The final week of regular-season play ended on April 12 as all 30 teams faced off to cap off the 82-game campaign. Some top seeds sweetened an already dominant run, while bottom-dwelling teams completed their last efforts to tank for the May 10 draft lottery.

After four teams from each conference faced off in the play-in tournament, 16 total teams remain to compete for a chance to lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy in June.

Our NBA insiders broke down all 20 postseason teams, their first-round and play-in matchups, biggest questions and key players to watch throughout the run to the 2026 Finals

Jump to a team:
ATL | BOS | CHA | CLE | DEN
DET | GS | HOU | LAC | LAL
MIA | MIN | NYK | OKC | ORL
PHI | PHX | POR | SA | TOR
Playoff bracket, schedule, news

Which NBA superstars will battle in the 2026 Finals? The journey begins on Tuesday. ESPN

Eastern Conference

Round 1 matchup: Orlando Magic
BPI chance to make the NBA Finals: 44.2%
NBA title odds: +2200

One of the best seasons in franchise history was powered by the kind of defense, intensity and physicality that have been calling cards of nearly every great Detroit team. But will the East's top seed generate enough offense to reach its first Finals since 2005? Cade Cunningham has realized his potential as the 2021 No. 1 draft pick, but the options behind him are largely unproven. The Magic, after dominating the Hornets to claim the last spot in the playoffs, will test the Pistons to keep up on the scoreboard. -- Jamal Collier

Is Cunningham fully healthy? The Pistons didn't miss a beat near the end of the regular season, wrapping up the best record in the conference without their star player. Cunningham shook off some rust with two games last week, but the chances of a deep playoff run hinge on how he bounces back from a collapsed lung. Despite falling short of the 65-game threshold, Cunningham was one of the best players in the league this season and looked like a lock for All-NBA. Detroit needs Cunningham at that level. -- Collier

Cunningham. I looked at how much teams would fall if they were without their best player, and the Pistons would drop only to fourth. But a top player returning after injury has a chance of clunkiness. The Pistons got Cunningham back from a collapsed lung last Wednesday in a game against a tanking team, and he played well. But tankers won't be the test. When the Pistons face a team in lockdown defense mode, that's when Cunningham must avoid forcing things and keep defending on the other end. -- Dean Oliver

They reach the second round. It would seem as if a conference finals appearance would be the minimum goal, but it's important to note that this team is just two seasons removed from a disastrous 14-win campaign. In 2024, the Thunder tied for the best record in the West with 57 wins only to get knocked out by the Mavericks in the conference semis. Detroit chose not to make any major swings at the trade deadline, in part due to not wanting to skip steps or place the burden of title expectations on a rising young team. -- Vincent Goodwill

Stat to know: Detroit is the third team in the past 15 seasons to lead the league in steals and blocks (2021-22 Grizzlies, 2016-17 Warriors).

Betting nugget: The Pistons posted a plus-9.5 net rating over an 11-game stretch without Cunningham during the final month of the regular season, barely down from plus-10.9 with him. Their offense dipped from 119.7 to 108.5 per 100 possessions without him, but it still averaged 115.8 during that span, while the defense improved. The Pistons' ability to sustain elite efficiency without their star reinforces their legitimacy as a contender. At the fourth-best odds to win the East (+500) and seventh best to win the championship (+2200), the market might still be undervaluing them. -- Eric Moody

Round 1 matchup: Philadelphia 76ers
BPI chance to make the NBA Finals: 26.4%
NBA title odds: +550

How will Boston's center rotation fare? Neemias Queta and Luka Garza have never been relied upon to be significant postseason contributors, and veteran Nikola Vucevic has never played past the first round. If Boston is to make the deep playoff run it expects, this frontcourt group will be tested. -- Tim Bontemps

What will Jayson Tatum look like? It already has been a remarkable comeback for him to be playing less than a year after tearing an Achilles tendon -- and quickly winning a conference Player of the Week award, to boot. But for Boston to be a true title threat, Tatum will need to return to something closer to his pre-injury form. -- Bontemps

Payton Pritchard. The Celtics are a machine that adapts to what the opponent does, but if there's a player whose performance can be volatile, it's Pritchard. He has been among the 30 most inconsistent players this season, posting 23 good games and 17 bad ones (plus-37 average efforts). If the Celtics face the ferocious starting unit in Charlotte, they can't afford a Pritchard stinker: Boston's biggest loss of the season was to the visiting Hornets on March 4, when Pritchard had his worst game. -- Dean Oliver

They reach the conference finals. In some ways, Tatum's return has Boston playing with house money. He came back sooner than expected and looks like a reasonable version of himself while swapping lead positions with MVP contender Jaylen Brown. Getting knocked out in the second round last season as defending champions then being able to come back and advance to top-two status in what was thought to be a "gap year" would constitute a massive win for the franchise. But going further is always on the board in the East. -- Goodwill

Stat to know: The Celtics allowed 40.1 points per game in the paint -- the fewest in a season since the 2019-20 Bucks (38.7).

Betting nugget: Defense wins championships: Twenty-two of the past 25 champions ranked in the top 10 in defensive rating during the regular season. The Celtics rank second in offensive rating and fourth in defensive rating. That's notable, as 23 of the past 25 champions finished in the top five in either offensive or defensive efficiency. With Tatum and Brown leading the way, Boston has the profile of a true contender on both ends of the floor and presents value at +550 to win the championship. -- Moody

Round 1 matchup: Atlanta Hawks
BPI chance to make the NBA Finals: 21.5%
NBA title odds: +1800

Whether the Knicks can take care of business early and get enough rest for a potential rematch with the Celtics. That would mean Jalen Brunson continuing the trend of trusting his teammates such as Josh Hart and, more importantly, Karl-Anthony Towns. Everything the Knicks have done since last season ended has been about leading to this moment. Firing Tom Thibodeau. Hiring Mike Brown. Not going all-in with a trade offer for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Treating the first round with the appropriate seriousness after having lulls in concentration this season would show that those decisions were worth it -- for now. -- Goodwill

Can Towns be the true second option New York needs? He has had a more productive second half of the season but has needed to find his offense off the glass rather than getting everything run through him. Towns and Brunson have found chemistry lately, but the pressure is greater on Towns than on any star-level player this postseason. -- Goodwill

Mitchell Robinson. The Knicks have been very good against bad teams and middling against good teams. Who declines the most? It's Robinson, and it's on both sides of the ball. The good defenses defend him well, and they are also willing to foul him and put him on the line, where his sub-50% mark means "hack-a-Mitchell" is in play from tipoff. -- Oliver

They reach the NBA Finals. If it weren't obvious, Knicks owner James Dolan laid out the gauntlet on New York radio in January. Making the conference finals was just good enough to get Thibodeau fired. Beating Boston, Detroit, Cleveland or anyone else is the bare minimum. The Knicks were built to win this season, and there could be consequences on some level if they come up short again. -- Goodwill

Stat to know: The Knicks had a plus-10.0 point differential at home this season, third in the NBA behind the Thunder (11.7) and Pistons (10.5).