NBA Unveils Seeding Scenarios for 2025 Playoff Bracket Ahead of Final Week

Much is still up for grabs as the NBA enters its final week of the regular season.

There are lottery odds to be sorted out at the bottom of the brackets, of course. But there are also automatic playoff bids and Play-In Tournament seeds to be decided in this final week, as the NBA posted on Monday:

In the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder have the top overall seed locked down, while the Houston Rockets currently have a 3.5-game lead over the Los Angeles Lakers for the No. 2 seed. Barring a meltdown, Houston will win that race.

The No. 3 seed is very much up for grabs, however, with the Lakers holding a 1.5-game lead over the Denver Nuggets and a two-game lead on the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves and Memphis Grizzlies.

That means the chase for the last four automatic playoff berths is also extraordinarily tight.

As for the Play-In Tournament in the Western Conference, the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks currently hold the Nos. 9 and 10 seeds, though the Suns are just three games back of the Kings and 2.5 games back of the Mavs.

In the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers likely will secure the top overall berth, currently up four games on the Boston Celtics. Boston, meanwhile, has already secured the No. 2 seed at worst.

The New York Knicks hold a three-game lead over the Indiana Pacers for the No. 3 seed, while Indiana has a three-game lead over the Milwaukee Bucks for the 4-seed. Both teams are likely locked into those positions, barring an epic collapse from either.

Milwaukee and the Detroit Pistons have already secured automatic playoff berths, though the Bucks only have a one-game lead over Detroit for the No. 5 seed. Postseason matchups still hang in the balance.

As for the East's Play-In Tournament, the Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat have all secured those berths, though only three games separates the current No. 7 seed (Orlando) from the current No. 10 seed (Miami), though the Heat can only be a No. 8 seed or worse. It's far easier to reach the postseason as a No. 7 or 8 seed, so those teams will be battling for Play-In Tournament positioning this week, with Orlando notably taking on Atlanta twice.