2024 NBA Playoff Bracket: Current Playoffs game format
The 2024 NBA Playoff bracket is now fully set, the NBA postseason first round game begins on Saturday, April 20 and the NBA Finals on Thursday, June 6.
There will be a total of 16 teams of 32 competing in the NBA playoffs for the 2024 championships, where six top-seeded teams from each conference will clinch the postseason spot directly, and seeds 7 through 10 from each conference will clinch the playoff birth in the NBA play-in tournaments from April 16-19, 2024 for determining seed 7 and 8. Check out your favorite team’s playoff chances.
Here is how the East conference and West conference brackets shook out, from round one through the NBA championship-stay up to date.
Latest 2024 NBA playoff bracket & seeds:
Eastern Conference:
(1) Boston Celtics (64-18) vs. (8) Miami Heat (46-36)
(2) New York Knicks (50-32) vs. (7) Philadelphia 76ers (47-35)
(3) Milwaukee Bucks (49-33) vs. (6) Indiana Pacers (47-35)
(4) Cleveland Cavaliers (48-34) vs. (5) Orlando Magic (47-35)
Western Conference:
(1) Oklahoma City Thunder (57-25) vs. (8) New Orleans Pelicans (49-33)
(2) Denver Nuggets (57-25) vs. (7) Los Angeles Lakers (47-35)
(3) Minnesota Timberwolves (56-26) vs. (6) Phoenix Suns (49-33)
(4) Los Angeles Clippers (51-31) vs. (5) Dallas Mavericks (50-32)
NBA Eastern Conference First Round Schedule:
- Saturday, April 27: Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat – 6:00 PM ET (TNT)
- Monday, April 29: Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat – 7:00 PM ET (TNT)
- Thursday, April 25: New York Knicks vs Philadelphia 76ers – 7:30 PM ET (TNT)
- Sunday, April 28: New York Knicks vs Philadelphia 76ers – 1:00 PM ET (ABC)
- Friday, April 26: Milwaukee Bucks vs Indiana Pacers – 5:30 PM ET (ESPN)
- Sunday, April 28: Milwaukee Bucks vs Indiana Pacers – 7:00 PM ET (TNT)
- Thursday, April 25: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Orlando Magic – 5:30 PM ET (NBA TV)
- Saturday, April 27: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Orlando Magic – 1:00 PM ET (TNT)
- Tuesday, April 30: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Orlando Magic – TBA
NBA Western Conference First Round Schedule:
- Saturday, April 27: Oklahoma City Thunder vs New Orleans Pelicans – 3:30 PM ET (TNT)
- Monday, April 29: Oklahoma City Thunder vs New Orleans Pelicans – YBD
- Thursday, April 25: Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Lakers – 10:00 PM (TNT)
- Saturday, April 27: Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Lakers – 8:30 PM (ABC)
- Friday, April 26: Minnesota Timberwolves vs Phoenix Suns – 10:00 PM (ESPN)
- Sunday, April 28: Minnesota Timberwolves vs Phoenix Suns – 9:30 PM (TNT)
- Friday, April 26: Los Angeles Clippers vs Dallas Mavericks – 10:00 PM (ESPN)
- Sunday, April 28: Los Angeles Clippers vs Dallas Mavericks – 3:30 PM (ABC)
- Wednesday, May 1: Dallas Mavericks vs Los Angeles Clippers – 10:00 PM (TNT)
How does the NBA Playoff bracket work?
The 16-team playoffs have followed the same format since 2016 with the top eight teams in each conference advancing to the postseason. Here’s a guide that helps you to know how the NBA Playoffs format does work.
In each conference (Eastern and Western), the top eight teams are ranked in order by win-loss record. The team with the best record is seeded No. 1, the next best is No. 2, and so on. Any ties are broken using head-to-head results as the first tiebreaker criteria followed by whether a team won its division.
The seeds are used to create a playoff bracket that determines all of the matchups throughout the entire tournament. In the first round, the top seed, No. 1, faces the No. 8 seed. No. 2 plays No. 7, No. 3 faces No. 6, and No. 4 takes on No. 5.
The higher-seeded team always has the home-court advantage. All playoff series are played in a best-of-seven format. The first two games are at the higher-seeded team’s home court and Games 3 and 4 are at the lower-seeded team’s home court. A deciding Game 7 will always be played at the home of the higher seed.
In the second round or conference semifinals, the team that wins between the No. 1 vs No. 8 will play against the winner of the No. 4 vs No. 5 and the No. 2 vs No. 7 winner faces the No. 3 vs No. 6 winners that works in East and West both conferences. Then the two 2nd round-winning teams will meet for the conference championship.
The winners of each of the conference championships will face in the NBA Finals. This year, the NBA Finals are scheduled to begin from June 1 to June 18, 2023. The home-court advantage in the NBA Finals goes to the team that recorded the most regular-season wins.
Road to the 2024 NBA finals, how game format does work by seed?
Eastern Conference, first round
- vs. 8.
- vs. 7.
- vs. 6.
- vs. 5.
Western Conference, first round
- vs. 8.
- vs. 7.
- vs. 6.
- vs. 5.
Eastern Conference semifinals
Winner of 1./8. vs. Winner of 2./7.
Winner of 3./6. vs. Winner of 4./5.
Western Conference semifinals
Winner of 1./8. vs. Winner of 2./7.
Winner of 3./6. vs. Winner of 4./5.
Eastern Conference Finals
Winner of 1./8./2./7. vs. Winner of 3./6./4./5.
Western Conference Finals
Winner of 1./8./2./7. vs. Winner of 3./6./4./5.
2024 NBA Finals
- Eastern Conference Champion vs. Western Conference Champion
You will get a more updated playoff bracket, TV schedule, standings, and 2023-24 postseason games updated format will be available here when it is officially disclosed.
Last season, the No. 1 Denver Nuggets beat the No. 8 Miami Heat by 4-1 series in the 2023 finals. The Nuggets recorded 53-29 regular-season games and the Heat had 44-38 in the 2022-23 season.