BBNBA Playoff Preview: Former Wildcats suiting up for first-round action

No college team in the country has more alumni set to participate in the 2026 NBA Playoffs than the Kentucky Wildcats. You’ll get to watch them compete for a championship once the Playoffs officially begin on Saturday afternoon.

We still have a couple more Play-In games to get through first. The Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic will battle for the 8-seed in the Eastern Conference on Friday night (7:30 p.m. ET | Prime Video), followed by a matchup between the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns (10:00 p.m. ET | Prime Video) for the rights to the Western Conference’s 8-seed. The Hornets feature Antonio Reeves, while the Suns roster Devin Booker and Koby Brea — you already know who KSR is rooting for in tonight’s games.

If the Hornets and Suns both advance, that means we’ll have 19 one-time Kentucky players in the 16-team postseason bracket, including five teams with multiple Wildcats. Every first-round matchup (except for possibly one) has at least one former ‘Cat that the Big Blue Nation can tune in to watch in action. It’s time to preview all eight of the opening round series.

Eastern Conference bracket

(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (8) Hornets/Magic

Let’s go ahead and get this one out of the way. Even if the Hornets can beat the Magic on Friday, Reeves would be the lone UK representative in this series. Reeves was in street clothes for the first Play-In game earlier this week — don’t expect him to see much, if any, playing time in the event Charlotte moves on. The Pistons do not have a single ‘Cat on the roster, either. I’ll still be rooting for the Hornets (a much more exciting team than the Magic) to be Detroit’s opponent in this one, but the Pistons should cruise regardless of who is on the other bench.

Zack’s Prediction: Magic in 4

(4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Toronto Raptors

Ah, yes, my precious Cleveland Cavaliers. Will they finally make a deep postseason run after two straight years of disappointing performances? Maybe being a sleeper team in this year’s playoffs takes off some of the heat. James Harden can help remove the playoff-dropper narrative from his resume by leading Cleveland to an Eastern Conference Finals. Donovan Mitchell is always up to the challenge in the postseason, but he’ll need Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen to play with more physicality than they did the last two playoffs. Olivier Sarr is on the Cavaliers’ roster, but is not expected to see real minutes.

As for the Raptors, Immanuel Quickley is the former ‘Cat to watch in this one. Unfortunately, he’s listed as questionable ahead of Game 1 on Saturday due to a hamstring issue. But if he’s able to go, IQ can make a real impact on this series as Toronto’s starting point guard. He’s averaging 16.4 points, 5.9 assists, four rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game this season. Who he defends when it comes to Cleveland’s backcourt might be the bigger question mark about his impact on this series, though.

Zack’s Prediction: Cavaliers in 6

(3) New York Knicks vs. (6) Atlanta Hawks

Can the New York Knicks get back to the Eastern Conference Finals for a second straight year? Karl-Anthony Towns will be a big reason why if they do. Similar to Quickley, he’s also dealing with a minor injury. An elbow issue held him out of the Knicks’ regular-season finale, but it would be a shock to see him miss real time in this series. He’s listed as day-to-day. After making his sixth All-Star Game earlier this season, Towns finished by averaging 20.1 points and 11.9 rebounds per outing.

Meanwhile, the Hawks will not roll out any former ‘Cats, but this has been an interesting team since the Trae Young trade. At one point, Atlanta was 27-31 on the season. They go into the playoffs with a record of 46-36. Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (the cousin of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) are turning into legitimate stars for the Hawks. The Knicks will still be favored to win the series, but Atlanta can easily make this a seven-game series — and I think they will.

Zack’s Prediction: Knicks in 7

(2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Philadelphia 76ers

Celtics star Jayson Tatum returned from his Achilles injury looking like his old self in no time. That’s scary for the rest of the Eastern Conference. The backcourt trio of Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard has been terrific this season. Joe Mazulla might be the best coach in the entire NBA. With a top-five offensive and defensive rating, Boston feels like the team to beat in the East despite Detroit finishing higher in the standings. With championship experience and a healthy Tatum, the Celtics will be my pick to make the Finals out of the East. Amari Williams is on the Boston roster, but will likely remain on the bench.

But Tyrese Maxey and the 76ers should at least make the first-round series entertaining. The two-time All-Star has been doing all the heavy lifting for Philadelphia this season with Joel Embiid and Paul George missing serious time. He’s averaging 28.3 points and 6.6 assists per game this season while leading the NBA in minutes per game at 38. Maxey is arguably the fastest player in the league, one who can put up a ton of points in a hurry. Boston has the defenders to keep him exploding for 40-plus, but don’t be surprised if he does anyway. Let’s see if Justin Edwards can make an impact for Philly after averaging six points in 15.3 minutes per game this season.

Zack’s Prediction: Celtics in 5

Western Conference bracket

(1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (8) Warriors/Suns

Now for the real fun: the Western Conference. And what better team to start with than the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, led by superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is on the verge of winning his second straight MVP. SGA is having another historic scoring season for the best team in the league. He’s a one-man, elite-level offense all by himself. Add in a mix of Cason Wallace‘s lockdown perimeter defense, and OKC is an easy sell as the BBN’s favorite team for these playoffs. The Thunder will be the favorite to win a second straight title and should have little issue advancing to the second round, no matter who the opponent is.

But for our sake, we’ll hope that the opponent is Booker and the Suns. Phoenix was not expected to be a playoff-caliber team this season, but they can prove the preseason oddsmakers wrong by beating Steph Curry and the Warriors on Friday night. Once again serving as the de facto star for the Suns, Booker made his fifth All-Star Game this season, finishing with per-game averages of 26.1 points and six assists per contest. Even against OKC’s elite defense, he’s good enough to win a game in this series — even if I don’t see it happening. Don’t expect much playing time for Brea if Phoenix can make it out of the Play-In, though.

Zack’s Prediction: Thunder in 4

(4) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Houston Rockets

The Los Angeles Lakers are riddled with injuries. Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves could both miss this entire series, leaving it up to a 41-year-old LeBron James to pull off a Herculean performance — not impossible, by the way. Jarred Vanderbilt and Adou Theiro are the Kentucky connections on this team, but Vanderbilt will be the one seeing the floor more often than Thiero. Vando comes off the bench to chip in 4.4 points and 4.5 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game. We’ll see how his playing time is adjusted if Doncic and Reaves are out for a while.

On the other end of the floor, I’m personally excited to see Reed Sheppard make a real postseason impact for the Houston Rockets. After a rough rookie campaign, he’s blossomed into one of the best shooters in the league as a sophomore. Sheppard played all 82 games for Houston this season, averaging 13.5 points per outing on shooting splits of 43.0/39.4/80.2. Rockets head coach Ime Udoka is slowly beginning to trust Sheppard more, too. If he can hold up on defense, Sheppard can swing a game or two in this series.

Zack’s Prediction: Rockets in 7

(3) Denver Nuggets vs. (6) Minnesota Timberwolves

If there is one first-round series all basketball fans should watch, it will be this one. The Denver Nuggets are headlined by three-time MVP Nikola Jokic (who is likely to finish second in this year’s voting) and first-time All-Star Jamal Murray (who is likely to make an All-NBA Team). We know about Jokic’s otherworldly offensive impact. He led the NBA in rebounds and assists this season. But Murray is having his best season yet for good measure: 25.4 points and 7.1 assists per game on shooting splits of 48.3/43.5/88.7. Jokic and Murray have won a championship before together — they know what it takes.

But getting past the Timberwolves won’t be an easy task. This matchup is quickly growing into one of the best rivalries in the NBA. Minnesota has made two straight Western Conference Finals appearances. How deep they go this postseason is in the hands of Anthony Edwards, but Julius Randle needs a huge series, too. The big fella is averaging 21.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and five assists this season on 48.1 percent shooting. Randle is listed as day-to-day with a hand injury, but expect him to be good to go for Game 1 on Saturday.

Zack’s Prediction: Nuggets in 6

(2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (7) Portland Trail Blazers

The BBN has plenty of reason to root for the San Antonio Spurs. Not only will you get to watch an alien-like figure in Victor Wembanyama, but De’Aaron Fox and Keldon Johnson are vitally important to the Spurs’ success. Fox, who made his second All-Star Game this season, has fit in about as well as anyone could have asked for in San Antonio. He’s averaging 18.6 points and 6.2 assists per game this season. Meanwhile, Johnson is one of the frontrunners to win Sixth Man of the Year after averaging 13.2 points and 5.4 rebounds in 23.3 minutes per game off the bench. He didn’t miss a single game this season, either.

The BBN will have plenty of reason to root against the Portland Trail Blazers, though. I’m not a Shaedon Sharpe hater like some, but I understand why Kentucky fans aren’t fond of him. Regardless, he’s a big piece for the Blazers and has been playing his best basketball this season, averaging 20.8 points per game on shooting splits of 45.2/33.7/78.7. Alongside All-Star Deni Avdija, Sharpe and the Blazers have earned their spot in the postseason after a better-than-expected regular season finish.

Zack’s Prediction: Spurs in 4

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