NBA Playoff Bracket Picture 2026 After Magic, Suns Clinch Final Spots

The Orlando Magic clinched the final Eastern Conference playoff spot after defeating the Charlotte Hornets 121-90 on Friday. They will assume the East's No. 8 seed and face the 60-win, No. 1 seed Detroit Pistons in the first round.

To cap off the evening, the last Western Conference postseason berth was secured by the Phoenix Suns as Jalen Green (36 points) spearheaded a 111-96 win over Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.

Phoenix will now square off against the Oklahoma City Thunder in round one.

Here's a look at the first-round matchups, the brackets and a quick preview of three series showdowns in particular.

Eastern Conference First-Round Matchups

• No. 1 Detroit Pistons vs. No. 8 Orlando Magic
• No. 2 Boston Celtics vs. No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers
• No. 3 New York Knicks vs. No. 6 Atlanta Hawks
• No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 5 Toronto Raptors

Western Conference First-Round Matchups

• No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 8 Phoenix Suns
• No. 2 San Antonio Spurs vs. No. 7 Portland Trail Blazers
• No. 3 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves
• No. 4 Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 5 Houston Rockets

Series Spotlight

No. 3 New York Knicks vs. No. 6 Atlanta Hawks

The New York Knicks made the second round in 2023 and 2024 and earned a conference finals berth in 2025. They've knocked on the door of winning the East but haven't broken through just yet.

This year's team is arguably the best Knicks squad since 1994, when New York won 57 games and made the NBA Finals.

A fantastic starting five led by two-time All-NBA Second Team guard Jalen Brunson could very well catapult the Knicks to the top. The issue is whether the Knicks can navigate a potentially tricky path to the NBA Finals, which could include the Pistons (who crushed New York three times this regular season) and the Boston Celtics, who have welcomed back five-time All-NBA player Jayson Tatum from a torn Achilles.

The Atlanta Hawks present a problem right off the bat. They vaulted into the playoffs off a strength of an 18-3 stretch from Feb. 22 to Apr. 3 and look fantastic right now thanks largely to a breakout campaign from Jalen Johnson (22.5 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 7.9 APG).

Nickeil Alexander-Walker has made the most of his opportunity to shine and get minutes after signing as a free agent (20.8 PPG in 33.4 MPG). CJ McCollum has also been a fantastic addition from the Washington Wizards, averaging 18.7 points and 4.1 assists in Atlanta.

The Knicks and Hawks' most recent game was a great one, with New York winning in Atlanta 108-105 on April 6. McCollum hit a half-court shot to potentially tie the game at the buzzer, but he released the ball just after the clock hit zero.

We'll see how this series turns out soon enough beginning Saturday evening in New York.

No. 3 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves

Two years ago, the Minnesota Timberwolves upset the then-defending champion Denver Nuggets four games to three in a classic Western Conference semifinals series. In Game 7, Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves back from a 20-point deficit to a 98-90 win.

Now the two teams will battle again.

Both teams have enjoyed postseason success of late. Denver has made the second round at minimum in six of the past seven years. Minnesota has engineered great runs to the Western Conference Finals in back-to-back years.

However, one of these teams will be going home early.

Denver rolls into the playoffs on a 12-game win streak. Nuggets center Nikola Jokić just averaged 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game. He also led the league in player efficiency rating for the sixth straight season.

Minnesota isn't as hot as the Nuggets, going 6-6 in its last 12 games. However, it's hard to bet against Edwards, who just posted a career-high 28.8 points per game and has a habit of coming through in the postseason (26.9 PPG in four playoff years).

One thing to watch is Edwards' status. He missed 11 of his team's final 14 regular season games as he dealt with right knee inflammation.

He's listed as questionable on the injury report with "right knee injury maintenance," but signs point to him playing, as relayed by Timberwolves beat writer Dane Moore.

Overall, this series looks like a potential classic on paper. Game 1 is scheduled for Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET.

No. 4 Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 5 Houston Rockets

There are two major storylines in this series.

First, the Lakers will begin the playoffs significantly shorthanded without Luka Dončić (Grade 2 left hamstring strain) and Austin Reaves (Grade 2 left oblique muscle injury).

On Tuesday, Lakers head coach JJ Redick said the two of them are out indefinitely.

"They're out indefinitely," Redick told reporters. "I'm not going to have an update for you this week. They're out indefinitely."

Both stars suffered the injuries during the Lakers' 139-96 road loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 2.

Lakers insider Jovan Buha reported that Dončić's timetable is "up in the air" but that he could be back before Reaves, who is expected to be out four-to-six weeks.

The Lakers-Rockets series, if it goes seven games, would last until May 3. All told, it's conceivable that Dončić and Reaves could return at the tail end of the series if it goes deep, but ultimately, it's very possible the Lakers don't have either player vs. Houston.

So the onus is on LeBron James to guide the team to victory. James, in his three full games played after April 2, averaged 28.0 PPG, 12.7 APG and 7.7 RPG.

This matchup, of course, features two of the team's all-time greats in James and Durant, so this could be seen as a showdown of sorts between the two of them. James and KD infamously faced off against each other in the 2017 and 2018 NBA Finals, and KD's Golden State Warriors beat James' Cleveland Cavaliers twice.

Like 2017 and 2018, the Rockets appear to be the clear favorites in this series with two of the Lakers' best three players out. Durant is listed as questionable on the Game 1 injury report with a right knee contusion, but it's hard to imagine him missing time here.

Still, it's hard to count out James, and the Lakers do have talent to help stem the tide of the absences, including Luke Kennard, Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart.