NBA playoff and play-in clinching scenarios: How Sunday's games will impact standings, bracket

NBA playoff and play-in clinching scenarios: How Sunday's games will impact standings, bracket originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The NBA playoffs are almost here, but first, all 30 teams have to play their final game of the regular season.

While most of the playoff spots are already decided, there's still some seeding up for grabs as each team plays their last game. At the very least, teams know if their season is ending on Sunday or if they will play another game this year.

There are no elimination games on Sunday, but a few teams can avoid the Play-In Tournament with a win and some help tonight. The Eastern Conference features more scenarios than the Western Conference, but not a whole lot has been made official yet.

Here's a look at the NBA playoff scenarios for the final day of the regular season.

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What NBA games are on today?

All 30 teams play their final game of the regular season today. In some cases, the games will help decide seeding for the playoffs and play-in tournament. In others, the game is simply a way to close out the season without much impact.

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Today's NBA playoff clinching scenarios

East

• No. 1: Detroit Pistons
• No. 2: Boston Celtics
• No. 3: New York Knicks
• No. 4: Cleveland Cavaliers
• No. 5: Atlanta Hawks
• No. 6: Toronto Raptors
• No. 7: Orlando Magic
• No. 8: Philadelphia 76ers
• No. 9: Charlotte Hornets
• No. 10: Miami Heat

The top four seeds in the east are locked up, along with the Hornets and Heat in the second play-in tournament. Additionally, the Hawks are guaranteed either the No. 5 or No. 6 seed. Here's a look at the scenarios.

For the No. 5 seed:

• The Hawks clinch with a win ORa Raptors loss and Magic win
• The Raptors clinch with a win, Hawks loss and Magic loss

For the No. 6 seed:

• The Hawks clinch with a loss, Raptors win and Magic loss
• The Raptors clinch with a win and Hawks win OR win and Magic win OR Magic loss and Sixers loss
• The Magic clinch with a win and Raptors loss
• The Sixers clinch with a win , Raptors loss and Magic loss

For the No 7 seed:

• The Magic clinch with a win and Raptors win OR Sixers loss and Raptors win
• The Raptors clinch with a loss and a Magic win
• The Sixers clinch with a win and losses by either Magic or Raptors

For the No. 8 seed:

• Sixers clinch with loss OR wins by Magic and Raptors
• Magic clinch with loss and Sixers win
• Raptors clinch with loss and wins by Sixers and Magic

For the No. 9 seed:

• Hornets clinch with win
• Heat clinch with win and Hornets loss

West

• No. 1: Oklahoma City Thunder
• No. 2: San Antonio Spurs
• No. 3: Denver Nuggets
• No. 4: Los Angeles Lakers
• No. 5: Houston Rockets
• No. 6: Minnesota Timberwolves
• No. 7: Phoenix Suns
• No. 8: Portland Trail Blazers
• No. 9: LA Clippers
• No. 10: Golden State Warriors

For the No. 3 seed:

• Nuggets clinch with a win
• Lakers clinch with a win and Nuggets loss

For the No. 4 seed:

• Lakers clinch with a loss OR Nuggets win
• Nuggets clinch with a loss and Lakers win

For the No. 8 seed:

• Trail Blazers clinch with a win
• Clippers clinch with a win and Trail Blazers loss

For the No. 9 seed:

• Clippers clinch with a loss OR a Trail Blazers win
• Trail Blazers clinch with a loss and Clippers win

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Updated NBA Playoff standings 2026

East

West

NBA playoff bracket 2026

Here's a how the playoff bracket looks entering the final day of the regular season.

Eastern Conference

• (1) Pistons vs. (8) Play-In Winner
• (2) Celtics vs. (7) Play-In Winner
• (3) Knicks vs. (6) Hawks/Raptors/Magic/Sixers
• (4) Cavaliers vs. (5) Hawks/Raptors

Western Conference

• (1) Thunder vs. (8) Play-In Winner
• (2) Spurs vs (7) Play-In Winner
• (3) Nuggets/Lakers vs. (6) Timberwolves
• (4) Nuggets/Lakers vs. (5) Rockets

NBA Play-In Tournament bracket 2026

• (7) Raptors/Magic/Sixers vs. (8) Magic/Sixers
• (9) Hornets/Heat vs. (10) Hornets/Heat

Western Conference

• (7) Suns vs. (8) Trail Blazers/Clippers
• (9) Trail Blazers/Clippers vs. (10) Warriors

When do the NBA Playoffs start

• Play-In Tournament: April 14-17
• **NBA Playoffs:**April 18

The NBA Play-In Tournament begins on Tuesday, April 14 and will run through Friday, April 17. Then, the NBA Playoffs officially begin on Saturday, April 18.

How will the 2026 NBA Playoffs work?

The 2026 NBA Playoffs will follow the same format as it has in year's past, which will include a Play-In Tournament to determine the final four spots. Here's how the format works:

• The Nos. 7 and 8 teams in both conferences will play to decide who will fill the No. 7 seed in the playoffs, playing the No. 2 seed.
• The next night, teams No. 9 and No. 10 will play in an elimination game, with the loser officially being eliminated from playoff contention.
• Finally, the loser from the 7 vs. 8 games and winner from the 9 vs. 10 games will play to decide who becomes the No. 8 seeds in the tournament.
• From there, the playoffs become a straight-forward bracket system for the rest of the postseason.