2026 NBA Playoffs Image: Who would be in the bracket if the season ended today?
There is movement afoot in the NBA standings, and that’s notable with just over five weeks remaining in the 2025-26 regular season and so many teams already in tank mode.
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Detroit Pistons remain entrenched atop their respective conferences, but the teams fighting for playoff seeding below them have turned into a race worth monitoring with so little time left before the start of the postseason.
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In the last week, the Minnesota Timberwolves moved past the Denver Nuggets into the top four of the Western Conference and could soon overtake the Houston Rockets for third place. Including the Los Angeles Lakers, there are four teams out west vying for a chance to have home-court advantage in a first-round playoff series. The top four players in the Eastern Conference are more entrenched, with the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers likely to join the Pistons barring a poor finish to the regular season.
But how these teams develop in terms of seeding could have a profound effect on later playoff rounds and matchups. Seeding for the play-in tournament is also a dynamic situation, although there isn’t much drama currently regarding the four play-in teams in the Eastern or Western Conferences due to the tanking dynamics at play.
Here’s a summary of the current NBA playoff picture, including which teams would make the postseason if the regular season ended today:
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NBA playoffs bracket
Records and rankings of matches played on Wednesday 4 March:
Eastern Conference
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Cleveland Cavaliers (39-24)
Western Conference
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San Antonio Spurs (44-17)
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Golden State Warriors (31-30)
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Los Angeles Clippers (30-31)
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Portland Trail Blazers (30-33)
When does the NBA regular season end?
The final day of the regular season is Sunday, April 12.
When is the NBA play-in tournament?
The NBA play-in tournament will begin on Tuesday, April 14 and conclude on Friday, April 17.
How does the NBA play-in tournament work?
The tournament is divided into two groups for each conference:
Round 1
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Game 1: seed no. 7 vs. seed no. 8
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Game 2: No. seed 9 against no. seed 10
The No. 7 and No. 9 seeds play at home in the first round. The winner of Game 1 secures the No. seed. 7 in their respective conference playoff bracket. The loser of Game 1 continues to the second round and hosts the winner of Game 2. The loser of Game 2 is eliminated from playoff contention.
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Round 2
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Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 winner
The winner of this match secures the number 8 and final seed in the playoffs. The loser is eliminated from playoff contention.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2026 NBA playoff bracket if the regular season ended today