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When do the NBA Playoffs Start? NBA Playoffs Start Date 2025, Format, Bracket and More

Get all the details on the 2025 NBA Playoffs, including the start date, and Play-In tournament as teams battle for the Championship.

Image Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The exciting NBA regular season is going to wind up and we will be ready for the playoffs which is kicking off with the Play-In tournament. Standings in the postseason are changing with every matchup and top teams are fighting out for the automatic qualification.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have already clinched the top seed in the Western Conference and the Rockets are also looking to take the No.2 seed. The Lakers, the Nuggets, and the Warriors are all vying for the remaining top four seeds. In the East, the Cavaliers, the Celtics, and the Knicks have secured places in the playoffs.

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The top six teams from each conference will qualify for the NBA playoffs and teams ranked from 7th to 10th will fight out in the play-in tournament. The remaining two teams from the Play-In tournament will join the already qualified six teams in the playoffs.

Let’s get to know everything related to the NBA playoffs.

How teams will qualify for the NBA playoffs?

As we mentioned earlier, the top six teams from each conference will qualify for the playoffs and for the remaining two spots, teams ranked seventh to tenth will feature in a Play-In tournament. Here’s the process to feature in the playoffs through the NBA Play-In tournament.

Each conference’s No. 7 team will take on the No. 8 team and the winners of this game will qualify for the playoffs as the No. 7 seed.
The loser of the opening game (No. 7 vs. No. 8) will get a final chance.
Each conference’s No. 9 team will meet the No. 10 team in Game 2. The winners will advance to the final stage of the Play-In Tournament.
The loser of the first game will now play against the winner of the second game (No. 9 vs No. 10) in the final game. The winners will advance to the NBA playoffs.

When is the NBA play-in tournament?

The NBA Play-In tournament will start just after the regular season and will be played over four days. The Play-In tournament will be held from April 15 to April 18, where four teams from each conference will compete in a tournament-style format.

The schedule for the 2025 @SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament ⬇️

More information will be provided as it is finalized. pic.twitter.com/AzHg5r9eeE
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 2, 2025

Here’s the schedule for the 2025 NBA Play-In Tournament:

Game 1: East No. 8 vs. East No. 7 – Apr. 15
Game 2: West No. 8 vs. West No. 7 – Apr. 15
Game 3: East No. 10 vs. East No. 9 – Apr. 16
Game 4: West No. 10 vs. West No. 9 – Apr. 16
Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 1 – Apr. 18
Winner of Game 4 vs. Loser of Game 2 – Apr. 18

What is the format for NBA playoffs?

NBA Playoffs are played in the traditional bracket format. All eight qualified teams get their opponent based on their seeding. If two or more teams within the same conference are tied in overall winning percentage, the NBA uses the tiebreaker rule to determine final rankings.

All rounds are the best-of-seven series. Playoff series are played in the 2–2–1–1–1 format. The team with the higher seed gets the home advantage in Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 while their opponent hosts Games 3, 4, and 6. Whoever wins the four games out of seven will qualify for the next round.

Before the NBA Finals, teams will only face the conference rivals. Winners of the first-round clash will qualify for the conference semifinals and then conference finals if they win the second round. The winner of both conference finals will lock horns in the NBA Championship.

When do the NBA Playoffs Start?

The NBA playoffs will start after the conclusion of the Play-In tournament. The 2025 NBA playoffs will start from April 19 and will end with the NBA Finals in June.

The 2025 NBA Finals will start on June 5 and the final game of the seven-game series will be played on June 22.

Here are the important dates for the 2025 NBA playoffs:

April 19: NBA playoffs start
May 5-6: Conference semifinals start
May 20: Western conference finals start
May 21: Eastern conference finals start
June 5: NBA Finals start

How to watch the 2025 NBA Playoffs?

The 2025 NBA Playoffs will air on TNT, ABC and ESPN. All three broadcasters will combine to televise all playoff games including the Play-In tournament.

TNT – All playoff games related to Eastern Conference
ESPN – All playoff games related to Western Conference (Excluding West finals Game-3)
ABC – NBA Finals, Western Conference finals Game-3

Image Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

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Gulshan Sharma

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A native of Jaipur, Rajasthan, journalist, and a complete soccer and basketball fan, he found the huge interest with basketball by watching videos of Allen Iverson and Tony Parker, but fell head over heels in love with the sport during the Warriors’ championship era (2015-2018). A sports game addict since his late PS1, he’s also passionate about the Eagles, Inter Miami and the Fever. He’s fortunate to have seen all his favorite teams win championships. He also has a special love for cricket and football (soccer), where he is a fan of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Barcelona.