Upcoming NBA Playoffs dates
Dates and live ticket listings appear here as soon as they are on sale. The guide below covers what to know before you buy.
How the NBA postseason is structured
The NBA playoffs are the league's postseason tournament, run from mid-April to June. Twenty teams take part: the top ten in each conference by winning percentage. Seeds 1 through 6 qualify directly; seeds 7 through 10 play a short play-in tournament for the last two spots in each conference. The 16 survivors then play four rounds, every one a best-of-seven series (first to four wins), a format used in all rounds since 2003:
- First round: 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6 and 4 vs. 5 in each conference;
- Conference semifinals: the four winners in each conference pair off;
- Conference finals: one series in the East, one in the West;
- NBA Finals: the two conference champions.
The bracket is fixed, with no reseeding after each round. Division titles carry no playoff advantage; since 2016 berths and seeds go strictly by record. The 2026 playoffs, for example, began April 18 and ended June 13. This page covers the bracket through the conference finals; the championship series has its own NBA playoff hub and a separate GoodSeats guide.
The play-in tournament: single games with no margin
The play-in tournament (a mini-bracket held in the days between the end of the regular season and the first round) decides the 7 and 8 seeds in each conference:
- The 7th-place team hosts the 8th-place team. The winner becomes the 7 seed.
- The 9th-place team hosts the 10th-place team. The loser is eliminated.
- The loser of the 7–8 game hosts the winner of the 9–10 game. The winner becomes the 8 seed.
The league first used a play-in game in the 2020 bubble season, expanded it to this format in 2021 and later made it permanent; sources differ on whether that came in 2022 or 2023. For buyers, play-in games are a different product from the playoffs proper. Each is a single elimination game, the schedule is set only days ahead, and the home team is not known until the final week of the season. Demand depends heavily on the market: a large fan base fighting for its season can fill a building, while a 9–10 game between two smaller markets often has seats available close to tip-off.
Who hosts which games
Every round uses a 2-2-1-1-1 home schedule. In the conference rounds, home-court advantage goes to the higher seed, which hosts Games 1, 2, 5 and 7; the lower seed hosts Games 3, 4 and 6. Two consequences matter when you buy:
- Only four games per series are certain. Games 5, 6 and 7 are if-necessary games, played only when the series is still undecided. Check the refund terms before buying one.
- A lower seed gets at most three home games, and only two are guaranteed. If you want to see a 6, 7 or 8 seed at home, Games 3 and 4 are the safe purchase.
Series can end fast. The 2026 postseason was the 50th straight with at least one sweep, and it was also the 27th straight to include at least one Game 7, so both outcomes are common enough to plan around.
How ticket demand rises by round
Playoff pricing follows the bracket. As the field shrinks, there are fewer games, more at stake in each, and the same fan base competing for less inventory. In broad terms:
- Play-in: the most variable. Some games sell out, others do not, and prices often soften as tip-off approaches.
- First round: the most games and the most inventory, eight series running at once. Games 1 and 2 at the higher seed and Games 3 and 4 at the lower seed are the most plentiful tickets of the postseason.
- Conference semifinals: four series, a clear step up in demand, especially for a team that has not advanced in years.
- Conference finals: two series, each a direct path to the Finals, and the sharpest jump in demand short of the Finals themselves.
Within any series, three things push a game's demand up: the chance of a clinching win for the home team, a Game 7, and a long playoff drought. In 2026 the San Antonio Spurs returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2019 and the Portland Trail Blazers for the first time since 2021, the kind of return that drives home demand regardless of seed. Prices move after every game; a ticket for Game 6 is priced by whether the home team is facing elimination or closing out.
Timing your purchase
Playoff tickets reach the market in stages. Teams typically offer playoff seats to season-ticket members first, then release what remains as matchups and dates are confirmed. Because later-round dates depend on how quickly earlier series end, you often have only a few days between a schedule announcement and the game itself.
- Buy early for games that are certain to happen: Games 1 and 2 at the higher seed and Games 3 and 4 at the lower seed.
- Wait on if-necessary games until the series state is clear, unless the refund terms protect you.
- Watch the other bracket: a series that ends early can pull the next round's dates forward.
Entry, bag and mobile-ticket rules are set by each arena and change from season to season, so check the host venue's current policy before you go. Every GoodSeats order is backed by a 100% guarantee.
Where to sit in a playoff arena
The seating logic is the same as in the regular season, but playoff crowds change the trade-offs. Lower-bowl sideline seats (the 100-level sections along the long sides) remain the best overall view; rows in the middle of the section clear the benches and scorer's table. Baseline seats behind the baskets cost less but flatten the far end of the floor. Upper-level sideline seats give a full-court view and usually sit among the loudest home fans, which for many buyers is the point of a playoff game. Courtside seats offer proximity, not perspective.
Playoff history in brief
The playoffs date to 1947, the first season of the Basketball Association of America. Early rounds were often shorter series; every round has been best-of-seven since 2003. The play-in tournament is the most recent major change, adding high-stakes single games to the opening week. Recent postseasons have rewarded depth over seeding: 2026 tied the single-postseason record with five Game 7s, and the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder lost in seven games to San Antonio in the Western Conference finals.
Frequently asked questions
How many teams make the NBA playoffs?
Sixteen teams make the playoff bracket, eight per conference. Twenty teams take part when the play-in tournament for seeds 7 through 10 is included.
When do the NBA playoffs start?
The play-in tournament follows the end of the regular season in mid-April, and the first round starts right after it. In 2026 the playoffs began April 18.
Who gets home-court advantage in the playoffs?
In the conference rounds, the higher seed hosts Games 1, 2, 5 and 7. In the Finals, the team with the better regular-season record holds home court.
Are play-in games part of the playoffs?
They are a separate qualifying tournament. Teams that lose in the play-in do not count as playoff teams.
Which playoff round has the cheapest tickets?
Prices are not fixed, but the play-in and first round have the most games and inventory, so they are generally the most accessible. Demand climbs with each round.