The NBA Playoffs are well underway, and the First Round of the playoffs have concluded. As the top teams of the two conferences duke it out to continue their seasons until the conclusion of the tournament, where the best team of the Eastern and Western Conference will face off in the NBA Finals. 

Currently, we are in the tail-end of the Conference Semifinals of the playoffs for the 2025-2026 NBA year. The hunt for the Larry O’Brien Championships trophy continues for six remaining teams.

The reigning champs, the Oklahoma City Thunder looked unstoppable against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Thunder advanced through the Conference Semifinals in four games. With the series ending with a 4-0 game score, the Lakers could not find a single win. Seems like smooth sailing for the Oklahoma City Thunder as they take their place in the Western Conference Finals having not surrendered a single game during the post season.

However, this playoffs conclusion for the Lakers has major ramifications for perennial NBA superstar, LeBron James. James commented after the game four loss in a press conference interview that he “does not know what the future holds.” Meaning the 23-year veteran is unsure about retirement and that game could very well be his last in the NBA.

On the other side of the bracket of the Western Conference, the Minnesota Timberwolves took game one in a dominant fashion. However, the San Antonio Spurs bounced back and dominated games two and three. Victor Wembanyama’s ejection from game four from elbowing Naz Reid on the Timberwolves, gave an opportunity for Minnesota to win game four. In game five, Wembanyama returned and responded back in a dominant fashion, making the game score for the series 3-2 in the Spurs favor. 

Speaking about their game five win, Victor Wembanyama reflected about his ejection and bounce back win. He said, “It’s in the past and he is focused on the game and the game in three days.” The Spurs could close out the series with one more win and Wembanyama seems focused on the task at hand rather than past actions.

With San Antonio leading the series 3-2, the Spurs and Timberwolves will play game six, Friday, May 15 at 6:30 p.m. in Minneapolis, Minn.

Heading to the Eastern Conference, the New York Knicks were tested in the First Round of the playoffs, but advanced to the Semifinals where they went up against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers closed out the First Round series in game seven against the Boston Celtics by upsetting them. 

For the Conference Semifinals, the New York Knicks were relentless and moved onto the Eastern Conference Finals. Completing a clean sweep, the Knicks amassed a 4-0 game score over the 76ers. 

Jalen Brunson spoke with Lisa Salters with SportsCenter after the series win and discussed the Knicks advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals where he said he was taking it “one game at a time.” The Knicks looked calm, composed, and poised as they have been on a seven-game winning streak and are a dangerous team to face in the playoffs.

The Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers face each other after both teams played a seven-game series in the First Round of the playoffs. In the Semifinals, Detroit took control of the first two games, but the Cavs answered back in the next three games. Headed into game six, the game score of the series is 3-2 with Cleveland having a game advantage. 

With the win in Detroit for game five, the Cavs got their first road win in the playoffs this year. James Harden had a statement game in game five and is focused “on the small details” against the Pistons since they came back from a 3-1 deficit last series.

With Cleveland leading the series 3-2, the Pistons and the Cavaliers are slated to face off for game six, Friday, May 15, at 4 p.m. in Cleveland, Ohio.

Four teams will advance to the Conference Finals round of the tournament. We know the Thunder and the Knicks have already punched their tickets to the Conference Finals, but who will the other two teams be? We still have to wait and see which teams prevail in the upcoming games. 

The two best teams in each conference will then duke it out to make it to the coveted NBA Finals. 

The Spurs and Thunder were the top two seeded teams coming out of the Western Conference, so they were favored to make it to the Conference Finals. But Minnesota is matching up with San Antonio and may throw a wrench in everyone’s projected brackets. 

On the other side of the bracket, the New York Knicks are awaiting their opponent, who could be the Detroit Pistons or the Cleveland Cavaliers. Detroit and Cleveland look evenly matched and both of their previous series in the First Round of the playoffs went to game seven. In comparison, the Knicks have been on a hot streak in the Conference Semifinals. 

Other than the Thunder, all of these teams have not made an NBA Finals in recent years and these teams are hungry to claim a championship. But the question remains, who will be able to dethrone the reigning champs who have not lost a game in the playoffs so far?