If you’ve been patiently ready for months to observe two opposing NBA groups truly attempt to win on the identical evening, effectively, we’ve received some life-altering information for you: The 2026 NBA playoffs are lastly right here—and they’re spectacular.
The questions are as refreshing as they’re intriguing: Will the Oklahoma City Thunder repeat? Can Jayson Tatum pull off an all-time comeback? Are the Denver Nuggets or San Antonio Spurs lurking in plain sight? Is the East as wide-open as we thought? Can LeBron James and Kevin Durant flip again the clock? And which position participant will turn out to be a playoff people hero?
In honor of the postseason’s arrival, The Ringer paneled its NBA employees to dish their favourite first-round sequence, Finals picks, and extra playoff predictions. Let’s dive in.
1. What would be the most entertaining first-round sequence?
Michael Pina: Wolves-Nuggets has all of it: historical past, star energy, and excessive stakes. It’s an precise rivalry: Denver beat Minnesota in 2023, and Minny received revenge the next season. Both groups suppose that they will win the championship. Both groups know what it takes to stage up within the playoffs. Both groups are exceptionally effectively coached. If the Wolves lose, they may nearly undoubtedly break up their core group, which simply hasn’t been in a position to recover from the hump. If the Nuggets lose, it’ll be a catastrophic blow to a bunch that would and may have raised multiple banner by now. Watching Nikola Jokic BBQ Rudy Gobert by no means will get outdated. Watching Anthony Edwards do just about something on a basketball courtroom is ecstasy. There’s a ton of attention-grabbing strategic stuff to keep watch over, and on essentially the most primary phrases, it’s extra enjoyable when two golf equipment in a sequence genuinely don’t like one another.
Danny Chau: Wolves-Nuggets. Could there be another reply? The groups are deadlocked at 14-14 in regular-season and playoff video games since 2022-23. Denver took the season sequence by Christmas, however Minnesota has the sting in common margin of victory throughout the previous 4 campaigns. Jokic, for my cash, remains to be the most effective on the planet, and at full power, that is essentially the most proficient supporting forged he’s ever performed with. But the Wolves know easy methods to overcome the monumental problem that Jokic presents—they did it simply a few years in the past, on the again of a number of the most impressive defense we’ve seen prior to now decade. It’ll be an incredible sequence.
Howard Beck: Because I’m a hopeless sentimentalist, I’m going Rockets-Lakers. Give me as many video games of LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant as these getting older legends can muster over the following two weeks as a result of this could be the final time we see them face off on this stage.
And this isn’t solely a nostalgia take. Durant, at age 37, is a close to lock to make All-NBA. James, even at 41, remains to be undeniably elite (21st in The Ringer’s Top 100). They’ve been dueling for NBA supremacy for almost 20 years, assembly 3 times within the NBA Finals—with James’s Heat defeating Durant’s Thunder in 2012 and Durant getting his payback in 2017 and 2018, main the Warriors to consecutive titles towards James’s Cavaliers.
The stakes are decrease this time. The grey hairs are extra distinguished. Neither workforce is predicted to make a Finals run. But we must always savor each minute, regardless.
Tyler Parker: Hawks-Knicks. I’m a believer in these new-look Hawks. I’ve a set on the Jalen Johnson bandwagon. We have nice drinks and apps. Nickeil Alexander-Walker has modified the recipe and elevated his sport. Corey Kispert has made performs, Jonathan Kuminga’s been a constructive addition, CJ McCollum much more so. They’re fuck-you fearless, and, to various levels, all of them have one thing to show. This Knicks workforce has small-guard shotmaking—my favourite sort of shotmaking—and it has This Man Is Unstable vitality with Josh Hart. Also, this present period of Knicks playoff groups has actually related with town, and are available the postseason, MSG will get punchy. I’m in.
Isaac Levy-Rubinett: Assuming the Charlotte Hornets defeat the free affiliation of basketball gamers carrying Orlando Magic jerseys on Friday evening, Pistons-Hornets would be the uncommon 1-vs.-8 sequence that delivers actual leisure worth. These groups have already got unhealthy blood, relationship again to the February brawl that started with Jalen Duren face smushing Moussa Diabaté and ended with Isaiah Stewart bull-rushing the whole Charlotte workforce. But there’s extra to this (potential) sequence than battle watch. The Hornets have been top-of-the-line groups within the Eastern Conference for months, and if Tuesday evening’s play-in victory over Miami is any indication, the LaMelo Ball thrill trip solely turns into extra electrifying within the postseason. The Pistons, in the meantime, are one of many youngest high seeds in current NBA historical past, and I’m wanting to see how they observe up their dominant common season towards a real check like Charlotte.
Matt Dollinger: Rockets-Lakers. This could be my native Mile High bias exhibiting, however I feel that the Nuggets are peaking on the proper time of the yr and can mud the Wolves. Edwards performed in simply three of Minnesota’s remaining 14 video games. If he can’t regain his shot and his swagger shortly, there’s an opportunity that Denver may steamroll its current archnemesis. I’m going Rockets-Lakers for 2 causes past the LeBron vs. KD nostalgia: (1) LeBron vs. Ime Udoka is truly the primary spherical’s spiciest matchup (I’m pretty sure these guys genuinely hate each other). (2) A possible Luka Doncic return (perhaps for Game 3?) would take the drama to the following stage.
2. Which star has essentially the most at stake this postseason?
Beck: My reply would possibly land someplace between shocking and insane—relying in your NBA political leanings—however right here it’s: Jokic. (Please cease yelling, Pina.) Let me clarify.
Yes, Jokic has a championship, a Finals MVP, and three regular-season MVPs. Yes, his legacy is firmly cemented. But if he needs to win one other title, to safe his place among the many biggest of all-time greats, and, frankly, to silence the #RelyTheRingzzz crowd, the time is now.
Jamal Murray is enjoying at his absolute peak, however his profession arc has been uneven. Aaron Gordon is all the time one hamstring tweak away from lacking a key sport or a month of video games.
The defending champion Thunder are youthful and deeper than the Nuggets, with much more draft capital. The Spurs are youthful and deeper than the Nuggets, with much more draft capital. Jokic wants one other ring now as a result of the highway to the Finals is just going to get more durable within the years to come back.
(All that mentioned, the reply is definitely James Harden.)
Chau: De’Aaron Fox. Usually, proof of a participant’s necessity is baked right into a max extension just like the four-year, $229 million deal Fox signed final summer season. But the Spurs are on a singular trajectory and timeline and possess a uncommon wealth of backcourt expertise. Fox has performed in just one playoff sequence in his eight seasons within the league, again in 2023 towards the Golden State Warriors. He was a utilization monster in that seven-game sequence, and there could come a time in some unspecified time in the future in these playoffs when the Spurs will want the one-time Clutch Player of the Year to take them house. Whether Fox can assert himself because the undisputed second-best participant on a championship contender in these best-of-seven sequence will inform us all the things we have to find out about his place within the Spurs’ current and future.
Dollinger: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. SGA is on an all-time run proper now. He’s gained a title, MVP, and Finals MVP prior to now 10 months, and he has an incredible likelihood to win all three once more this spring. That’s the kind of generational dominance that even the largest critics of his foul baiting must give it up for. The six gamers who’ve gained back-to-back Finals MVP are all-time unimpeachable stars: MJ, LeBron, Shaq, Kobe, Hakeem, and Durant. If Shai joins that firm, I gained’t care how he received there.
Parker: Karl-Anthony Towns? Durant? Sandro Mamukelashvili? Eh, let’s go together with Durant. The Rockets have been reeling for some time now, however KD has been his regular constant self. With the Lakers down Doncic and Austin Reaves, Durant has stumbled into a pleasant little state of affairs that makes attending to the second spherical believable. Win a couple of towards the Thunder, and the infighting will likely be far within the rearview.
Pina: Donovan Mitchell has by no means missed the playoffs and is usually excellent as soon as he will get there. In eight straight postseasons, he scored a mean of 28.3 factors per sport, ninth highest in NBA history Unfortunately, he has little or no to point out for it. Mitchell has by no means superior previous the second spherical and, on a number of events, has watched his workforce fall early on although it’d been the favourite to win the sequence. He’s now 29 years outdated, a first-team All-NBA candidate on the deepest, most complementary (and costly) workforce of his profession, and staring down what seems to be a comparatively frictionles path to the convention finals. Set apart Harden’s postseason malfunctions, Jarrett Allen’s iffy availability, and Evan Mobley’s aggression stage. If Mitchell can’t lead Cleveland to Round 3, the ramifications will unfold past disappointment. An early exit will spark dramatic change.
Levy-Rubinett: Jalen Brunson is already a deity in New York—not even a disappointing playoff final result may change that. But you recognize what an early exit would change? The composition of the 2026-27 New York Knicks. New York made the East finals final season, then fired its coach and fortified its roster. Team proprietor James Dolan is on the document saying that the Knicks’ expectations this season are title or bust. And whereas they’ve a tricky first-round matchup towards the scorching Atlanta Hawks, zoom out and this yr truly presents an actual alternative; the Celtics are nonetheless reintegrating Jayson Tatum, the Pistons are unproven, and the Cavs have zero observe document of assembly the playoff second. So again to Brunson. If the workforce flames out this postseason, the times of Brunson as an undisputed no. 1 choice and centerpiece in New York could be over. That’s to not say that he’s on the chopping block himself, however the feel-good period of Knicks basketball he has spearheaded for the previous 4 seasons is. If the playoffs do not go effectively, New York’s entrance workplace will do no matter it could actually to land Giannis (or another significant improve), and just about each Knick aside from Brunson will come underneath main scrutiny. This yr is Brunson’s finest, and probably final, shot to guide this workforce to the Finals and cement his standing as top-of-the-line Knicks of all time.
3. What’s one playoff take that you simply imagine however most would disagree with?
Chau: Towns could have the postseason of his life, and it begins towards Atlanta. The Hawks have a cadre of perimeter defenders constructed to make Brunson’s life troublesome however are far much less geared up to deal with Towns’s particular package deal of abilities. In his seven video games towards the Hawks as a member of the Knicks, KAT has averaged 28 factors, making the most of Atlanta’s lack of frontcourt dimension and depth. He’ll have as many scoring alternatives as he can deal with, and his impending matchup towards Onyeka Okongwu may very well be a confidence increase after his topsy-turvy common season. On paper, that is precisely what the physician ordered. He simply must reap the benefits of this window. This postseason run may very effectively decide KAT’s future in New York.
Parker: Ayo Dosunmu ought to shut for the Wolves. Apologies if that’s somewhat milquetoast for you. If so, then put me down for a Vit Krejci podium sport within the first spherical. And if that one doesn’t work, and it must be particularly wild: If a protection forces a five-second violation within the remaining two minutes of a sport, they need to get one free throw and the ball.
Beck: That we must always return to the best-of-five first spherical, which the NBA deserted in 2003 to create a constant format earn more money. A shorter sequence means extra drama—and sure, extra volatility, as a result of it will increase the potential for an upset. Critics of the shorter sequence hate that volatility as a result of it signifies that a high seed may very well be ousted after spending all season “earning” its place. But isn’t that the sweetness—even the purpose—of the playoffs? The suspense? The risk that something may occur? Also, frankly, there are too many video games within the first spherical. We shouldn’t want a best-of-seven to resolve the 1-8 and 2-7 matchups. Now, for those who’ll excuse me, I’ve some clouds to berate.
Levy-Rubinett: The play-in guidelines. This yr, the low seeds have truly highlighted how proficient the league is. Maybe it was simply the absence of the Chicago Bulls, however the stage of play this yr has felt much less unhappy than regular. We’ve already gotten 4 nice basketball video games and a number of other indelible moments—the best amuse-bouche for what must be an epic postseason.
Pina: The Hawks will beat the Knicks. I don’t even suppose that this take is especially sizzling. The Hawks are excellent and match up effectively towards New York. In the previous 60 days, Atlanta has ranked second in defensive score and seventh in offensive score. For the season, its beginning lineup’s web score is plus-20.3. Unlike New York, this can be a workforce that can actually profit from the rotational belt-tightening that occurs within the playoffs. It’s a golden alternative for Johnson to stake his declare as one of many NBA’s brightest younger stars, and Dyson Daniels and Alexander-Walker are set to make Brunson’s life a dwelling hell for 2 weeks. Speaking of, who’s Brunson guarding on this sequence? There’s no place for him to cover.
Dollinger: We can’t have NBA gamers traded throughout the Finals. I’m nonetheless disgusted that NBA followers needed to course of a Durant trade simply hours earlier than Game 7 of the Finals final yr. Look, I like a superb ol’-fashioned commerce as a lot as the following sicko, however the NBA’s push to be 24/7/365 hasn’t executed any favors for the league. Set stricter boundaries, and your calendar will click on into place. If KD had modified groups the primary week of July (remember the Hamptons house?!), we may have savored and honored it correctly.
4. What position participant will turn out to be a playoff hero this spring?
Beck: Jose Alvarado. I can’t inform you what number of minutes he’ll play in his first Knicks postseason, or what number of pictures he’ll take, or what his defensive assignments will likely be. I can’t say for positive what he’ll do to turn out to be an instantaneous Garden legend—a well timed steal, a key 3-pointer, a close to brawl with somebody twice his dimension, a diving, beer-spilling save into the entrance row—solely that it’s destined to occur.
Pina: Cam Johnson completed the common season on hearth. In the 17 video games since he returned from an ankle harm—and openly acknowledged his on-court struggles—Johnson has made 65.7 p.c of his 2-point pictures and 47.3 p.c of his 3s. In different phrases, down the stretch of his irritating first season in Denver, the 30-year-old marksman regarded even higher than the Nuggets may’ve ever hoped for once they acquired him. It’s greater than pulling down catch-and-shoot makes an attempt and his lightning-quick launch, although. Johnson’s defensive anticipation has been glorious, and his aggressiveness off the bounce provides a totally completely different dimension to an offensive system that’s already unstoppable with out it. (Most of the seven assists he logged in a current win over the Blazers got here from kick-outs from the paint—together with the game-tying dime to Aaron Gordon, which was the results of a well-timed reduce by Johnson that collapsed Portland’s protection.) If he sustains this all through a prolonged playoff run, Denver would possibly have to construct the person a statue.
Levy-Rubinett: Julian Champagnie has quietly turn out to be one of the vital reliable two-way wings in the whole NBA. He hits 3s, gobbles rebounds, performs stable protection, and retains the ball shifting; it is not a coincidence that his transfer to the beginning lineup across the high of the yr coincided with the Spurs actually hitting their stride. There are a couple of Spurs who’re on the brink of make their playoff debuts, and Champagnie is definitely not the one NBA followers are holding their breath about. But he is completely important to their workforce, and the broader NBA-watching world is about to seek out out why.
Dollinger: I may identify seven completely different gamers on the Thunder and they’d all really feel proper, however I’m going with Duncan Robinson. The Pistons are the highest seed within the East, however they’re close to the underside in playoff expertise. Robinson was a key cog for 2 Heat groups that made the Finals, and he could be referred to as on in some massive moments. Detroit will want him to stretch the ground, as opponents will seemingly dare somebody moreover Cade Cunningham to beat them. The excellent news? When Robinson has it going, the Pistons win. Detroit went 22-4 this season when he hit at the very least 4 3-pointers.
Parker: Baylor Scheierman. He lit the Magic on hearth within the Celtics’ remaining sport of the common season, and it actually wasn’t even all that shocking. He’s a inventive, herky-jerky shotmaker who can take benefit when his teammates are getting all the protection’s consideration. Scheierman could have alternatives to make huge pictures, and he appears free and rowdy sufficient to attach with folks in massive moments.
Chau: I’m pondering the identical as Tyler. I’m absolutely anticipating Scheierman to have a sport wherein he goes, like, 5-for-6 from 3 and earns a couple of Tommy Points busting his ass on protection. The Celtics appear to have uncovered the following Joe Ingles, and he’s received a mullet this time round.
5. What playoff story line are you most invested in?
Parker: Do Durant and the Rockets truly hate one another? If issues begin to go south, have they got sufficient chemistry to get by a tough patch and never let it present? Or will the microscope of the playoffs take too nice of a toll on a workforce whose groove has eluded it? The drama is all the time ratcheted up within the postseason.
Dollinger: Is the Victor Wembanyama takeover right here? Or are we a yr too early? It would possibly really feel somewhat untimely given the dominance of a number of the different titans across the league, however Tim Duncan was 23 when he gained his first title with the Spurs, too. As nice as Jokic and SGA are, it’s simple that the NBA’s most formidable two-way drive resides in San Antonio. If he slays his two greatest foes—Denver and Oklahoma City—on the best way to the Finals, it might ship shivers down the NBA’s backbone.
Pina: I’m excited by seeing how bodily the referees will permit the motion to be. The change was dramatic last season, as anybody who watched the Magic brawl with the Celtics can attest. If the development continues, the sequence I’m most trying ahead to watching is Blazers-Spurs, the place Portland’s bodily imposing protection could ultimately resort to beating the crap out of Wembanyama. How will Wemby reply, in his very first style of playoff basketball? The sequence must be a walkover, however Portland’s dimension and muscle may make it extra aggressive than most individuals anticipate.
Chau: Detroit’s been beating the shit out of groups—complimentary!—on protection all season. The Pistons’ lack of high quality capturing understandably hampers their case because the favorites out East, however I’m hoping that their Bad Boys physicality continues to be Detroit’s nice equalizer. We could dwell sooner or later, however good old school rock fights can nonetheless construct out the stress and cinema of a best-of-seven sequence.
Levy-Rubinett: Everything to do with Wembanyama, from essentially the most granular (how will playoff physicality have an effect on his offense?) to the largest image (may he snag the belt as finest participant on the planet?). Wemby has ascended in warp pace. He picks issues up on the fly, to the purpose that he is regarded like a superhero exploring and harnessing the total extent of his powers over his first three seasons. Down the stretch, Wembanyama hit one more stage, studying easy methods to make his presence felt on actually each possession on each ends of the ground. I can not wait to see how that interprets to the postseason strain cooker and to determine what this Alien is already able to.
Beck: The Philadelphia 76ers, when wholesome, are the largest risk to … yeah, you recognize what, by no means thoughts.
6. What’s your Finals prediction?
Beck: Nuggets over Celtics, a minor edit from my preseason prediction (Nuggets over Cavs), however stemming from the identical premise: It’s more durable than ever to repeat, so I’m taking the sphere over the Thunder. And I’m taking the most effective participant in that discipline to guide the upset. The East has been laborious to gauge all season. But among the many presumed contenders, the Celtics—with a wholesome Tatum and a leveled-up Jaylen Brown—have the most effective famous person duo, essentially the most firepower, and essentially the most expertise.
Pina: Nuggets over Celtics. In seven video games. Give it to us.
Parker: My preseason choose was Thunder over Knicks. I’m going to vary that up barely and say Thunder over Celtics in seven. Tatum’s stage of play after his harm has been revelatory, and Boston is wall-to-wall with shooters and guys who play laborious, sensible protection. It wouldn’t shock me in any respect to see the Spurs or the Nugs come out of the West, however the Thunder are the defending champs and the convention nonetheless runs by them.
Dollinger: Celtics over Thunder. I wished to select this earlier than the season, however I chickened out and picked Joe Mazzulla to win Coach of the Year as a substitute. I’m as anti-Boston as you’re legally allowed to be at The Ringer, however this all the time felt like a “No One Believes in Us Even Though We’re Sort of the Best Team” season. They spent the season redefining their depth and underdog id. If Tatum pulls off this stage of a comeback, we’ll by no means hear the tip of it. It’s taking place.
Levy-Rubinett: Nuggets over Pistons. I feel that Denver vs. OKC within the Western Conference finals will double as an important and most riveting sequence of the playoffs and that the Nugs will get revenge after their seven-game defeat final yr. The Pistons are younger and considerably offensively challenged, however they’re robust as hell and so they simply gained 60 video games—at a sure level, it’s a must to imagine within the résumé. That mentioned, I’m undecided that two Durens busting out of a trench coat would have a lot of an opportunity of stopping Jokic, who will win his second Finals MVP and vault into extraordinarily rarefied historic air.
Chau: Nuggets over Celtics. After a run of inopportune accidents to key supporting gamers, maybe well being luck would possibly lastly swing Denver’s method within the postseason. If so, it has the horses to problem each workforce within the league. Consider this a late supply of the Finals sequence that was promised in 2023 and 2024 however that by no means arrived.
