The final day of the 2025-26 NBA regular season arrives Sunday, April 12, and multiple Eastern and Western Conference teams still have their Playoff and Play-In positioning hanging in the balance. With the Play-In Tournament set for April 14-17 and first-round games beginning April 18, Sunday’s results will finalize the bracket.
Current standings through Friday show the Detroit Pistons (59-22) locked as the East’s No. 1 seed and the Oklahoma City Thunder (64-17) as the West’s top seed. Boston, New York and Cleveland hold the East’s 2-4 spots, while San Antonio sits No. 2 in the West and Houston and Minnesota are secure at 5 and 6.
In the East, the battle for seeds 5-10 remains wide open. The official scenarios chart details exactly how Sunday’s games — Orlando at Boston, Atlanta at Miami, Charlotte at New York, Milwaukee at Philadelphia and Brooklyn at Toronto — will reshape the order.
For example, if Orlando wins at Boston while other results fall certain ways, the Magic could climb or hold a higher seed with home-court advantage in the Play-In. Multiple rows in the chart show Atlanta winning at Miami combined with specific outcomes from Charlotte and Milwaukee games pushing the Hawks into the No. 5 or 6 spot, giving them a more favorable path. Conversely, losses by Toronto, Philadelphia or Miami could drop them into the 9-10 range, forcing them to play on the road in the 9-10 game and then potentially a win-or-go-home contest.
The chart uses color coding to illustrate these shifts: certain combinations turn cells red or blue to show a team landing in the 7th (host 8th), 8th, 9th (host 10th) or 10th seed. One win or loss in the right (or wrong) game can easily swap a team from hosting a Play-In game to traveling for survival.
Out West, Denver (53-28) and the Lakers (51-29) are fighting for the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds. The scenarios table shows that if Denver beats San Antonio and the Lakers lose to Utah, Denver could secure the No. 3 spot and home-court in the first round. Other combinations flip them to No. 4.
Lower down, the chart highlights how Sacramento at Portland and Golden State at the Clippers will decide seeds 8 and 9. Specific win-loss pairings could move Portland or the Clippers into the No. 8 spot (hosting the 9th) versus dropping to No. 9 and facing a tougher road. Phoenix currently holds No. 7, but the 8-9 outcome directly impacts who faces higher seeds after the Play-In.
