Upcoming NBA Playoffs dates
Dates and live ticket listings appear here as soon as they are on sale. The guide below covers what to know before you buy.
Pick the game first, then the seat
The NBA's postseason stretches from mid-April into June, and the safest tickets are for games that cannot be canceled: the two openers in the better seed's arena and the next two in the other team's. Every series is best-of-seven (first to four wins), so Games 5, 6 and 7 happen only if the series is still alive. Once you have the right game, pick a lower-bowl sideline seat in the middle rows, or an upper-level sideline seat for a full-court view among the loudest fans.
- Certain games: Games 1 through 4 of every series.
- Conditional games: Games 5 through 7, worth buying early only when the refund terms protect you.
- Best seat: 100-level sideline, mid rows.
- Best value: upper-level sideline.
What follows takes you from play-in week to the end of round three. For the title round, read the NBA Finals guide; for the third round in depth, see NBA Conference Finals.
Round by round: where demand climbs
Every step of the bracket means fewer games, higher stakes and the same fan bases chasing less inventory.
Play-in
The most unpredictable. Some games sell out; others still have seats near tip-off, and prices often ease late.
First round
Eight series run at the same time, which makes this the deepest pool of games and seats all spring. The guaranteed home games here are the easiest playoff tickets to find.
Conference semifinals
Four series. Demand steps up noticeably, most of all where a fan base has waited years to get this far.
Conference finals
Two series, each one step from the title, and the sharpest rise short of the Finals.
Inside any series, demand spikes for a possible home clincher, for Game 7 and for a fan base ending a long drought. Two 2026 examples: San Antonio's first postseason since 2019 and Portland's first since 2021, the sort of comeback that fills a home arena whatever the seed.
Play-in nights: one game, no safety net
Play-in week is a mini-bracket squeezed between the last regular-season night and Game 1 of round one. It decides the last two places in each conference bracket:
- No. 7 hosts No. 8, and the winner is the 7 seed.
- No. 9 hosts No. 10, and the loser goes home.
- The loser of 7 vs. 8 hosts the winner of 9 vs. 10, and that winner is the 8 seed.
A single play-in game first appeared in the 2020 bubble season, the current format arrived in 2021, and the event later became permanent; sources disagree on whether that happened in 2022 or 2023. Play-in teams that lose are not counted as playoff teams.
For buyers, a play-in game is its own product. It is one elimination game, the host is unknown until the last week of the season, and the date firms up only days ahead. A big fan base fighting to stay alive can pack its arena, while a 9 vs. 10 game between smaller markets often has seats close to tip-off.
Seat choices in a playoff building
Nothing about the arena layout changes in spring. What changes is the crowd, and that shifts the value of each area.
- Lower-bowl sideline: the long-side sections of the 100 level, the most complete view. Mid-section rows clear the benches and the scorer's table.
- Behind the baskets: lower cost, but the far end of the court flattens out.
- Upper-level sideline: the full floor in view and, often, the most vocal home fans, exactly the noise many people want from a postseason night.
- Courtside: you get closeness, not a view of how plays unfold.
Rules on bags, entry and mobile tickets belong to each arena and can shift year to year; look up the host building's current policy ahead of time.
Home-court rules, sweeps and Game 7s
All four rounds follow a 2-2-1-1-1 pattern. Through the conference rounds, the better seed has Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 at home, and its opponent has Games 3, 4 and 6. That caps a lower seed at three home dates, only two of them certain. To watch a 6, 7 or 8 seed in its own building, buy Game 3 or Game 4.
Both extremes are common. No postseason since 1976 has gone without a sweep, a streak that reached 50 in 2026, and every postseason for 27 years running has produced at least one Game 7. It also matched the single-postseason record of five Game 7s.
Timing a playoff purchase
Playoff seats arrive in waves. Season-ticket members usually get the first offer, and the team releases the remainder once it knows the opponent and the dates. Because each round's start depends on when the previous series wrap up, so there may be only a few days between an announcement and the game.
- Buy early for the four certain games of a series.
- Hold off on conditional games until the series score is clearer, unless the refund terms cover you.
- Watch the other side of the bracket: a quick series elsewhere can move the next round up.
Reserved Seat backs every order with a 100% guarantee.
The 20-team format and its history
Each conference sends its ten best teams by winning percentage into the postseason, twenty in all. The top six seeds are in automatically; the play-in decides seeds 7 and 8. Round one matches the 1 seed with the 8, the 2 with the 7, the 3 with the 6 and the 4 with the 5; then come the conference semifinals, the conference finals and the Finals. Matchups never get reshuffled between rounds. Since 2016, division titles have carried no playoff advantage; berths and seeds follow record alone.
The first postseason came in 1947, the debut season of the league's forerunner, the Basketball Association of America. Shorter series were common in the early rounds for decades; best-of-seven has applied to every round only since 2003. The 2026 playoffs ran from April 18 to June 13, and the title-holding Thunder were knocked out by San Antonio in a seven-game West final. Brackets and schedules are on the NBA playoffs page.
Frequently asked questions
Which NBA playoff tickets are the safest to buy?
The first four games of any series. Two are at the better seed's arena and two at the other team's, and none of them can be canceled by a sweep.
How many home games does a lower seed get in a playoff series?
Two are guaranteed, Games 3 and 4, and a third, Game 6, happens only if the series lasts that long.
Is a play-in loser considered a playoff team?
No. The play-in only decides seeds 7 and 8; a team eliminated there did not make the playoffs.
When does the NBA postseason begin?
In mid-April. Play-in games come first, right after the regular season ends, and round one follows; the 2026 postseason opened April 18.
Which round is easiest to get tickets for?
Usually the play-in and round one, simply because they offer the largest number of games and seats. Each later round brings fewer games and stronger demand.
Is the playoff bracket reseeded after each round?
No. The NBA uses a fixed bracket, so the path for each seed is set before the first round begins.