2025 NBA Playoffs: Final Seedings, Play-In Matchups & First-Round Preview

​The 2025 NBA regular season concluded on April 13, setting the stage for an exhilarating postseason. With the final seedings locked in, the Play-In Tournament is poised to be memorable while determining the remaining playoff spots.​

Wild West Final Day

The final day of the 2025 NBA regular season didn’t disappoint, especially in the Western Conference where seeds 4 through 10 were still up in the air going into Sunday.

• Denver Nuggets locked in the No. 4 seed with a 126–111 win over the Houston Rockets, powered by yet another Nikola Jokic triple-double proving why he is worthy of the hype of being only the 3rd player in NBA history to average a triple double in a season.

• Los Angeles Clippers grabbed the 5 seed, securing a solid position to avoid the Play-In Tournament and set up a first-round matchup against Denver.

• Minnesota Timberwolves clinched the 6 seed after a strong win over the Utah Jazz, ensuring they’ll also bypass the Play-In and head straight into the playoffs.

• With Minnesota’s win and their own loss, the Golden State Warriors dropped to the 7 seed, landing in the Play-In bracket.

• Memphis Grizzlies clinched the 8 seed, giving them a second shot at the playoffs with a win-or-advance matchup against Golden State.

• Sacramento Kings slid into the 9 seed, just ahead of the final team in the field.

• Dallas Mavericks, despite a rocky finish to the season, grabbed the last Play-In slot as the 10 seed.

The tight standings made for one of the most dramatic finishes to a regular season in recent memory and perfectly teed up a high-stakes postseason run.

Play-In Tournament Schedule

The Play-In Tournament runs from April 15–18, determining the final two playoff spots in each conference.​

Eastern Conference

• April 15: (7) Orlando Magic vs. (8) Atlanta Hawks​

• April 16: (9) Chicago Bulls vs. (10) Miami Heat​

• April 18: Loser of Magic/Hawks vs. Winner of Bulls/Heat​

Western Conference

• April 15: (7) Golden State Warriors vs. (8) Memphis Grizzlies​

• April 16: (9) Sacramento Kings vs. (10) Dallas Mavericks​

• April 18: Loser of Warriors/Grizzlies vs. Winner of Kings/Mavericks​

Winners of the 7/8 games secure the 7th seed, while the final 8th seed is decided on April 18 .

First-Round Playoff Matchups

Eastern Conference

• (1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Play-In Winner​

• (2) Boston Celtics vs. Play-In Winner

• (3) New York Knicks vs. (6) Detroit Pistons​

• (4) Indiana Pacers vs. (5) Milwaukee Bucks​

Western Conference

• (1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Play-In Winner​

• (2) Houston Rockets vs. Play-In Winner​

• (3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Minnesota Timberwolves​

• (4) Denver Nuggets vs. (5) Los Angeles Clippers​

Pregame Bar Crawl: Playoff Edition

As the postseason heats up, stay tuned for upcoming pregame pub crawls. Featuring drink specials at the best sports bars around and live game coverage. Creating the perfect atmosphere to support your team during the playoffs.