2026 NBA Playoffs: Clinching scenarios and standings on April 12

[ASFN Admin]

With the conclusion of the 2025-26 regular season on Sunday, several teams around the NBA are still battling for positioning in the standings ahead of the playoffs on April 19.

The top six teams in each conference will earn an outright playoff berth at the conclusion of the regular season. The next four teams will compete in the play-in tournament on April 14-17 for the last two seeds in each conference, respectively.

The 20 teams bound for the postseason are locked in, either via a playoff berth or a spot in the play-in tournament. Ten seeds remain undetermined entering the last game day of the season, including six alone in the Eastern Conference.

Every team in the NBA is set to hit the court on Sunday, with several key matchups and clinching scenarios to monitor throughout the evening.

What are the matchups on Sunday?​

All 30 teams take the floor on the final day of the regular season

In the East:

Raptors, Magic, 76ers all still in contention for final automatic playoff spot
Hawks can finish in 5 or 6 spot
Raptors can finish any spot 5-8
Magic can finish any spot 6-8
76ers… pic.twitter.com/fjWp9yiVnh

— NBA (@NBA) April 12, 2026

Playoff Picture​

NBA STANDINGS UPDATE

SAS (#2 in West) wins 3rd straight
DEN (#3 in West) wins 11th straight
NYK (#3 in East) wins 5th straight
ATL rises to #5 in East, clinches an Eastern Conference top 6 seed
ORL (#7 in East) wins 5th straight
POR rises to #8 in West pic.twitter.com/rVl9vU7ks8

— NBA (@NBA) April 11, 2026

Which teams have clinched a playoff berth?​

Western Conference:

1. Oklahoma City Thunder (64-17)
2. San Antonio Spurs (62-19)
3. Denver Nuggets (53-28)
4. Los Angeles Lakers (52-29)
5. Houston Rockets (51-30)
6. Minnesota Timberwolves (48-33)

Eastern Conference:

1. Detroit Pistons (59-22)
2. Boston Celtics (55-26)
3. New York Knicks (53-28)
4. Cleveland Cavaliers (51-30)
5. Atlanta Hawks (46-35)

Seeding Possibilities​

Seeds still to be determined entering the regular-season finale Sunday:

West: Nos. 3 and 4; Nos. 8 and 9
East: Nos. 5–10

Complete possibilities pic.twitter.com/yK4Yhixaiw

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 11, 2026

Scenarios​

Complete Playoff & Play-In scenarios for Sunday's games.

See how each result impacts seeding pic.twitter.com/6b8Wdv67h3

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 11, 2026

This article originally appeared on Rookie Wire: 2026 NBA Playoffs: Clinching scenarios and standings on April 12

Continue reading...