a key role in shaping up their defence, despite the fact he's 37 years old.
Tucker will turn 38 during the Conference Semifinals, while he's contracted to the Sixers through to the age of 40. However, there are three players older than Tucker with an eye on the postseason.
LeBron James, 38, is the third-oldest active player in the league, behind the Golden State Warriors' Andre Iguodala. Iguodala, 39, is set to retire at the end of the season, so he'll be hoping to get one more postseason.
The same can be said of 42-year-old Udonis Haslem, the longest-serving player in Miami Heat history. Three-time champion Haslem will retire once the Heat's season is done, leaving his former teammate LeBron as the league's oldest player.
