NBA playoff bracket set ahead of play-in tournament starting on Tuesday, April 14

The NBA regular season is complete. That means one exciting thing: The playoffs are here!

With the conferences’ play-in tournaments set to begin Tuesday, April 14, the NBA released the entire playoff bracket on X late on Sunday, April 12. Once the play-in tournaments are complete, the main playoffs begin Saturday, April 18.

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The defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder claimed the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference for the second straight season. The Thunder started their season 24-1, tying the best 25-game start in league history, on the way to a 64-18 record.

Meanwhile in the East, the Detroit Pistons started hot as well. The Pistons tied a franchise record with 13 consecutive wins in November. As a result, they cruised to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference at 60-22.

Furthermore, there are intriguing matchups across the first round.

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers meet Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets in a matchup of No. 4 and No. 5 seeds in the Western Conference. The Lakers hope to get stars Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves back from injury at some point during the series. Of course, a series loss could end the 41-year-old James’ tenure with the Lakers. That’s because he is a free agent after this season.

The New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks square off in the Eastern Conference. The sixth-seeded Hawks finished the regular season 19-5. Meanwhile, the No. 3 seed Knicks entered the season with high hopes after advancing to the conference finals last year. They expected to take advantage of Achilles injuries to Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum and Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton to rule the East. Unfortunately for New York, it hasn’t turned out that way. In fact, Tatum is back to lead the No. 2 seed Celtics into the postseason.

Also, NBA Communications announced the schedule for the first weekend of playoff games.

Before the playoffs begin, the play-in tournament will determine the final two playoff spots in each conference. First, the winner of the game between the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds advances to the main bracket. Then, the loser of that game plays the winner of the game between the No. 9 and No. 10 seeds for the final spot in the playoffs.

Finally, all play-in tournament games will be streamed live on Amazon Prime.

Play-in tournament schedule

Tuesday, April 14
Eastern Conference
No. 10 seed Miami Heat at No. 9 seed Charlotte Hornets, 7:30 p.m. ET
Western ConferenceNo. 8 seed Portland Trail Blazers at No. 7 seed Phoenix Suns, 10 p.m. ET

Wednesday, April 15
Eastern Conference
No. 8 seed Orlando Magic at No. 7 seed Philadelphia 76ers, 7:30 p.m. ET
Western ConferenceNo. 10 seed Golden State Warriors at No. 9 seed Los Angeles Clippers, 10 p.m. ET

Friday, April 17
Eastern Conference
9-10 winner vs. 7-8 loser, 7:30 p.m.
Western Conference9-10 winner vs. 7-8 loser, 10 p.m.