The NBA regular season came to an end on Sunday with a round of 15 games. Essa round defined 10 of the 20 direct places in the playoffs. The other places come from the play-in tournament, which starts next week. The top four positions in each conference were already guaranteed before the last round. Equipes from the middle of the table were still competing for better seeds or entry into the play-in.
On Conferência Leste, Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers held positions 1 to 4. Detroit finished with 59 wins and 22 losses in the lead. Boston got 55-26, New York got 53-28 and Cleveland got 51-30. The teams of Detroit Pistons0, Detroit Pistons1, Detroit Pistons2, Detroit Pistons3, Detroit Pistons4 and Detroit Pistons5 fought for the remaining positions.
Atlanta Hawks entered the day in fifth place. A victory against Miami Heat guaranteed fifth place. Derrota required specific results from Orlando and Toronto to maintain better position. Toronto Raptors, in sixth, they needed Atlanta to win and lose and Orlando to move up to fifth. Orlando Magic, in seventh, and Philadelphia 76ers, in eighth, also depended on combinations of results to improve or guarantee a direct place.
Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat were fighting for the last positions. Hornets, in ninth, guaranteed ninth place with victory or defeat by Miami. Heat, in tenth, they depended on Charlotte’s victory and defeat to move up. The Leste play-in involves teams in seventh and tenth place.
Conference Oeste maintains high positions
At Conferência Oeste, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs lead handily. Oklahoma City It reached 64-17. San Antonio finished 62-19. Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors also had secured positions before Sunday.
Denver Nuggets entered the day in third place. Vitória or defeat of Los Angeles Lakers guaranteed third place. Lakers, in fourth, needed a victory and defeat of Nuggets to move up to third. Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers were competing for the eighth and ninth places, which define the play-in.
Portland, in eighth, guaranteed the position with the victory or defeat of Clippers. Clippers, in ninth, depended on the defeat or victory of Blazers to maintain itself. The Oeste play-in includes Phoenix Suns against the winner of Portland or Clippers, among other brackets.
Play-in format and start of playoffs
SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament takes place between April 14th and 17th. No Leste, the seventh faces the eighth, and the ninth faces the tenth. The winner of the 7-8 game advances straight through. The loser faces the 9-10 winner for the last spot.
In Oeste, the format is the same. Times Already classified, they await the play-in results to find out their first opponents. The playoffs proper begin on April 18th.
Main finishing positions confirmed
- Conference Leste:
- 1st: Detroit Pistons (59-22)
- 2nd: Boston Celtics (55-26)
- 3rd: New York Knicks (53-28)
- 4th: Cleveland Cavaliers (51-30)
- Conference Oeste:
- 1st: Oklahoma City Thunder (64-17)
- 2nd: San Antonio Spurs (62-19)
- 5th: Houston Rockets (51-30)
- 6th: Minnesota Timberwolves (48-33)
Teams competing for positions on Sunday adjusted their seeds based on the results of the round. Nenhuma Change occurred in the top four positions on each side.
Impact on early matchups
With the positions defined, the playoff bracket takes shape. Detroit Pistons, as the first of Leste, awaits the winner of the play-in. The same goes for Oklahoma City Thunder in Oeste. Equipes like New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets know possible starting paths.
The play-in tournament decides the last four spots. Times with the best campaign in the regular season, they have a home court advantage in decisive games. The 2025-26 season showed balance in several classification fights.
