Four Tennessee Players Set to Gear Up For the 2026 NBA Playoffs

The NBA 2025-2026 regular season is officially in the books, which means that the NBA Playoffs are right around the corner. The playoffs will see both the East and the West divisions host three play-in games to determine the final two entries into the eight-team field on both sides.

The Oklahoma City Thunder has the 1-seed spot in the West, while the Detroit Pistons have the 1-seed slot in the East.

Tennessee Basketball has four former players gearing up for the NBA Playoffs, with none of the participants starting things out in the play-in tournament. NBA veteran Tobias Harris and rookie Chaz Lanier are on the Pistons’ squad, while second-year guard Dalton Knecht is with the 4-seed Lakers in the West. Former Vol Julian Phillips is with the 6-seed Minnesota Timberwolves in the West.

Harris and Lanier’s Pistons are set to take on the 8-seed in the first round of the tournament, which could be one of four options depending on how the play-in bracket unfolds. They’ll see either the 7-seed Philadelphia 76ers, the 8-seed Orlando Magic, the 9-seed Charlotte Hornets, or the 10-seed Miami Heat.

Knecht and the Lakers will host the 5-seed Houston Rockets. The series will begin in Los Angeles with the Lakers as the higher seed. Phillips and the Timberwolves, meanwhile, will take on the 3-seed Nuggets in the first round, which will begin in Denver with Nikola Jokic’s squad being the higher seed.

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Here’s a look at the full regular season stats for all four former Tennessee players:

Tobias Harris – Forward, Detroit Pistons

• 63 games played, 63 starts
• 27.7 MPG
• 13.3 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 2.5 APG, 46.9 FG%

Chaz Lanier (R) – Guard, Detroit Pistons

• 34 games played, 0 starts
• 7.7 MPG
• 2.4 PPG, 0.7 RPG, 0.5 APG, 31.5 FG%

Dalton Knecht – Guard, Los Angeles Lakers

• 54 games played, 1 start
• 10.2 MPG
• 4.2 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 0.4 APG

Julian Phillips – Forward, Minnesota Timberwolves (Traded from CHI on 2/5)

Note: Full Season Stats With Both Chicago & Minnesota

• 47 games played, 2 starts
• 8.5 MPG
• 2.6 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 0.2 APG

Note: With Minnesota Only

• 12 games played, 0 starts
• 5.6 MPG
• 2.1 PPG, 0.3 RPG, 0.2 APG

The 2026 NBA Playoffs will begin on April 18.

THE BRACKET IS SET 🍿 pic.twitter.com/bqSnxeDnzv

— NBA (@NBA) April 13, 2026