With seven days remaining in the 2024-25 NBA regular season, the league’s playoff picture is taking shape and races for seeding are heating up. Just about every team and fan is paying attention to the standings at this point, and we’re going to be bringing you the most updated picture of where everything stands, every day, from now until the close of play on Sunday, April 13.
The Thunder have already clinched the West’s No. 1 seed and home-court advantage through at least the first three rounds of the playoffs. But the rest of the West sees intriguing races for pretty much every other seed. The No. 2 Rockets clinched a playoff spot earlier this week. After that, the Lakers, Nuggets, Warriors and Timberwolves round out the top six spots ahead of Saturday’s games, while the Clippers and Grizzlies have the same record as Minnesota.
Golden State beat Denver on Friday, for its fifth straight win, and coupled with the Lakers’ win, Los Angeles climbed into the No. 3 spot in the West. The Warriors are now within half a game of both No. 3 Lakers and No. 4 Nuggets.
Things are less jumbled in the East as the Pistons became the fifth team to clinch a playoff berth. The Cavaliers maintain a five-game lead over the No. 2 Celtics, who are 9-1 over their past 10 games and set an NBA record on Friday. The Knicks seem likely to secure the No. 3 seed in the East as they hold a 2.5-game lead over the playoff-bound Pacers in the No. 4 spot.
One of the biggest stories coming out of the East is Detroit, which punched its ticket Friday with a 117-105 win over the Raptors. It’s been a remarkable turnaround for a franchise that won an NBA-low 14 games just last year.
We know the 10 teams that are going to make the postseason in the East. The Hawks and Magic are still fighting, while the Bulls and Heat are locked in as two of the East’s four play-in teams in 2025. In the West, the Suns are trying to get the last postseason spot, but their chances took a hit recently with Kevin Durant’s injury, and the Trailblazers are not too far behind.
The Thunder have a real chance to win 70 games and make NBA history, but do they even want to?
Sam Quinn
Entering play on Saturday, April 5, here is the 2024-25 NBA playoff picture.
Who’s clinched?
- The Thunder clinched the No. 1 seed in the West, while the Rockets have also clinched a playoff spot.
- The Cavaliers, Celtics, Knicks, Pacers and Pistons have clinched playoff spots in the East.
NBA playoff picture
If the season ended today…
East first-round matchups
1. Cavaliers vs. 8. Magic/Hawks/Heat/Bulls
2. Celtics vs. 7. Magic/Hawks
3. Knicks vs. 6. Bucks
4. Pacers vs. 5. Pistons
West first-round matchups
1. Thunder vs. 8. Timberwolves/Clippers/Mavericks/Kings
2. Rockets vs. 7. Timberwolves/Clippers
3. Lakers vs. 6. Timberwolves
4. Nuggets vs. 5. Warriors
NBA standings
Playoff chances are based on SportsLine simulations.
Eastern Conference standings
| Rank | Team | W | L | GB | Playoff chances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cleveland – x | 62 | 15 | — | 100% |
| 2 | Boston – x | 57 | 20 | 5.0 | 100% |
| 3 | New York – x | 48 | 28 | 13.5 | 100% |
| 4 | Indiana – x | 46 | 31 | 16.0 | 100% |
| 5 | Detroit – x | 43 | 34 | 19.0 | 100% |
| 6 | Milwaukee | 42 | 34 | 19.5 | 89.7% |
| — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7 | Orlando | 38 | 40 | 24.5 | 79.2% |
| 8 | Atlanta | 36 | 40 | 25.5 | 79.8% |
| 9 | Miami | 35 | 42 | 27.0 | 23.9% |
| 10 | Chicago | 35 | 42 | 27.0 | 36.1% |
Western Conference standings
| Rank | Team | W | L | GB | Playoff chances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma City – x | 64 | 13 | — | 100% |
| 2 | Houston – x | 51 | 27 | 13.5 | 100% |
| 3 | L.A. Lakers | 46 | 29 | 17.0 | 98.2% |
| 4 | Denver | 47 | 30 | 17.5 | 98.5% |
| 5 | Golden St. | 44 | 31 | 18.0 | 95.9% |
| 6 | Minnesota | 44 | 32 | 19.0 | 91.8% |
| — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7 | L.A. Clippers | 44 | 32 | 19.0 | 89.4% |
| 8 | Memphis | 44 | 32 | 19.0 | 79.2% |
| 9 | Dallas | 38 | 39 | 26.5 | 17.9% |
| 10 | Sacramento | 36 | 40 | 27.0 | 27.2% |
| — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 11 | Phoenix | 35 | 41 | 29.0 | 1.8% |
x = clinched playoff spot
As a reminder: the top six teams in each conference automatically get spots in the 16-team playoff field. The final four playoff spots will be determined by the Play-In Tournament, which will feature Nos. 7-10 in each conference. The seventh-place team hosts the eight-place team to earn the No. 7 seed. The loser of that game will face the winner of a game between the ninth- and 10th-place teams for the No. 8 seed.
