The 2023-24 NBA regular season is complete and the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs is almost here. Expect plenty of drama after a memorable regular season.
The Boston Celtics clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference in March and have homecourt advantage through the entire postseason as they look to return to the Finals for the first time since 2022 and hang an NBA championship banner for the first time since 2008. They’ll await the results of the play-in tournament to know their first-round opponent, as will the No. 2 seed New York Knicks.
In the West, the defending champion Denver Nuggets are the 2-seed, behind the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, who are in the playoffs for the first time since 2020 and are looking to win the team’s first NBA championship since moving to Oklahoma City in 2008.
After the play-in tournament, the 16-team NBA playoffs will begin with four games on Saturday and four more on Sunday. Eight teams from each conference will reach the first round and face off in a best-of-7 series to advance. All four rounds of the NBA playoffs are best-of-7, and teams are not reseeded after each round. The team with the better regular-season record in each series will have homecourt advantage for that series. All series are played in a 2-2-1-1-1 format, with the team with the better record hosting Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 (if necessary).
We’ll have complete coverage of the NBA playoffs all the way through the 2024 NBA Finals, which tip off on June 6 on ABC and the ESPN app.
MORE: Play-in tournament coverage | Previewing all 20 postseason teams | What eliminated teams need to do this summer?
EASTERN CONFERENCE
TBD
Game 1: Sunday at Boston, 1 p.m. ET (ABC)
Game 2: Wednesday, April 24 at Boston, 7 p.m. ET (TNT)
Game 3: Saturday April 27 at play-in winner, 6 p.m. ET (TNT)
Game 4: Monday April 29 at play-in winner
Game 5 (if necessary): Wednesday May 1 at Boston
Game 6 (if necessary): Friday May 3 at play-in winner
Game 7 (if necessary): Sunday May 5 at Boston
TBD
Game 1: Saturday April 20 at New York (6 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Game 2: Monday at New York, 7:30 p.m. ET (TNT)
Game 3: Thursday April 25 at play-in winner, 7:30 p.m. ET (TNT)
Game 4: Sunday April 28 at play-in winner, 1 p.m. ET (ABC)
Game 5 (if necessary): Tuesday April 30 at New York
Game 6 (if necessary): Thursday May 2 at play-in winner
Game 7 (if necessary): Saturday May 4 at New York (TNT)
Game 1: Sunday at Milwaukee, 7 p.m. ET (TNT)
Game 2: Tuesday at Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m. ET…
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