It’s playoff time in the NBA. The postseason field was finalized on Sunday, and seeding is now set in both conferences. The Oklahoma City Thunder clinched the West’s No. 1 seed on Sunday, and the Phoenix Suns jumped the New Orleans Pelicans to gain the No. 6 seed and a playoff berth in the West. In the East, the New York Knicks beat the Chicago Bulls in overtime and earned the No. 2 seed, while the Milwaukee Bucks dropped to No. 4 with a blowout loss against the Orlando Magic.
Here’s a look at the complete playoff picture, which features some big names (like the Lakers, 76ers, Warriors and Heat) in the Play-In Tournament. The postseason gets started with the Play-In Tournament on Tuesday, April 16, and the Play-In will run through Friday, April 19. A reminder on how the Play-In tournament works: No. 7 will play No. 8 in each conference, and No. 9 will play No. 10. The winner of the 7-8 game gets the No. 7 seed, while the loser will face the winner of the 9-10 game for the No. 8 seed.
There will be a twist in the Play-In Tournament schedule this year, too. Both Western Conference games will take place on Tuesday before we get 76ers vs. Heat and Bulls vs. Hawks in the East on Wednesday. Typically, Tuesday sees the No. 7 vs. No. 8 in both conferences, but the 76ers are not able to host a game on Tuesday night due to a scheduling conflict with the NHL’s Flyers.
The four first-round series set in stone right now are Timberwolves-Suns, Clippers-Mavericks, Bucks-Pacers and Cavaliers-Magic. The NBA unveiled the dates that those series will get started, but time and TV info for the first weekend of the playoffs has not yet been announced.
Below is everything we know so far about the 2024 NBA playoff schedule.
All NBA playoff games airing on ABC, ESPN and NBA TV will be streaming on fubo (try for free).
Play-In Tournament schedule
(All times Eastern)
Tuesday, April 16
No. 7 Pelicans vs. No. 8 Lakers, 7:30 p.m., TNT
No. 9 Kings vs. No. 10 Warriors, 10 p.m., TNT
Wednesday, April 17
No. 7 76ers vs. No. 8 Heat, 7 p.m., ESPN/fubo
No. 9 Bulls vs. No. 10 Hawks, 9:30 p.m., ESPN/fubo
Friday, April 19
East No. 7/8 vs. East No. 9/10, Time TBD, ESPN/fubo
West No. 7/8 vs. West No. 9/10, Time TBD, TNT
2024 NBA playoffs schedule: First round
Saturday, April 20
Game 1: Knicks vs. East No. 7, Time/TV TBD
Game 1: Cavaliers vs. Magic, Time/TV TBD
Game 1: Nuggets vs. West No. 7, Time/TV TBD
Game 1: Timberwolves vs. Suns, Time/TV TBD
Sunday, April 21
Game 1: Celtics vs. East No. 8, Time/TV TBD
Game 1: Bucks vs. Pacers, Time/TV TBD
Game 1: Thunder vs. West No. 8, Time/TV TBD
Game 1: Clippers vs. Mavericks, Time/TV TBD
2024 NBA playoff dates
- April 20-21: Start of first round
- May 4-7: Start of second round
- May 19-22: Start of Conference Finals
- June 6: NBA Finals Game 1
- June 23: NBA Finals Game 7 (if necessary)
