Congrats, everyone! We made it. We survived the 82-game slog of the 2025-26 regular season. And man, what a slog it was.
The shameless tanking! The endless discourse about the shameless tanking! Games filled with random G Leaguers (hello, Daeqwon Plowden … and goodbye)! A gambling scandal! A cap-circumvention scandal! And so much hand-wringing over awards eligibility—thanks to the 65-game rule—that we’ll need a 50-gallon vat of Aveeno to treat the chafing.
But it is, at last, over. The NBA play-in got underway on Tuesday (with two absolute bangers), and we’ll soon be reveling in first-round playoff games. We can finally bid a not-so-fond farewell to the weirdo Wizards and the blundering Bulls, the royally inept Kings and that grisly mess in Memphis. We can stop wondering (for now) when or if or where Giannis Antetokounmpo will play, whether the Pelicans will find any chemistry (nope), whether the Bulls will find a cure to their perpetual mediocrity (nope), and whether the Warriors will find the fountain of youth (nope).
It’s time for the games that truly matter, with the best players on earth playing their best ball, for the highest stakes. This postseason should be particularly invigorating.
With any luck, we’ll get seven games of Victor Wembanyama vs. Nikola Jokic in the second round—followed by a best-of-seven showdown featuring one of those two giants trying to take down Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the defending champs.
We’ll finally see just how (say it with me) “wide open” the East truly is. Are Cade Cunningham and the Pistons as dominant as their 60-win season suggests? Or are the whole-again, definitely-not-doing-a-gap-year Celtics still the class of the conference? Could the Knicks knock out one or both and make the Finals? Will the Cavaliers’ bet on James Harden pay immediate dividends, leading to their first conference title since LeBron James left town? And, speaking of which …
Is this LeBron’s last run with the Lakers? Kawhi Leonard’s last stand with the Clippers? Steve Kerr’s last dance with the Warriors?
More on the NBA Playoffs
Speaking of lasts, the basketball gods—clearly a sentimental bunch—have blessed us with one more chapter in the LeBron–Kevin Durant rivalry, the fourth (and perhaps final) postseason clash between the aging legends, who first dueled in the 2012 Finals.
The Hawks are in the playoffs for the first time since 2023, as are the Raptors for the first time since 2022. The Trail Blazers, after winning Tuesday night, are back for the first time since 2021, and the Hornets (who also prevailed Tuesday) could be back for the first time since [gasp] 2016.
So many plotlines! So much intrigue! The 2026 playoffs will be like a juice cleanse for our basketball souls, a much-needed detox from a particularly noxious regular season, which is now firmly behind us. Well, mostly. Or, well, perhaps not at all.
Because this is the NBA, the off-court drama never really stops—it just momentarily recedes, like the sea before a tsunami hits. So brace yourselves, everyone. The playoffs are taking center stage now, but they will almost assuredly be overshadowed in the coming months by a dozen nagging subplots, starting with the simmering mess in Milwaukee.
The Greek Tragedy
Yeah, we gotta start here. Because whatever Giannis and the Bucks decide, it will have ramifications for the entire league. And this story will most definitely—repeatedly—bleed into the playoff picture.
A Knicks stumble in the second round? Fire up the Giannis-to–New York rumors! Lakers are out? Giannis to Hollywood! Or just wait for the rumor that he’s purchased a mega-mansion in Isleworth, Florida … Giannis to Orlando!
Let’s be clear: No team can be ruled out right now in the potential Giannis sweepstakes—not even the Thunder, nor the Spurs, nor the Pistons, nor the Celtics. We have to see how the postseason plays out. For all of his passive-aggressive posturing (and all the injuries), Antetokounmpo is still a top-five talent and a perennial MVP candidate, and, at age 31, he’s still firmly in his prime. Any team that falls short of the championship is a potential suitor.
Logically, a Giannis blockbuster probably won’t happen until after the June draft or after free agency opens on June 30. The trade market will be clearer then. But the Bucks don’t necessarily have to wait. Under NBA rules, teams that are not in the playoffs can make trades with one another. (Remember, Durant was traded from Phoenix to Houston just hours before Game 7 of the 2025 Finals.)
So buckle up, kids. The Bucks’ season might be over, but the Giannis saga—with all its attendant backbiting, leaks, rumors, and recriminations—is just beginning.
AJ Dybantsa dunks over Tramon Mark
Never Tell Me the Odds
Now that the tanking this season is over, we turn our attention to the reason a third of the league tanked: the right to select AJ Dybantsa, or Darryn Peterson, or Cameron Boozer—the headliners in what scouts say is a historically spectacular draft class.
The draft lottery (a.k.a. the most blessed day on the NBA calendar) will be held May 10, an event certain to overshadow whatever playoff games are being staged that night. And the results could hijack The Discourse for weeks or months thereafter.
There’s a lot at stake—and not just for the 14 teams that missed the playoffs.
The playoff-bound Hawks will claim either the Pelicans’ or the Bucks’ pick (whichever is better) as a result of past trades, providing Atlanta with another blue-chip talent to play next to Jalen Johnson … or another trade chip to make a blockbuster deal (hello, Milwaukee). The defending champion Thunder own the rights to the Clippers’ pick (currently slotted 12th). And the Clippers could end up with the Pacers’ pick if it lands outside the top four.
A lucky bounce could bring much-needed hope to the long-suffering Wizards, Nets, Jazz, or Kings. But it could also help the Pacers—a Finals team in 2025—leap right back into title contention by allowing them the place another star next to Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam. The Mavericks could land a long-term running mate for Cooper Flagg, the first pick in 2025. The Warriors could land Steph Curry’s successor.
What if the Bucks move up? Could a flashy rookie convince the Greek Freak to stay? Or would Giannis ask the Bucks to trade the pick for veteran help? Is this relationship so frayed that Giannis will demand a trade regardless? If so, the lottery might deliver Milwaukee his replacement.
Or how about the most hilarious/cruel/tragic scenario? What if the Clippers indeed leap into the top four, delivering another potential star to Oklahoma City? Would Sam Presti keep the pick or trade it for 17 more draft picks? Is there room for another star on that payroll? Would the Thunder trade a core player or two to make room?
Can we put a camera in Steve Ballmer’s living room on May 10?
L.A. Aspirational
Speaking of potential Clippers tragedies: We’re still waiting for the NBA’s investigators to conclude their probe into Kawhi Leonard’s, er, questionable endorsement deal with Aspiration and the allegations of salary-cap circumvention.
It seems unlikely that the NBA will announce anything in the middle of the playoffs, especially if the Clippers happen to still be playing. More likely, the league will wait until the offseason, when the PR impact will be blunted.
But the drip-drip of new revelations (mostly thanks to Pablo Torre Finds Out) could keep this story percolating throughout the postseason. Rival teams have been speculating for months about the possible penalties—everything from the suspension of Ballmer and high-ranking Clippers executives to the potential voiding of Leonard’s contract.
It’s the latter possibility that has rivals the most intrigued. Leonard would immediately become this summer’s top free agent and the prime target for every would-be contender. The Warriors are rumored to be a leading suitor.
This Time for Sure
Back to tanking for a moment. The NBA’s board of governors (a.k.a. the owners) plans to vote on YET ANOTHER lottery reform proposal, or perhaps multiple proposals, sometime in May.
Whatever remedy the owners choose—radical, modest, or somewhere in between—it’s guaranteed to reignite every debate we’ve been having about the scourge of tanking and how best to eliminate it.
The NBA has been through this cycle so many times, it’s starting to feel like that old Bullwinkle routine where he keeps trying to pull a rabbit out of his hat only to find various ferocious animals there instead. “But that trick never works!” Rocky wails, to which Bullwinkle declares, with foolish bravado: “This time for sure!”
Maybe Adam Silver and Co. will find a magic cure for tanking this time. Or maybe they’ll be mauled by a cougar.
There are only two certainties here: Whatever the NBA decides, (1) it will dominate the debate shows that week, and (2) half the league will hate it.
And we’ll be back debating all of this within a year.
Mind the Game
OK, we’ve delayed this one as long as we can. It’s time, once again, for LeBron Watch.
To wit: He’s 41. He’s still elite, albeit slightly less durable. He wasn’t offered an extension last summer. He may or may not fit the Lakers’ future plans as they rebuild around Luka Doncic. He’ll be a free agent on July 1.
LeBron could theoretically return to the Lakers, probably for less than the $52.6 million he’s making now. Assuming he takes a massive pay cut, he could join Curry in San Francisco or Jalen Brunson in New York, or he could go home once more to Cleveland to play with Harden and Donovan Mitchell. Or he could retire. It’s LeBron, so literally anything is possible.
Which means that as soon as the Lakers are eliminated from the playoffs—or, hell, as soon as they’re down in a series—we’ll all be sucked into the LeBron speculation vortex, where we will stay for the rest of our natural-born lives … or, well, until LeBron makes some sort of announcement about his intentions.
James might not be the only one stealing headlines in Laker Land. The franchise has a new centerpiece (Luka), a new majority owner (Mark Walter), and a new president of business operations (longtime Magic Johnson consigliere Lon Rosen), which has sparked reasonable speculation over the future of general manager Rob Pelinka, who has held the post since 2017.
No one does palace intrigue like the Lakers. But then, no league does offseason, off-court drama quite like the NBA. So enjoy the playoff battles and the grudge matches, the breakout stars and the aging legends, and the two-month chase for the Larry O’Brien Trophy … but brace yourself for the push alerts.
