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NBA Playoff Picture 2026, Standings, Bracket Predictions for Lakers, Warriors, More
The playoff math in the Eastern and Western Conferences is elementary going into the final day of the NBA regular season on Sunday.
A majority of the teams that control their own destiny have easy matchups on the Sunday schedule.
The Los Angeles Lakers will be a top-four seed in the West with one more win. The Denver Nuggets can hold on to the No. 3 seed with a victory of their own.
The same can be said about the Portland Trail Blazers and the No. 8 seed. Portland beat the LA Clippers on Friday night to leapfrog into the No. 8 spot.
Over in the East, the Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors just need to win to secure spots in the top six.
The Orlando Magic have a tough matchup on paper against the Boston Celtics, but they will likely hold on to the No. 7 seed if the Celtics, who have already clinched the No. 2 seed, rest some of their star players.
The Charlotte Hornets are in the same win-and-clinch scenario with the No. 9 seed, which would come with a home game in the play-in round.
Eastern Conference
1 of 2
1 Detroit (59-22)
2. Boston (55-26)
3. New York (53-28)
4. Cleveland (51-30)
5. Atlanta (46-35)
6. Toronto (45-36)
Play-In Race
7. Orlando (45-36)
8. Philadelphia (44-37)
9. Charlotte (43-38)
10. Miami (42-39)
The top four seeds in the Eastern Conference are locked in.
The math is simple for the congestion beneath Detroit, Boston, New York and Cleveland.
Atlanta needs to beat Miami on Sunday to clinch the No. 5 seed. The Heat are still alive to host the 9-versus-10 play-in game.
Miami needs to beat the Hawks and have Charlotte fall to the Knicks. New York has nothing to play for, though, so it may be incentivized to sit its regulars.
Toronto, Orlando and Philadelphia will likely finish in that order in the race for the No. 6 seed.
The Raptors conclude the regular season at home against Brooklyn, the Magic visit a Celtics team likely resting their starters and the Sixers are at home to Milwaukee.
If the Magic lose and Sixers win, the two teams would flip in the standings. The only way that seems likely is if the Celtics don't rest their starters. Boston is locked into the No. 2 seed and might see the Magic in the opening round.
Bracket Prediction
Play-In: No. 10 Miami vs. No. 9 Charlotte
Play-In: No. 8 Philadelphia vs. No. 7 Orlando
No. 6 Toronto vs. No. 3 New York
No. 5 Atlanta vs. No. 4 Cleveland
Play-In Winner vs. No. 1 Detroit
Play-In Winner vs. No. 2 Boston
Western Conference
2 of 2
1 Oklahoma City (64-17)
2. San Antonio (62-19)
3. Denver (53-28)
4. Los Angeles Lakers (52-29)
5. Houston (51-30)
6. Minnesota (48-33)
Play-In Race
7. Phoenix (44-37)
8. Portland (41-40)
9. LA Clippers (41-40)
10. Golden State (37-43)
Portland won Friday's most consequential game in the West over the LA Clippers.
The Blazers now have the inside track to the No. 8 seed and a trip to Phoenix to start the play-in round.
Portland just needs to beat Sacramento at home on Sunday, or have the Clippers lose to Golden State to clinch the No. 8 seed.
The Warriors are already locked into the No. 10 seed, so they have less incentive to play the starters against the Clippers with a potential play-in battle coming on Wednesday versus LA.
Denver needs to beat San Antonio to secure the No. 3 seed. The Spurs are secured into the No. 2 seed, so they don't have the motivation to win that contest. Denver did rest its starters on Friday, so that's something to monitor going into Sunday with the No. 3 seed on the line.
The Los Angeles Lakers host Utah and Houston hosts Memphis, so those two results are assumed. The Lakers can be the No. 3 seed with a win and a Denver loss.
Bracket Prediction
Play-In: No. 10 Golden State vs. No. 9 LA Clippers
Play-In: No. 8 Portland vs. No. 7 Phoenix
No. 6 Minnesota vs. No. 3 Denver
No. 5 Houston vs. No. 4 Los Angeles Lakers
Play-In Winner vs. No. 2 San Antonio
Play-In Winner vs. No. 1 Oklahoma City
