The NBA play-offs have begun after the 2025–26 regular season ended and the Play-In Tournament finished on 17 April. The first-round games started on 18 April, which means teams are already battling for places in the next stage.
The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Detroit Pistons earned the top seeds in their conferences, giving them strong positions as the race for the Larry O’Brien Trophy continues. Fans are now watching to see which teams can keep winning when the pressure is highest.
Some of the opening games have already brought exciting results. The Thunder beat the Suns 119–84 on 19 April, while the Lakers defeated the Rockets 107–98 on 18 April. In the East, the Celtics won 123–91 against the 76ers, and the Magic beat the Pistons 112–101. These early matches have shown that every game matters and that even strong teams cannot relax.
More first-round games are still to come this week, including another Magic v Pistons game on 22 April and another Suns v Thunder game later the same day. With so many matches close together, the play-offs are now in full swing.
Every team knows that one poor performance can change a whole series. That is why the opening days of the play-offs are so important and so exciting for basketball fans.
