NBA Playoff Picture 2026, Updated Bracket, Standings After Nuggets Clinch Spot

For the eighth consecutive year, the Denver Nuggets clinched a spot in the NBA playoffs on Tuesday.

Denver ensured its place in the top six of the Western conference after the Phoenix Suns suffered a 115-111 loss to the Orlando Magic.

The Western Conference standings currently look like this with the Nuggets in fourth place:

Western Conference

1. Oklahoma City Thunder (60-16) — Clinched playoff berth
2. San Antonio Spurs (57-18) — Clinched playoff berth
3. Los Angeles Lakers (49-26) — Clinched playoff berth
4. Denver Nuggets (49-28) — Clinched playoff berth
5. Minnesota Timberwolves (46-29)
6. Houston Rockets (45-29)
7. Phoenix Suns (42-34)
8. Los Angeles Clippers (39-36)
9. Portland Trail Blazers (38-38) — Clinched play-in berth
10. Golden State Warriors (36-39) — Clinched play-in berth
11. Memphis Grizzlies (25-50) — Eliminated
12. New Orleans Pelicans (25-51) — Eliminated
13. Dallas Mavericks (24-51) — Eliminated
14. Utah Jazz (21-55) — Eliminated
15. Sacramento Kings (19-57) — Eliminated

Assuming the higher seeds advance out of the postseason play-in tournament, the first-round playoff matchups in the Western Conference would be as follows if the regular season ended today:

1. Oklahoma City Thunder vs. 8. Los Angeles Clippers

4. Denver Nuggets vs. 5. Minnesota Timberwolves

3. Los Angeles Lakers vs. 6. Houston Rockets

2. San Antonio Spurs vs. 7. Phoenix Suns

The Nuggets are perennial title contenders, having won an NBA championship in 2023 and advanced past the first round of the playoffs in six of the past seven seasons.

Despite that and the obvious talent on their roster, the Nuggets have dealt with plenty of adversity during David Adelman's first full season as head coach.

Most of the adversity has stemmed from key players missing significant time due to injury. Nikola Jokić, Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, Cameron Johnson and Peyton Watson have all missed 15 or more games, not to mention games missed by notable role players.

Denver is about as healthy as it has been all season right now, though, which bodes well for its chances of making a deep run come playoff time.

Of course, the Nuggets' postseason success will primarily rest on the shoulders of Jokić and guard Jamal Murray.

Although he missed a month of action with a knee injury, Jokić has been his dominant self when in the lineup, as the three-time NBA MVP and one-time NBA Finals MVP is averaging 27.9 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.8 assists per game while shooting 57.3 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from behind the arc.

Meanwhile, after years of excellent play, Murray was finally recognized as an All-Star for the first time this season by virtue of averaging 25.5 points, 7.2 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game on 48.4/42.8/88.4 shooting splits.

They may not be particularly close to the Thunder or Spurs in the standings, but it can be argued that the Nuggets are just as dangerous thanks to their star power and big-game experience.