2026 NBA playoff predictions
Kevin Durant and a loaded Houston squad headline a must-watch first-round clash with the Lakers, as the NBA playoffs once again promise star power, drama, and the kind of high-stakes basketball that critics often overlook.
Photo courtesy of Christopher Johnson/Wikimedia Commons
Over the years, it has become commonplace for many sports fans to disparage the National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs in favor of other professional sports' postseasons, but this narrative is overblown and entirely misplaced. To disprove this narrative, all you have to do is look back at last year's playoffs, which saw historic comebacks, iconic buzzer beaters, and one of the most exhilarating and memorable NBA finals ever. Now, with the conclusion of the 2025-26 NBA regular season, the postseason field is set, and basketball fans are chomping at the bit to start watching high-stakes basketball games. But, before the festivities begin, I thought it would be worthwhile to predict some of the more fascinating playoff matchups that are in store for NBA fans.
Atlanta Hawks (46-36) vs. New York Knicks (53-29): Knicks in six games
This is sure to be a rematch of the famed 2021 Eastern Conference first-round series that turned Trae Young into public enemy number one in New York. This time around, the Hawks are without Young, but instead feature an impressive nucleus of young stars. Versatile wing Jalen Johnson is at the forefront of Atlanta’s youth movement. While Johnson is the engine that makes the Hawks go, players such as Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, and Jonathan Kuminga have been essential to their surprising success.
The Knicks' core group, on the other hand, is no stranger to the playoffs, this season being their fourth straight playoff appearance. The pressure is on Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns to lead the Knicks onto a deep playoff run. Many felt New York underperformed in coach Mike Brown's first season, but they still managed to win 53 games and capture the third seed in the Eastern Conference. This will be a very entertaining series, and Atlanta will surprise a significant number of casual fans, but I believe that the Knicks' alarming size advantage in the frontcourt and their plethora of playoff experience will be enough to push them past Atlanta.
Los Angeles Lakers Vs. Houston Rockets: Rockets in seven games
A couple of weeks ago, this series would have featured substantially more star power. Unfortunately, Lakers stars Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are both sidelined with critical injuries and may not return for this series. Los Angeles might be limping into the playoffs, but they still have LeBron James, who, despite being 41, is still the king of the sport. Counting out the king, at any age, would be a foolish endeavor.
Houston, of course, is led by another all-time great in the twilight of his career, Kevin Durant. In contrast to James and the Lakers, Durant has plenty of firepower behind him, most notably the uber-athletic and versatile guard Amen Thompson, and a cerebral, elite play-making big man in Alperen Sengun. This series will come down to whether the Rockets can neutralize James early on in the series before either Doncic or Reaves comes back. Ultimately, LeBron will do everything in his power to prolong the series, but the Rockets will prevail in the showdown between two all-time greats.
Minnesota Timberwolves (49-33) vs. Denver Nuggets (54-28): Nuggets in seven games
Anthony Edwards versus Nikola Jokic, enough said! This series has the makings of an all-time offensive showcase between two polar opposite superstars that can single-handedly take over the game at any point. These two squads have formed an underrated rivalry; the Nuggets took down the Timberwolves in the 2023 playoffs, but a year later, Minnesota got its revenge and beat Denver in seven games in the 2024 semifinals.
In this chapter of a budding rivalry, this series will simply come down to whether Minnesota's big men (Naz Reid and Rudy Gobert) have the defensive capabilities to keep Jokic from completely dominating. On Christmas Day this season, Jokic scored a 56-point, 16-rebound, 15-assist triple-double against the Wolves. I believe that Minnesota's strong supporting cast and Edwards’s brilliance will keep this series incredibly close, but stopping Jokic will be too tall a task for the Timberwolves.
Exceeding the entertainment value of the 2025 NBA playoffs will be hard to accomplish, but every one of these first-round series has the potential to be truly captivating basketball. I'm hoping that another fantastic NBA postseason will extinguish this silly narrative that the sports playoffs do not consistently deliver the goods. These series really have it all: all-time greats going head to head, heated rivalries, and some fantastic young stars. Buckle up, ladies and gentlemen, because this year's postseason seems destined to silence the critics of modern basketball.