Between high-stakes, single-elimination matchups in the NBA Play-In Tournament for teams looking to break into the actual playoff picture, and already locked in first-round matchups, the 2026 NBA postseason promises to be one of the most entertaining in years.
Parity is at an all-time high in the league, and with no team primed to run away from the rest of the pack, the upcoming NBA playoffs will bring peak competition and entertainment. The defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder are obviously in the race to win it all again this year, but the San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets pose real threats to take the Western Conference, and the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers look menacing in the East.
The postseason kicked off April 14th with the SoFi Play-In Tournament, a newer addition that’s been around since 2020 but was changed to its current version in 2022.
The tournament’s format is that the No. 7 and 8 seeds in each of the league’s conferences, the Eastern and Western, face each other, and the winners secure the No. 7 seeds in their respective conferences to face the No. 2 seeds.
The losers of those games will go on to play the winner of the games between the No. 9 and 10 seeds, and whichever teams win those games will take on the No. 8 seeds to face the 1 seeds and complete the playoff bracket.
My picks to make it to the Eastern Conference playoffs are the No. 7 seed team, Philadelphia 76ers, to take down the No. 8 seed Orlando Magicon Wednesday night and claim the No. 7 seed to face the Boston Celtics.
I think the No. 9 seed Charlotte Hornets will take down the 10 seed Miami Heat. Then, Charlotte will take the Magic to scrape by and face the No. 1 seed, still in the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons, in the playoffs.
To me, Tyrese Maxey of the 76ers is the best player in this bracket, as he has willed the 76ers to a 45-37 record this season amidst injuries and suspensions to his co-stars Joel Embiid and Paul George. Sometimes having a guy who can take over is the deciding factor in single-elimination scenarios.
Rookie phenom Kon Knueppel will propel the Hornets into the playoffs. He has turned around a historically bad Hornets franchise, broken the rookie single-season three-pointers record and led the entire NBA in three-pointers this season.
The No. 8 seed Portland Trail Blazers are my pick to top the No. 7 seed Phoenix Suns and face the No. 2 seed San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference. Next, I’m rolling with the No. 9 seed Los Angeles Clippers to advance past both the No. 10 seed Golden State Warriors and then the Suns to face the No.1 seed, defending NBA champions Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Blazers are simply an exciting young team that would be fun to watch in a playoff series, and All-Star Deni Avdija is a tough matchup for the Suns. As for the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard is a two-time NBA champion and Finals MVP, and is simply far too experienced in the postseason not to give it all he’s got.
The Clippers have gone through turmoil this season and lost star James Harden, but Leonard is having arguably the best season of his career, and I don’t think he’ll let this team miss the playoffs.
One confirmed matchup, the No. 3 seed Denver Nuggets vs. 6 seed Minnesota Timberwolves series, will be absolute cinema between two championship contenders. These two avoided each other in last year’s playoffs, where both teams went down at the hands of the champion team, the Thunder, the Nuggets in the Conference Semifinals and the Timberwolves in the Conference Finals. This year, I’m taking the Nuggets to get revenge.
In 2024, however, the Nuggets were fresh off winning the NBA championship and the Timberwolves took them down in an electric series that went all the way to seven games. This year promises to be no less exciting, as two of the league’s top players, three-time MVP Nuggets winner Nikola Jokic and superstar Anthony Edwards, will go head-to-head once again. These stars are the heads of the snakes as they lead their respective teams, but I think the supporting casts are what make the difference.
All-Star Jamal Murray will act as Robin to Jokic’s Batman. Further, the Nuggets are also able to rely on Peyton Watson, Aaron Gordon and Bruce Brown.
Several other first-round and potential later matchups will bring no shortage of thrills, like legends LeBron James and Kevin Durant facing off, Victor Wembanyama making his playoff debut and the Eastern Conference looking to have no clear favorite separated from the rest.
Whether my predictions hit or are horribly wrong, the 2026 NBA postseason will undoubtedly have my eyes glued to the screen from the start of the Play-In Tournament to watching this year’s champion hoist the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy in June.
Jack Muldowney is a freshman studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note the opinions expressed in this column do not represent those of The Post. Want to talk to Jack Muldowney about their column? Email/tweet them at [email protected] or @JackMuldowney1.
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