Complete 2025 NBA Playoff Bracket Predictions with 1 Month To Go
We're just weeks away from the start of the 2025 NBA playoffs, yet much of the race for seeding is wide open.
The Cleveland Cavaliers (eight games ahead of the Boston Celtics) and Oklahoma City Thunder (11 games up on the Denver Nuggets) are running away with the No. 1 spot in their respective conferences, although no teams below them should feel safe in their current spots.
Based on current records, players missing due to injury, remaining strength of schedule and other factors, here's a best guess at how the 2025 NBA playoff bracket will look.
East: (4) Indiana Pacers vs. (5) Detroit Pistons
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Indiana Pacers
Current Record/Seed: 36-28, 5th in East
The Pacers, Bucks and Detroit Pistons will finish as the Nos. 4 through 6 seeds in the East, yet only one will receive home-court advantage in the first round.
For now, we're projecting this honor will go to Indiana, the team with the easiest remaining schedule of the three.
The Pacers are also 36-24 with a healthy Tyrese Haliburton this season (0-4 without him), their star point guard who just came back from a three-game absence to convert a game-winning four-point play against the Bucks.
Detroit Pistons
Current Record/Seed: 37-29, 4th in East
Only the Cleveland Cavaliers (14-0) and Oklahoma City Thunder (13-3) have a better record since the trade deadline than Detroit (12-3).
Unfortunately, the Pistons have three games remaining against these giants and possess the sixth-toughest final stretch of schedule of any NBA team.
Detroit will play well enough to pass the Bucks yet will ultimately settle in at No. 5 just below Indiana.
East: (3) New York Knicks vs. (6) Milwaukee Bucks
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New York Knicks
Current Record/Seed: 41-23, 3rd in East
A whopping 10.5 games separate the No. 2 Boston Celtics and the No. 4 Milwaukee Bucks, with the Knicks sitting firmly in the middle of both clubs.
It would take a miraculous rise (or devastating fall) for New York to finish anything other than No. 3 in the East. At 7-6 since the trade deadline, the Knicks haven't been bad enough for the Bucks, Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons to gain much ground or good enough to catch the Celtics.
Chisel the Knicks as the No. 3 seed in the East in stone, even with Jalen Brunson currently nursing an ankle injury.
Milwaukee Bucks
Current Record/Seed: 36-28, 4th in East
The Bucks will be in a good battle with the Pacers and Pistons until the last week or so of the regular season, although a tough remaining schedule combined with Detroit's red-hot play will ultimately mean the No. 6 seed for Milwaukee.
This would be a tasty first-round matchup against the Knicks, a team that has looked extremely vulnerable (especially on defense) this season.
East: (2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Atlanta Hawks
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Boston Celtics
Current Record/Seed: 47-18, 2nd in East
The stretch run for the Celtics is going to focus more on getting healthy bodies ready for the postseason and not trying to play starters 40-plus minutes a night in an attempt to catch the Cleveland Cavaliers for the No. 1 seed.
Boston has the third-easiest remaining schedule in the NBA and has gone 11-3 in its last 14 games, so there's no chance of the New York Knicks jumping them in the standings.
This is a team chasing championships, not seeding. They'll happily enter the postseason at No. 2 if the roster is (mostly) healthy.
Atlanta Hawks
Current Record/Seed: 31-34, 7th in East
Atlanta still has life even after losing Jalen Johnson to a season-ending shoulder surgery and trading second-leading scorer De'Andre Hunter at the deadline.
The Hawks have gone 8-6 since swapping Hunter for Caris LeVert, Georges Niang and draft capital and could actually finish the season above .500, much to the dismay of the San Antonio Spurs.
With few teams in the East showing much of a pulse, Atlanta is still fighting for a playoff spot and will ultimately get one.
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East: (1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (8) Orlando Magic
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Cleveland Cavaliers
Current Record/Seed: 55-10, 1st in East
The Cavs currently own three of the four longest winning streaks in the NBA this season and have most recently rattled off 15 victories in a row.
Cleveland hasn't lost since trading for De'Andre Hunter and is No. 2 in both offense and defense since the deadline.
A Cavs-Boston Celtics matchup in the Eastern Conference Finals feels inevitable.
Orlando Magic
Current Record/Seed: 30-36, 8th in East
Any hope of the Magic making a playoff run this season died with the news that Jalen Suggs would undergo season-ending surgery on his knee.
Orlando has gone just 10-21 overall without its starting point guard this season, as his defense, outside shooting and playmaking have been sorely missed.
The Magic should be good enough to beat a lifeless Miami Heat or Chicago Bulls team in the play-in tournament, although they'll see a swift exit after meeting up with the mighty Cavs.
West: (4) Golden State Warriors vs. (5) Memphis Grizzlies
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Golden State Warriors
Current Record/Seed: 37-28, 6th in West
Trading for Jimmy Butler has saved the Warriors' previously lost season, as Golden State is now 12-1 with the veteran forward in the lineup.
Going from a team that was in real danger of missing the play-in tournament to one now projected to host a playoff series is quite the leap. The Warriors are also getting Jonathan Kuminga back for the first time in more than two months from an ankle injury.
Seeing Stephen Curry (who's about to turn 37) back in the playoffs just feels right.
Memphis Grizzlies
Current Record/Seed: 41-24, 4th in West
No Dillon Brooks means this won't be the same Grizzlies-Warriors rivalry, although the addition of players like Butler, Zach Edey and Jaylen Wells will make for one of the best first-round series in the NBA.
Memphis has stumbled a little bit since the trade deadline (6-8 overall), meaning it will eventually lose out on home-court advantage here. The Grizz also possess the fifth-hardest remaining schedule with four games coming against the two best teams in each conference (Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets).
A fifth seed is still quite commendable for a Memphis team that's continued to struggle staying healthy.
West: (3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Houston Rockets
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Los Angeles Lakers
Current Record/Seed: 40-23, 3rd in West
LeBron James vs. Dillon Brooks. Surely this will end up being a quiet, peaceful series.
James' current groin injury may cause the Lakers to initially stumble a spot or two in the standings, but the combination of the four-time MVP and Luka Dončić over the final few weeks of the season will ultimately get them back up to No. 3.
Los Angeles is 8-3 overall with both James and Dončić on the floor, and the Lakers are tied for the second-best defense since the trade deadline.
Houston Rockets
Current Record/Seed: 40-25, 5th in West
Houston will be able to control a lot of its playoff destiny, as four games remain against the Denver Nuggets and Lakers.
The Rockets are just 8-7 since the trade deadline, however, and have given us no reason to believe that they'll be able to catch these two teams (or the Memphis Grizzlies) immediately ahead of them.
Regardless of how this year ends, Houston fans should be extremely pleased with the season this young team has put together.
West: (2) Denver Nuggets vs. (7) Minnesota Timberwolves
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Denver Nuggets
Current Record/Seed: 42-23, 2nd in West
Gone is the hope of challenging the Oklahoma City Thunder for the No. 1 seed in the West, although Denver should feel good about its chances at No. 2.
LeBron James' groin injury should create some breathing room, and the Memphis Grizzlies are below .500 since the trade deadline.
Denver has the No. 3 offense in the NBA over this span and doesn't have to play the Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers or Boston Celtics for the remainder of the regular season.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Current Record/Seed: 37-29, 7th in West
This is the healthiest the Timberwolves have been all season, with a five-game winning streak to show for it.
Unfortunately, the Golden State Warriors have been scoring hot since the Jimmy Butler trade and there's still a 3.5-game gap between the Wolves and Houston Rockets.
Minnesota will have to earn its spot through the play-in tournament, although it is clearly the best of this group.
West: (1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (8) Sacramento Kings
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Oklahoma City Thunder
Current Record/Seed: 53-12, 1st in West
An 11-game lead over the Denver Nuggets means the Thunder are going to cruise to the No. 1 seed in the West for the second straight year.
OKC is 13-3 with the No. 1 offense in the NBA since the trade deadline and can afford to rest its older rotation players as needed before the postseason begins.
The depth on this team will still allow the Thunder to push for 60-65 victories while keeping starters' minutes low.
Sacramento Kings
Current Record/Seed: 33-31, 9th in West
The Dallas Mavericks' season is crumbling down around them. The Phoenix Suns (30-35) are essentially out of it and the Los Angeles Clippers have played below-.500 basketball since the deadline.
Even if the Kings don't play great down the stretch, this team should still make the playoffs given the lack of competition.
Owners of the second-hardest remaining schedule, Sacramento should get Domantas Sabonis back from a groin injury soon and grab the No. 8 seed in the West.
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