COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — For the first time in nearly a decade, the Cleveland Cavaliers enter an NBA postseason as the top-seed in the Eastern Conference as it chases a second NBA title.
As the top-seed in the East, the Cavs will not know their first round opponent until after this week’s Play-In Tournament. The Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, and Miami Heat are the four teams competing for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference and one of them will play Cleveland in the first round.
The Cavs will face the winner of the third play-in game between the loser of the Magic-Hawks game on Tuesday and the winner of the Bulls-Heat game on Wednesday. Cleveland’s first playoff game will be played on either Saturday or Sunday.
The winner of Cleveland’s first round series would play the winner of the Indiana Pacers-Milwaukee Bucks series in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
2025 NBA Playoff Bracket
Eastern Conference
- No. 1-seed Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Play-In Game 3 winner
- No. 4-seed Indiana Pacers vs. No. 5-seed Milwaukee Bucks
- No. 3-seed New York Knicks vs. No. 6-seed Detroit Pistons
- No. 2-seed Boston Celtics vs. Play-In Game 1 winner
Western Conference
- No. 1-seed Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Play-In Game 3 winner
- No. 4-seed Denver Nuggets vs. No. 5-seed Los Angeles Clippers
- No. 3-seed Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 6-seed Minnesota Timberwolves
- No. 2-seed Houston Rockets vs. Play-In Game 1 winner
Amassing over 60 wins, the Cavaliers put together arguably their greatest regular season in franchise history. Spearheaded by All-Star guards Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, Cleveland became the first team to have three separate 10-game winning streaks in a regular season.
After a 15-0 start that set a new franchise winning streak record, the Cavs surpassed that with 16 consecutive wins in the second half of the season. Oddsmakers have Cleveland as the third-favorite to win the NBA Finals behind the Thunder and defending champion Celtics.
This is the third straight season the Cavaliers have made the NBA Playoffs as they seek to make the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2018. If that happens, it would mark the first time since 1992 the team made the East Finals without LeBron James.