NBL26 Finals Dates: When the Play-In and Championship Series Begin

With the NBL26 regular season wrapping up this weekend, attention has shifted from the ladder to the calendar. While the NBL has not yet released the full official finals schedule, confirmed venue windows have given us a clear picture of when the NBL26 Finals will begin.

The Play-In Tournament is expected to take place between 4 March and 8 March, with the Semi Finals running between 11 March and 18 March, followed by the Championship Series later in March.

These dates align with previous seasons and match confirmed hosting windows from clubs currently in the top four.

If a team finishes third or fourth, they will host the Seeding Qualifier between 4 and 8 March.

The fifth and sixth placed teams will also compete during this window, with the loser eliminated and the winner advancing.

This means the first meaningful finals games of NBL26 will tip off in the first week of March.

Teams finishing first and second bypass the Play-In and move straight into the Semi Finals.

Clubs finishing in the top two are scheduled to host Game 1 and, if required, Game 3 of their best-of-three series between 11 March and 18 March.

This is the stage where home court advantage becomes critical.

While the exact dates are still to be confirmed by the league, the Championship Series is expected to begin in late March.

The Grand Final is played as a best-of-five series, with games typically spaced every two to three days.

Once the NBL releases the full fixture list, this page will be updated immediately with exact game-by-game dates.

The NBL finals format compresses the season quickly. A team that finishes third could play as many as eight games in just over three weeks if they make a deep run.

That makes ladder position, recovery and momentum more important than ever heading into March.

For a full breakdown of how the Play-In and Finals structure works, see our NBL26 Finals Format guide.

For a closer look at which teams are fighting to qualify, read our NBL26 Finals Race breakdown.