2026 NBA playoff picture: Who would be in bracket if season ended today?

There’s 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 jockeying for playoff seeding beneath them have turned into this into a race worth monitoring with so little time left before the postseason starts.

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Over the past week, the Minnesota Timberwolves have surged past the Denver Nuggets into the top four of the Western Conference and could soon pass the Houston Rockets for the No. 3 seed. Including the Los Angeles Lakers, there are four teams out west duking it out for the chance to have home-court advantage in a first-round playoff series. The top four in the Eastern Conference is more entrenched, with the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers likely to join the Pistons barring a poor close to the regular season.

But how those teams shake out in terms of seeding could have a profound effect on later rounds in the playoffs and matchups. The seeding for the play-in tournament is also a dynamic situation, although there isn’t currently much drama regarding the four play-in teams in the Eastern or Western Conferences due to the tanking dynamics at play.

Here’s a breakdown of the current NBA playoff picture, including what teams would make the postseason if the regular season ended today:

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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents

Oct. 26: The Dallas Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg dunks the ball past the Toronto Raptors’ Sandro Mamukelashvili at the American Airlines Center.

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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents

Oct. 26: The Dallas Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg dunks the ball past the Toronto Raptors’ Sandro Mamukelashvili at the American Airlines Center.

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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents

Oct. 26: The Washington Wizards’ Cam Whitmore dunks the ball against the Charlotte Hornets at Capital One Arena.

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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA…

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Publish date : 2026-03-05 19:18:00

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