Excitement Builds as 2025 NBA Playoffs Set to Launch

The first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs kicks off this Saturday, promising an exciting postseason for all basketball fans.

In the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers have emerged as the top seed following a phenomenal season. Meanwhile, the reigning champion Boston Celtics secured the second seed, heavily relying on the stellar performances of Jayson Tatum and Finals MVP Jaylen Brown.

Over in the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder are poised to make waves again, clinching the No. 1 seed for the second year in a row thanks to MVP hopeful Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The regular season concluded in dramatic fashion, with the Minnesota Timberwolves grabbing the sixth seed, successfully avoiding the play-in tournament.

The NBA playoffs will feature four games on Saturday and another four on April 20. Sixteen teams, eight from each conference, enter the first round and battle it out in a best-of-seven series to proceed further. Every playoff round is a best-of-seven arrangement, with no reseeding of teams after each phase. The team boasting a superior regular-season record in every matchup gains home-court advantage. Series are contested in the 2-2-1-1-1 format, with the higher seed hosting Games 1, 2, 5, and 7, if needed.

Comprehensive coverage of the NBA playoffs will continue all the way to the 2025 NBA Finals, which will commence on June 5, viewable on ABC and the ESPN App.