The final week of the 2025-26 NBA regular season is here, and the playoff picture is coming into focus. Nine teams — the Pistons, Celtics, Knicks, Cavaliers, Thunder, Spurs, Nuggets, Lakers and Rockets — have clinched playoff spots so far, and three more will be decided in the coming days. The Hawks are in position to grab the East’s No. 5 seed, but the battle for the sixth and final playoff spot in the conference is a five-team race. In the West, the Timberwolves need just one more win to earn a top-six seed.
The Nuggets moved into the No. 3 seed in the West with an overtime win over the Blazers on Monday, jumping the banged-up Lakers in the process. The Lakers, without both Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, have dropped two games in a row and are just one game up on the Rockets for the No. 4 seed and home-court advantage in the first round.
The Pistons have clinched the No. 1 seed in the East, while the Thunder have been holding off the Spurs — who own the tiebreaker — for the top seed in the West.
The final day of the regular season will be on Sunday (April 12). Between now and then, we will be updating this playoff picture each day to keep you up to date on the standings, important magic numbers, all relevant tiebreakers and our SportsLine projections.
Here is where we stand entering play on Tuesday, April 7.
*Tiebreaker note: All tiebreakers are included for teams currently within one game (or one seed) of each other, but will only be listed in the current higher seed’s section.
2026 NBA Playoff Picture
If the season ended today…
Play-In Tournament
- East: No. 7 76ers vs. No. 8 Hornets | No. 9 Magic vs. No. 10 Heat
- West: No. 7 Suns vs. No. 8 Clippers | No. 9 Trail Blazers vs. No. 10 Warriors
East first round
No. 1 Pistons vs. No. 8 TBD
No. 2 Celtics vs. No. 7 TBD
No. 3 Knicks vs. No. 6 Raptors
No. 4 Cavaliers vs. No. 5 Hawks
West first round
No. 1 Thunder vs. No. 8 TBD
No. 2 Spurs vs. No. 7 TBD
No. 3 Nuggets vs. No. 6 Timberwolves
No. 4 Lakers vs. No. 5 Rockets
Western Conference standings
1. Oklahoma City Thunder (62-16)
- Tiebreaker vs. Spurs: Spurs clinched
- SportsLine projection: No. 1 seed
2. San Antonio Spurs (60-19)
- SportsLine projection: No. 2 seed
3. Denver Nuggets (51-28)
- Tiebreaker vs. Lakers: Lakers clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. Rockets: Nuggets clinched
- SportsLine projection: No. 3 seed
4. Los Angeles Lakers (50-28)
- Tiebreaker vs. Rockets: Lakers clinched
- SportsLine projection: No. 4 seed
5. Houston Rockets (49-29)
- Tiebreaker vs. Wolves: Tied with one game remaining
- SportsLine projection: No. 5 seed
6. Minnesota Timberwolves (46-32)
- SportsLine projection: No. 6 seed
7. Phoenix Suns (43-35)
- SportsLine projection: No. 7 seed
8. Los Angeles Clippers (40-38)
- Tiebreaker vs. Blazers: Clippers lead 2-1
- Tiebreaker vs. Warriors: Clippers lead 2-1
- SportsLine projection: No. 8 seed
9. Portland Trail Blazers (40-39)
- SportsLine projection: No. 9 seed
10. Golden State Warriors (36-42)
- SportsLine projection: No. 10 seed
Eastern Conference standings
1. Detroit Pistons (57-22)
- SportsLine projection: No. 1 seed
2. Boston Celtics (53-25)
- Tiebreaker vs. Knicks: Knicks lead 2-1
- SportsLine projection: No. 2 seed
3. New York Knicks (51-28)
- Tiebreaker vs. Cavaliers: Knicks clinched
- SportsLine projection: No. 3 seed
4. Cleveland Cavaliers (50-29)
- SportsLine projection: No. 4 seed
5. Atlanta Hawks (45-34)
- Tiebreaker vs. Raptors: Raptors clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. 76ers: Hawks clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. Hornets: Hornets clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. Magic: Hawks clinched
- SportsLine projection: No. 5 seed
6. Toronto Raptors (43-35)
- Tiebreaker vs. 76ers: 76ers via division record
- Tiebreaker vs. Hornets: Raptors via conference record
- Tiebreaker vs. Magic: Raptors own
- Tiebreaker vs. Heat: Raptors lead 2-0 (two to play)
- SportsLine projection: No. 6 seed
7. Philadelphia 76ers (43-36)
- Tiebreaker vs. Hornets: 76ers clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. Magic: 76ers clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. Heat: Heat clinched
- SportsLine projection: No. 7 seed
8. Charlotte Hornets (43-36)
- Tiebreaker vs. Magic: Hornets clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. Heat: Heat clinched
- SportsLine projection: No. 8 seed
9. Orlando Magic (43-36)
- Tiebreaker vs. Heat: Magic clinched
- SportsLine projection: No. 9 seed
10. Miami Heat (41-37)
- SportsLine projection: No. 10 seed
Who’s clinched?
- The Pistons, Celtics, Knicks and Cavaliers have clinched playoff spots in the East.
- The Pistons have clinched the No. 1 seed in the East.
- The Thunder, Spurs, Lakers, Nuggets and Rockets have clinched playoff spots in the West.
- The Clippers, Trail Blazers and Warriors are locked into the West’s Play-In Tournament.
Notable magic numbers
- Hawks’ magic number to clinch playoff spot: 1
- Thunder’s magic number to clinch West’s No. 1 seed: 2
- Wolves’ magic number to clinch playoff spot: 2
- Raptors’ magic number to clinch playoff spot: 4
