The heat is on with the 2025 NBA Playoffs officially here.
From 19 April, the 16 basketball teams that came out top after the regular season will begin the long and winding road until just two remain for the NBA Championship Finals.
Before that journey could start, the post-season began with the NBA Play-In Tournament on Tuesday, 15 April, which decided which teams took the seventh and eighth seeds for the playoffs in each conference bracket. The four teams who finished the regular season in seventh through to tenth place competed in this preliminary playoff event.
With the final four teams decided, the Playoffs will start in earnest on Saturday, 19 April, with the First Round.
The teams have been matched up based on their regular season standing seedings. They will compete in a best-of-seven series, with the winner advancing to the conference semi-finals starting 5-6 May, or earlier if the series wraps up early.
The postseason line-ups are:
Western Conference
- No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Memphis Grizzlies (via Play-In)
- No. 2 Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors (via Play-In)
- No. 3 Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves
- No. 4 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 5 Los Angeles Clippers
Eastern Conference
- No. 1 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Miami Heat (via Play-In)
- No. 2 Boston Celtics vs. Orlando Magic (via Play-In)
- No. 3 New York Knicks vs. No. 6 Detroit Pistons
- No. 4 Indiana Pacers vs. No. 5 Milwaukee Bucks
Conference finals are then expected to begin around the third week of May, with the NBA Finals slated to start on Thursday 5 June.
