76ers, Warriors Advance as 2026 NBA Playoff Brackets Take Shape

The bracket finally has shape, and two of the biggest dominoes fell in the play-in: the Golden State Warriors survived the Los Angeles Clippers in the West, while the Philadelphia 76ers punched through in the East and drew the Boston Celtics. With the 2026 SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament running April 14-17 and the playoffs set to begin April 18, the field is now moving from uncertainty to a bracket that will not be reseeded.

That matters because the play-in does not just decide who survives. It determines the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds in each conference, setting the first-round matchups and locking in the path all the way to the NBA Finals, where Game 1 is scheduled for June 3. In this format, the better regular-season record still gets home-court advantage, hosting Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 in the 2-2-1-1-1 series structure.

For Philadelphia, the stakes sharpened fast. ESPN’s playoff hub showed the 76ers’ East path taking shape after Sunday’s games, and their play-in win delivered a spot against the Celtics, a matchup that immediately raises the ceiling on the round. Tyrese Maxey supplied the burst the 76ers needed, Paul George was part of the late push, and VJ Edgecombe, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Adem Bona all had moments in the win. Andre Drummond’s dagger three drew a reaction from Allen Iverson, a snapshot of how high the tension had climbed as Philadelphia secured its place.

Golden State’s route was different, but the effect on the bracket is just as real. The Warriors beat the Clippers in the West play-in to stay alive, keeping Stephen Curry and Golden State in the title chase after a game that could have sent them home. The West is already crowded, with the Denver Nuggets’ win over the San Antonio Spurs helping shift the Los Angeles Lakers to the No. 4 seed and set up a Rockets matchup. That leaves little margin for error in a conference where every slot changes the shape of the path to June.

The regular season ended April 12, playoff rosters were set April 13, and all play-in games were carried exclusively on Prime Video. With the final seeds now falling into place, the bracket is no longer a puzzle. It is a pressure map, and the 76ers and Warriors both kept themselves on it.