{"id":610215,"date":"2026-04-17T12:49:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T12:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/610215\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T12:49:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T12:49:13","slug":"the-h-a-t-e-r-s-guide-to-the-2026-nba-playoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/610215\/","title":{"rendered":"The H.A.T.E.R.\u2019s Guide to the 2026 NBA Playoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"

NBA<\/a>NBA<\/a>Hating season is back. Ranking every playoff team by how much you\u2019d enjoy their downfall.\"\"Getty Images\/Ringer illustration\"\"<\/a>By Jomi Adeniran<\/a>April 17, 12:31 pm UTC \u2022 12 min<\/p>\n

Welcome back to the third<\/a> annual<\/a> H.A.T.E.R.\u2019s Guide to the NBA playoffs! The NBA postseason is finally here<\/a> and while you might not be able to watch every single game, you already know how fun it\u2019s going to be when certain teams get sent home. For some, it\u2019s going to be a sad goodbye. But for others, folks will be dancing around their grave like it\u2019s the beginning of The Wizard of Oz<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One change this year: Instead of focusing solely on the first-round matchups, we\u2019re rating all the postseason teams by how pleasurable it would be to laugh whenever their season comes to an end.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Everything else is the same, though! I\u2019ll rate every team on the Hate And Toxicity Evidence Ratio Index (a.k.a. the H.A.T.E.R. Index) on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being completely unhateable and 10 representing a hatred so strong you don\u2019t just pray for their downfall, but you try to actively participate in it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The play-in tournament is still going on, so we\u2019re including every team that\u2019s still alive going into Friday\u2019s schedule. Let\u2019s get to it, starting with this postseason\u2019s most lovable squads.<\/p>\n

18. Detroit Pistons\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pictures are worth a thousand words, but this one means even more to fans of Detroit basketball. Just a few years ago, the Pistons were in the dregs of the NBA cellar and now, just two seasons later, they\u2019re the top seed in the East flourishing under a young core ahead of schedule. This is a team objective observers will be rooting for to build on last year\u2019s postseason and make a deep run. No hate here; everybody wants to see these Pistons succeed.<\/p>\n

H.A.T.E.R. Index: 1\/10<\/p>\n

17. Atlanta Hawks<\/p>\n

Trading your franchise player usually leaves teams in a bit of a stupor, but the vibes in Atlanta right now could not be higher. Jalen Johnson\u2019s emergence as an All-NBA-level player is the stuff fans dream of, and if you squint, you\u2019d think Nickeil Alexander-Walker kinda maybe looks like his cousin<\/a> while hooping. Atlanta finished the season red hot, winning 19 of its last 24 en route to a playoff berth. This team is young, high octane, and just fun to watch. Hating on them seems like an exercise in futility<\/p>\n

H.A.T.E.R. Index: 3\/10<\/p>\n

\"\"Getty Images16. Charlotte Hornets\u00a0<\/p>\n

You know the NBA is the best league in the world when a team like the Hornets can win 28 of their last 38, dominate the conversation for weeks, and look up at the standings and see they\u2019re still not in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

To be fair to them, however, just having this level of success is something the city of Charlotte has desperately wanted for quite some time. And now their patience has been rewarded with maybe the most fun team in the league. Led by LaMelo Ball and his unique style and supplemented wonderfully by Brandon Miller\u2019s athleticism and Kon Knueppel\u2019s emergence as one of the NBA\u2019s best shooters the Hornets have quickly become one of basketball\u2019s best stories. Can they beat Detroit in a seven-game series if they advance past the play-in? Probably not. But it\u2019d be a hell of a ride \u2026 \u00a0just as long as LaMelo\u2019s not the one behind the wheel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

H.A.T.E.R. Index : 3\/10<\/p>\n

15. Phoenix Suns<\/p>\n

Five years ago, the Phoenix Suns were up 2-0 in the NBA Finals and a stone\u2019s throw away from winning their first championship in franchise history. But then Giannis happened. So the Suns made a big trade for Kevin Durant, and we all thought, \u201cOK, maybe now it\u2019s time.\u201d But then Bradley Beal happened. Every time the Suns are on the precipice of being the team folks hope they can be, someone or something pushes them back in the dirt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This year was supposed to be a year where Jalen Green and Devin Booker lit the league on fire as one of the NBA\u2019s top backcourts, but it was their top-10 defense that led the way for the Suns most of the year. The fact that they found a way to get here despite everything is something for which they should get credit \u2026 even if OKC would promptly put them back in the dirt.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not all bad. At least their owner isn\u2019t beefing with podcast hosts<\/a> on Twitter. Wait\u2013<\/p>\n

H.A.T.E.R. Index: 4\/10<\/p>\n

14. Toronto Raptors\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a rough few months for our brothers and sisters in the Great White North, moments which include but are not limited to:<\/p>\n

losing the World Series after being up 3-2 and blowing Game 7losing the Olympic gold-medal hockey game to the U.S. womenlosing the Olympic gold-medal hockey game to the U.S. men\u00a0<\/p>\n

I could sit here and preach about how easy it is to hate on Canada and their free healthcare, but not only have they suffered enough, but the Raptors\u2019 up-and-down season resulting in an honest-to-god playoff berth deserves a level of\u2013<\/p>\n

LOL J\/K, PLAY MY SONG!<\/p>\n

(I\u2019m so sorry, Toronto. I couldn\u2019t help myself.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

H.A.T.E.R. Index: 5\/10<\/p>\n

\"\"Getty Images13. Philadelphia 76ers<\/p>\n

The 76ers are an interesting case when it comes to the H.A.T.E.R. Index because, on one hand, you have Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, two young and extremely likable players that helped keep the Sixers within range of a playoff berth all year. Unfortunately, on the other hand, is H.A.T.E.R. Index All-Stars Joel Embiid and Paul George.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I think at this stage of their careers, though, we know what we\u2019re getting here and it isn\u2019t as fun as it used to be to laugh at the Sixers’ misfortune.<\/p>\n

Except for the \u201c ___ made a conference finals before Embiid\u201d jokes. Those will always be funny.\u00a0<\/p>\n

H.A.T.E.R. Index: 6\/10<\/p>\n

12. Denver Nuggets<\/p>\n

The Nuggets are one of the best stories in the NBA right now. Despite injuries to Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic, the team secured the no. 3 seed in the West behind Jamal Murray\u2019s best season as a pro. The first-time All-Star averaged 25 points and seven assists per game while shooting 48 percent from the field and 43 percent from 3, all career highs. In other words, Murray finally brought his playoff form to the regular season.<\/p>\n

So now we can stop the lying.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For years, all the talk has been about how Jokic was carrying a team full of guys who have never made an All-Star team, despite the fact that if you had two functional eyeballs, you could see that Murray was one of the biggest playoff risers we\u2019ve ever seen Acting like Jokic was out there with nobodies was a joke. I\u2019m glad we can finally put that garbage lie to rest.<\/p>\n

Or maybe I\u2019m just being bitter, I don\u2019t know.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

H.A.T.E.R. Index: 6\/10<\/p>\n

11. Cleveland Cavaliers<\/p>\n

Simply put: James Harden + elimination game =\u00a0must-see TV.<\/a><\/p>\n

H.A.T.E.R. Index: 7\/10<\/p>\n

10. Portland Trail Blazers\u00a0<\/p>\n

All things being equal, the Blazers wouldn\u2019t have been ranked this high in a normal year. This is a team that many thought would be a cellar dweller. And given what happened to their head coach earlier in the season<\/a>, you wouldn\u2019t have blamed them for packing it in, but they fought and scraped their way to a postseason appearance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So why is this underdog\u2019s H.A.T.E.R. Index so high, you ask? Because it’s behind one of the biggest \u201cPolar Bear in Texas\u201d statistical anomalies that we\u2019ve ever seen:<\/p>\n

\"\"StatMuse<\/p>\n

Look at that list of names. A bunch of superstars with huge size advantages who like to play in the paint, and Deni Avdija is right there, above all but one. It\u2019d be impressive if it weren\u2019t so shameless. No matter how good your game is, you can never overcome being hailed as a flopper. It actually reminds me of another guy on this list, but let\u2019s put a pin in that for now.<\/p>\n

H.A.T.E.R. Index: 7\/10<\/p>\n

9. Orlando Magic<\/p>\n

This Orlando Magic season was legitimately one of the funniest NBA seasons to watch in recent memory. (Unless, of course, you are a Magic fan. Then it\u2019s probably been the worst couple months of your life.)<\/p>\n

The hilarity comes from one of the most unserious teams we\u2019ve ever seen, and we saw it on full display during the last day of the regular season.<\/a> All they had to do to help secure a spot in the playoffs was to beat the skeleton-crew Boston Celtics. Leading by nine at half, pulling out the win should have been easy right?\u00a0<\/p>\n

The G League Celtics outscored the Magic by 22 in the third quarter and never looked back.<\/p>\n

Paolo Banchero doesn\u2019t look like he can be a lead option on a playoff team, Jamahl Mosley looks lost, and the team\u2019s offense is as captivating as watching two slugs run a marathon. Magic fans will finally be glad this season’s over, but for us tourists, the fallout of their playoff exit will be something to behold.\u00a0<\/p>\n

H.A.T.E.R. Index: 7\/10<\/p>\n

\"\"Getty Images8. San Antonio Spurs<\/p>\n

Now, I know what you\u2019re thinking. You\u2019re probably saying to yourself: \u201cWait, Jomi, the Spurs are a young team that achieved significant success despite their youth, just like the Pistons. Why is their H.A.T.E.R. Index so much higher?\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, I\u2019m glad you asked, reader. It\u2019s pretty simple, actually.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Do I need to remind you the Spurs have had David Robinson, Tim Duncan, and Victor Wembanyama fall in their laps? This is a franchise that\u2019s been good to great for nearly 30 years, and every time they aren\u2019t, bang, they get another generational big man. They\u2019re the luckiest franchise in the history of the NBA draft. If your team has been in the lottery year after year and has nothing to show for it, watching the Spurs\u2019 collection of youngsters should make you sick.<\/p>\n

H.A.T.E.R. Index: 7\/10<\/p>\n

7. Minnesota Timberwolves<\/p>\n

This has been a weird season for Minnesota. After back-to-back Western Conference finals appearances, Anthony Edwards missed a bunch of time this year, including 11 of the team\u2019s last 14 games, which excluded him from end-of-season awards. Despite that, the squad still finished in the top half of offensive rating and top 10 in defensive rating, leading to a top-six finish in a competitive Western Conference.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s the problem? Why are they ranked so high here?<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for the Timberwolves, they employ Rudy Gobert, and he alone adds three points to a team\u2019s H.A.T.E.R. Index.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You hate to see it, but, hey, it\u2019s not like I literally make the rules.\u00a0<\/p>\n

H.A.T.E.R. Index: 8\/10<\/p>\n

6. Houston Rockets<\/p>\n

This particular rating rests squarely on the shoulders of two people. One likes to spend too much time online responding to rage-bait tweets. The other goes by GetOffMyDickerson.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

GetOffMyDickerson, who as far as we can confirm, is not affiliated with Kevin Durant, had tweets and DMs surface earlier this year revealing information about NBA teams and players that coincidentally have crossed paths with Kevin Durant in his career\u2014including a few about his current Rockets teammates and \u201ca triple double cocaine bear. Due to a spat on NBA Twitter, someone connected GetOffMyDickerson and Kevin Durant, who\u2014and I cannot stress this enough\u2014are NOT the same person. Which would have been funny enough, except that 1) Kevin Durant has admitted to<\/a> using burner accounts before, and 2) the news also came out on All-Star Sunday when KD was seen glued to his phone the entire time:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n


<\/a>The jokes write themselves. Even if KD and GetOffMyDickerson turn out to be two completely separate people, KD\u2019s propensity to get caught up via online Looney Tunes situations like this must be studied. You\u2019re a first-ballot Hall of Famer and you have the same amount of screen time as a 29-year-old social media producer that works for a digital media company It\u2019d be the funniest thing in the world if it weren\u2019t so \u2026 actually, it\u2019s still the funniest thing that happened this NBA season, I\u2019m sorry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

KD has earned the ire of NBA fans since he ruined our Fourth of July celebrations a decade ago<\/a>, so Houston\u2019s H.A.T.E.R. Index was always going to be high, but the GetOffMyDickerson bit takes the hate to a whole new level.\u00a0<\/p>\n

H.A.T.E.R. Index: 8\/10<\/p>\n

\"\"Getty Images5. Golden State Warriors\u00a0<\/p>\n

Is this one of the least hated Warriors teams in a while? Let\u2019s take a look at the most hateable Warriors teams since 2015:<\/p>\n

2017-2019 Warriors: Obviously.2022 Warriors: Won a chip, but were no longer an underdog story.2016 Warriors: 73-9, blew through the league.2023-2024 Warriors: Back-to-back Western Conference semifinals2020-2021 Warriors: The only time the team was legitimately bad\u00a02026 Warriors: Steph and Jimmy got hurt2015 Warriors: Who hates the new kids on the block?<\/p>\n

Very scientific, I know, but this particular Warriors team is both fun to watch and extremely likeable. The Steph Show will always be enthralling, and when Draymond isn\u2019t flailing around like a 6-year-old learning karate (like he was against Kawhi Leonard on Wednesday in the play-in) you have the recipe for a team that doesn\u2019t immediately make you recoil. They\u2019re still the Warriors unfortunately, though.<\/p>\n

H.A.T.E.R. Index: 8\/10<\/p>\n

4. New York Knicks\u00a0<\/p>\n

This was supposed to be the year. With injuries to the Celtics and Pacers, the Knicks were supposed to walk to the Finals, and yet \u2026 here we are. If you are going to fire your coach after being two wins away from a Finals berth, you HAVE to make the right decision. And while the team has been better offensively, they are still led by a 6-foot-2 guard, a slew of streaky shooters, and a big man whose playoff legacy is committing dumb foul after dumb foul<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And how soon we forget that this is the same collection of guys that blew a 15-point lead with less than five minutes remaining in a playoff game, authoring one of the most colossal collapses we\u2019ve seen not just in NBA history, but sports as a whole:\u00a0<\/p>\n

H.A.T.E.R. Index: 8\/10<\/p>\n

3. Los Angeles Lakers<\/p>\n

Part of me wants to go easy on the Lakers because of their injuries, but I still can\u2019t get over the frickin\u2019 Luka trade. Being gifted Luka Doncic on a silver (pun not intended, kinda) platter and then, for the first time in a long time, getting him in shape? Only to lose in the first round? I can already feel Mavericks fans getting ready to bully me.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Oh, and LeBron James is on this team. In case anyone forgot. He tends to get the people going.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

H.A.T.E.R. Index: 8\/10\u00a0<\/p>\n

2. Boston Celtics\u00a0<\/p>\n

How annoying are these guys?<\/p>\n

As the only person brave enough to hate on the Celtics at The Ringer, I\u2019m legitimately asking.<\/p>\n

After Jayson Tatum’s unfortunate injury, many folks figured they would take a step back as a powerhouse in the East, and they just \u2026 didn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jaylen Brown played himself into the MVP conversation while Derrick White continued his never-ending quest to be the best Whit to ever play for Boston. Meanwhile, Joe Mazzulla keeps winning games as often as he drops insane quotes. At every turn, at every obstacle, the Celtics have fought this season to overcome the odds. I hate it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

H.A.T.E.R. Index: 9\/10<\/p>\n

\"\"Adam Pantozzi\/NBAE via Getty Images1. Oklahoma City Thunder<\/p>\n

The reigning NBA champions deserve this. It\u2019s one thing to be the team that gets to foul everyone and seemingly never has a whistle blown against them. It\u2019s another to be the team whose star lives at the line because of some of the most egregious flopping in the history of mankind. Being both, though, by far, makes you the most hated team in the 2026 NBA postseason.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What\u2019s sad is that it doesn\u2019t have to be this way.<\/p>\n

The flopping is embarrassing, and the worst part is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander doesn\u2019t have to do it. There\u2019s no need for him to flail his arms and snap his head back like it\u2019s 2002 and Steve Austin just hit him with a Stone Cold Stunner. SGA is such a unique offensive talent that free-throw grifting is beneath him. His handle, his ability to consistently get to his spots, and his smooth jumper make him one of the best offensive players to watch in the history of the NBA. We should appreciate someone who has mastered that techniq\u2014<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t do this. Lu Dort is still on that team. Never mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n

H.A.T.E.R. Index: 10\/10<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Jomi Adeniran<\/p>\n

<\/a>One-fourth of \u2018The Midnight Boys,\u2019 one-half of \u2018Mint Edition,\u2019 one whole fan of all things fandom. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NBANBAHating season is back. Ranking every playoff team by how much you\u2019d enjoy their downfall.Getty Images\/Ringer illustrationBy Jomi…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":610216,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,459,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-610215","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=610215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610215\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/610216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=610215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=610215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=610215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}