NBA 2026/27 Season: Schedule, Key Dates & Complete Preview

The NBA traces its roots to 1946 as the Basketball Association of America, becoming the National Basketball Association after a 1949 merger with the rival National Basketball League. Here's how the 2026/27 season is structured. New to IPTV? Start with What Is IPTV?.

Regular Season Format

30 teams split into the Eastern and Western Conferences, each playing an 82-game regular season running from October through April. Teams face divisional opponents most often, with a broader rotation of games against the rest of the league filling out the schedule.

The Play-In Tournament

Since 2020/21, the NBA has used a play-in tournament: the teams finishing 7th through 10th in each conference play a mini-bracket for the final two playoff seeds in that conference, adding extra late-season stakes for teams outside the traditional top six.

Playoffs and the Finals

The top six teams in each conference qualify directly, joined by the two play-in winners, for a 16-team playoff bracket. Each round is a best-of-seven series, building through the conference semifinals and finals to the NBA Finals between the two conference champions in June.

Key Dates

The season typically opens in mid-to-late October and runs through the regular-season finale in April, followed by the play-in tournament, roughly two months of playoffs, and the Finals concluding in June. Exact dates are set by the league's official schedule release — check that for confirmed dates each season.

FAQ

How many teams make the playoffs? Ten total per conference are involved once the play-in tournament is included, narrowing to eight per conference for the main bracket.

How long does a playoff run take? Each round is best-of-seven, so a full run from the first round to winning the Finals can take up to 28 games across roughly two months.

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