The 2025 NBA Playoffs are less than a month away, and the playoff picture is starting to become clearer.
Seeds 7-10 will compete in the NBA Play-in Tournament to advance to the first round of the NBA playoffs. Here’s what the playoffs would look like if the season ended today:
Eastern Conference Seeding
- Cleveland Cavaliers** (60-15)
- Boston Celtics** (56-19) 4 GB
- New York Knicks* (48-27) 12 GB
- Indiana Pacers (44-31) 16 GB
- Detroit Pistons (42-33) 18 GB
- Milwaukee Bucks (41-34) 19 GB
- Orlando Magic (37-40) 24 GB
- Atlanta Hawks (36-39) 24 GB
- Miami Heat (34-41) 26 GB
- Chicago Bulls (34-42) 26.5 GB
Eastern Conference Bracket
- (1) Cavs vs. (8) Winner of play-in
- (2) Celtics vs. (7) Winner of play-in
- (3) Knicks vs. (6) Bucks
- (4) Pacers vs. (5) Pistons
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Western Conference Seeding
- Oklahoma City Thunder*** (63-12)
- Houston Rockets (49-27) 14.5 GB
- Denver Nuggets (47-29) 16.5 GB
- Los Angeles Lakers (46-29) 17 GB
- Golden State Warriors (44-31) 19 GB
- Memphis Grizzlies (44-32) 19.5 GB
- Minnesota Timberwolves (44-32) 19.5 GB
- LA Clippers (43-32) 20 GB
- Dallas Mavericks (37-39) 26.5 GB
- Sacramento Kings (36-39) 27 GB
Western Conference Bracket
- (1) Thunder vs. (8) Winner of play-in
- (2) Rockets vs. (7) Winner of play-in
- (3) Nuggets vs. (6) Grizzlies
- (4) Lakers vs. (5) Warriors
NBA Play-In Tournament Bracket
Eastern Conference
- (7) Orlando Magic vs. (8) Atlanta Hawks
- (9) Miami Heat vs. (10) Chicago Bulls
Western Conference
- (7) Minnesota Timberwolves vs. (8) LA Clippers
- (9) Dallas Mavericks vs. (10) Sacramento Kings
* Clinched playoffs
** Clinched division
*** Clinched conference
How many teams make the NBA playoffs?
Sixteen teams in total make the NBA playoffs, eight teams from both the Eastern and Western Conference. The top six seeds in each conference advance based on the regular season record. The final two seeds in each conference are determined by the NBA Play-In Tournament.
2025 NBA Playoffs Schedule & Key Dates
- April 15-18: NBA play-in tournament (ESPN, TNT)
- April 19: NBA playoffs first round begin (ABC, ESPN, TNT, NBA TV)
- May 5-6: NBA conference semifinals begin (ABC, ESPN, TNT)
- May TBD: NBA conference finals begin (ABC, ESPN, TNT)
- June 5: NBA Finals begin (ABC)
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