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The Boston Celtics defeated the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday to clinch not just a playoff spot but a top-four seed. Not bad for what was supposed to be a gap year. Barring a colossal collapse over their final eight games of the season, the Celtics, who own a three-game lead over No. 3 Knicks with one head-to-head remaining, are going to be the East’s No. 2 seed. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons are still the only other teams to have clinched a playoff spot so far. 

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 Monday, March 30. 

*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 Magic | No. 9 Heat vs. No. 10 Hornets 
  • 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 Hawks
No. 4 Cavaliers vs. No. 5 Raptors

West first round
No. 1 Thunder vs. No. 8 TBD
No. 2 Spurs vs. No. 7 TBD
No. 3 Lakers vs. No. 6 Rockets
No. 4 Nuggets vs. No. 5 Timberwolves

Western Conference standings

1. Oklahoma City Thunder (59-16)

  • Tiebreaker vs. Spurs: Spurs clinched
  • SportsLine projection: No. 1 seed

2. San Antonio Spurs (56-18)

  • SportsLine projection: No. 2 seed

3. Los Angeles Lakers (48-26)

  • Tiebreaker vs. Nuggets: Lakers clinched
  • Tiebreaker vs. Wolves: Lakers clinched
  • Tiebreaker vs. Rockets: Lakers clinched
  • SportsLine projection: No. 3 seed

4. Denver Nuggets (48-28)

  • Tiebreaker vs. Rockets: Nuggets clinched
  • Tiebreaker vs. Wolves: Nuggets clinched
  • SportsLine projection: No. 4 seed

5. Minnesota Timberwolves (45-29)

  • Tiebreaker vs. Rockets: Tied with one game remaining
  • SportsLine projection: No. 5 seed

6. Houston Rockets (45-29)

  • Tiebreaker vs. Suns: Rockets clinched
  • SportsLine projection: No. 6 seed

7. Phoenix Suns (41-33)

  • Tiebreaker vs. Clippers: Series tied 2-2, Suns hold because of division record
  • SportsLine projection: No. 7 seed

8. Los Angeles Clippers (38-36)

  • Tiebreaker vs. Blazers: Clippers lead 2-0
  • SportsLine projection: No. 8 seed

9. Portland Trail Blazers (37-38)

  • Tiebreaker vs. Warriors: Blazers clinched
  • SportsLine projection: No. 9 seed

10. Golden State Warriors (36-39)

  • SportsLine projection: No. 10 seed

Eastern Conference standings

1. Detroit Pistons (54-20)

  • Tiebreaker vs. Celtics: Pistons clinched
  • SportsLine projection: No. 1 seed

2. Boston Celtics (50-24)

  • Tiebreaker vs. Knicks: Knicks lead 2-1
  • SportsLine projection: No. 2 seed

3. New York Knicks (48-27)

  • Tiebreaker vs. Cavaliers: Knicks clinched
  • SportsLine projection: No. 3 seed

4. Cleveland Cavaliers (46-28)

  • Tiebreaker vs. Raptors: Raptors clinched
  • SportsLine projection: No. 4 seed

5. Toronto Raptors (42-32)

  • Tiebreaker vs. Hawks: Raptors clinched
  • Tiebreaker vs. 76ers: 76ers currently own via division record
  • SportsLine projection: No. 5 seed

6. Atlanta Hawks (42-33)

  • Tiebreaker vs. 76ers: Hawks clinched
  • SportsLine projection: No. 6 seed

7. Philadelphia 76ers (41-33)

  • Tiebreaker vs. Magic: 76ers clinched
  • Tiebreaker vs. Hornets: 76ers clinched
  • Tiebreaker vs. Heat: Series tied 1-1
  • SportsLine projection: No. 7 seed

8. Orlando Magic (39-35)

  • Tiebreaker vs. Heat: Magic clinched
  • Tiebreaker vs. Hornets: Hornets clinched
  • SportsLine projection: No. 10 seed

9. Miami Heat (39-36)

  • Tiebreaker vs. Hornets: Heat clinched
  • SportsLine projection: No. 9 seed

10. Charlotte Hornets (39-36)

  • SportsLine projection: No. 8 seed

Notable magic numbers

  • Knicks’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot: 1
  • Lakers’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot: 2
  • Cavaliers’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot: 3
  • Pistons’ magic number to clinch East’s No. 1 seed: 4
  • Thunder’s magic number to clinch West’s No. 1 seed: 6