The 2026 NBA Playoffs have already produced more drama per game than any postseason in recent memory, with multiple first-round upsets and a player hitting 50 points three times in a single series.
The Boston Celtics remain the prohibitive favourite, with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown both playing at an All-NBA level. Their likely conference finals opponent is the Cleveland Cavaliers โ Donovan Mitchell has been perhaps the single most dominant player of the postseason, averaging 32.4 points through his first three rounds.
The Oklahoma City Thunder continue their unlikely run, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivering performances that put him firmly in the MVP conversation. They face a Denver Nuggets team that is battered but never to be underestimated with Nikola Jokic on the floor.
Jokic in the playoffs is essentially an unsolvable chess problem. Every time you think you've found the answer, he finds three new questions.
Celtics vs Thunder in the Finals. Boston in six. But this postseason has already taught us that certainties are a fiction.