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By way of the Philadelphia 76ers’ loss in Miami on Monday, the New York Knicks are the fifth team to clinch a playoff spot. They join the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics. 

The Knicks would have to fall apart to drop out of the top four, but they still have work to do to fend off No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers, who they lead by an effective two games (with the tiebreaker secured) with seven games to play. 

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, March 31. 

*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 (60-16)

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

2. San Antonio Spurs (57-18)

  • SportsLine projection: No. 2 seed

3. Los Angeles Lakers (49-26)

  • 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 (46-29)

  • 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 (42-33)

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

8. Los Angeles Clippers (39-36)

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

9. Portland Trail Blazers (38-38)

  • 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 (54-21)

  • 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 (47-28)

  • 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 (43-33)

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

7. Philadelphia 76ers (41-34)

  • 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 (40-36)

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

10. Charlotte Hornets (39-36)

  • SportsLine projection: No. 8 seed

Notable magic numbers

  • Lakers’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot: 1
  • Cavaliers’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot: 2
  • Pistons’ magic number to clinch East’s No. 1 seed: 3
  • Thunder’s magic number to clinch West’s No. 1 seed: 5