The Detroit Pistons’ schedule for their 2026 NBA playoffs first-round series is set.
The 1-seed Pistons (60-22) will start their march toward their first playoff series victory since 2008 on Sunday, April 19, in Game 1 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. After the 2026 NBA Play-In Tournament action on Friday, the Pistons now know their eighth-seeded opponent: the Orlando Magic
The Pistons will host Game 2 on Wednesday, then will play two games at Kia Center in Orlando, Florida, in the best-of-seven series, on April 25 (overlapping with Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft) and on April 27, respectively.
Get Pistons playoff tickets
The Pistons and Detroit Tigers will have two potential overlaps in downtown Detroit. The first is on Wednesday, when the Tigers are slated to host the Milwaukee Brewers at 6:40 p.m. and the Pistons will host the Magic at 7. The other will only come if the first-round series goes to seven games. Game 7 of the Pistons’ series is slated for Sunday, May 3 (time and TV TBD), which is also the day the Tigers are slated to host the Texas Rangers at 7:20 p.m. on a nationally televised game on NBC and Peacock (NBC’s streaming service).
Here’s how to watch the Pistons as they embark on their playoff run as the East’s No. 1 seed:
Pistons playoff full schedule for first round series
Best-of-seven; all times Eastern.
Who will Pistons play in the playoffs?
The Pistons will play the Orlando Magic (45-37).
The Magic, who entered the play-in tourney as the 8-seed, lost on the road to the 7-seed Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday, than crushed the 9-seed Charlotte Hornets at home on Friday. The Magic are looking for their first playoff series victory since the 2009-10 season, when coach Stan Van Gundy took Orlando to the East finals.
The Pistons split their four-game season series with the Magic, with Detroit taking games in October and March, and Orlando winning in November (in an NBA Cup game) and April. Their most recent matchup came on April 6, as the Magic prevailed, 123-107, over a Pistons lineup that was missing Cade Cunningham and Tobias Harris. Desmond Bane, picked up in the offseason from Memphis, did most of the damage for the Magic, as he averaged 22.8 points, five rebounds and three assists. That included a 37-point outing on Nov. 28 in Detroit in which he shot 13-for-25 at Little Caesars Arena.
The winner of the Pistons’ series will face the winner of the 4/5 series between the No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers (52-30) and No. 5 Toronto Raptors (46-36) in the East semifinals. The NBA does not re-seed after the first round of the playoffs.
[ Who will Pistons face in NBA playoffs? Predicting the play-in tournament ]
When is Pistons Game 1 of NBA playoff series?
Pistons start time for Game 1 of NBA playoff series
The Pistons open their best-of-seven first-round series on Sunday night at home, looking for their first playoff win at home since 2008 to stop an NBA-record 10-game home losing streak.
What channel is Pistons Game 1 on?
How to buy Pistons playoff tickets
You can find seats available on StubHub for the Pistons four potential home games in the first round, as well as tickets for potential home games in the following rounds.
[ MUST WATCH: See Tuesday’s episode of our podcast, “The Pistons Pulse,” streamed live weekly on the Detroit Free Press YouTube channel or listen wherever you get podcasts. ]
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons’ first-round opponent is set; here’s who they play
Reporting by Marlowe Alter, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
