Decisões Cruciais nos Playoffs da NBA: O Que Estão em Jogo no Último Dia da Competição

⏱️ 10 min de leitura

Tim BontempsApr 11, 2026, 08:00 AM ET
Close

Multiple Authors

There is plenty left to play for on the final day of the NBA regular season.

Sunday’s 15-game slate will decide the play-in tournament pictures in each conference and which lottery-bound teams improve their odds ahead of the strong 2026 draft.

Whether the goal is to begin the chase for the Larry O’Brien Trophy, or to wait and see who will have the right to choose between AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer come June, here’s everything at stake heading into Sunday’s 2025-26 regular-season finale.

Jump to a section:
Current playoff matchups
East playoff picture | West playoff picture
Today’s schedule | Friday’s scores
Race for No. 1 pick

Current NBA playoff matchups

Eastern Conference playoffs

1. Detroit Pistons vs. 8. Play-in winner TBD
2. Boston Celtics vs. 7. Play-in winner TBD
3. New York Knicks vs. 6. Toronto Raptors
4. Cleveland Cavaliers vs. 5. Atlanta Hawks

Eastern Conference play-in

7. Orlando Magic vs. 8. Philadelphia 76ers
9. Charlotte Hornets vs. 10. Miami Heat
Loser 7/8 vs. Winner 9/10

Western Conference playoffs

1. Oklahoma City Thunder vs. 8. Play-in winner TBD
2. San Antonio Spurs vs. 7. Play-in winner TBD
3. Denver Nuggets vs. 6. Minnesota Timberwolves
4. Los Angeles Lakers vs. 5. Houston Rockets

Western Conference play-in

7. Phoenix Suns vs. 8. Portland Trail Blazers
9. LA Clippers vs. 10. Golden State Warriors
Loser 7/8 vs. Winner 9/10

Eastern Conference

1. Detroit Pistons (locked)

The Pistons long ago clinched the top spot in the East standings. They await their first-round opponent at the conclusion of next week’s play-in tournament.

2. Boston Celtics (locked)

Boston capped off its fantastic regular season by claiming the second seed and now will await the winner of the 7-8 play-in game Tuesday night. The Celtics are the betting favorites to emerge from the East playoffs yet again — a remarkable turn of events less than a year after Jayson Tatum suffered a torn Achilles.

3. New York Knicks (locked)

New York will be the third seed, and Sunday’s games will decide whether it hosts Toronto or Atlanta in Round 1.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers (locked)

Friday’s loss to the Hawks ensured Cleveland would be the 4-seed, setting up a matchup with Toronto or Atlanta.

5/6. Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks, who clinched the Southeast Division on Friday, are on a 20-5 run heading into the final day of the regular season. If Atlanta beats Miami on Sunday, it will be the 5-seed. If Atlanta loses, it can still get the five seed if Toronto loses, or Orlando beats Boston.

5/6/7/8. Toronto Raptors

Toronto had a chance to win its way to fifth, but instead lost to the Knicks on Friday night at Madison Square Garden. A Raptors win Sunday against Brooklyn would guarantee a top-6 seed, and Toronto would rise to fifth if Atlanta and Orlando both lose.

6/7/8. Orlando Magic

The Magic have won five of six games after a roller-coaster March. If Orlando wins Sunday in Boston, it will clinch the seventh seed and a home game Tuesday against Philadelphia. A Magic win combined with a Raptors loss would vault Orlando into the top six.

6/7/8. Philadelphia 76ers

While Joel Embiid remains sidelined after undergoing an emergency appendectomy, the Sixers do have a matchup with the lottery-bound Bucks. A Philly win and an Orlando loss would give the 76ers seventh and drop Orlando to eighth.

9/10. Charlotte Hornets

It’s been an unbelievable turnaround for Charlotte, which started 16-28 and will end the regular season with the franchise’s most wins in a decade. The Hornets, however, are all but locked into the 9-10 game. They will host it with a win Sunday against the Knicks, but a loss paired with a Miami win would drop the Hornets to 10th.

9/10. Miami Heat

It’s been a disastrous final stretch for the Heat, who have tumbled from top-6 contention to the likely 10th seed and needing two road wins to reach the playoffs — just like Miami pulled off last season.

Western Conference

1. Oklahoma City Thunder (locked)

A pair of wins this week in Los Angeles secured the third straight 1-seed for the defending champions.

2. San Antonio Spurs (locked)

The Spurs are 30-3 entering the final game of the season against the Nuggets. San Antonio will face the winner of the 7/8 play-in game in the first round.

3/4. Denver Nuggets

Denver has won 11 straight games heading into Sunday’s regular-season finale, but if the Nuggets lose and the Lakers win Sunday, they will fall to fourth. Two years ago, a loss to the Spurs in the final week of the season cost the Nuggets the 1-seed in the West.

3/4. Los Angeles Lakers

What a difference a couple of weeks makes. When April began, the Lakers had the inside track on the 3-seed and felt like they had turned themselves into a Western Conference threat. Now, though, the Lakers have limped into the playoffs without home-court advantage against Houston and with their two leading scorers, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, likely out for the first round with injuries.

5. Houston Rockets (locked)

The Rockets’ loss Friday snapped an eight-game winning streak. It also took away any chance Houston had to host a first-round series. Houston will face the Lakers or Nuggets.

6. Minnesota Timberwolves (locked)

Minnesota has been locked into the 6-seed for nearly a week and will face either Denver or Los Angeles in the first round.

7. Phoenix Suns (locked)

It’s been a fantastic season for Phoenix, which has far exceeded all reasonable expectations for the Suns heading into it. And while Phoenix is going to fall just short of escaping the play-in, it will host two games while only needing to win one to get in.

8/9. Portland Trail Blazers

After a win against the Clippers on Friday night, the Blazers need to beat Sacramento at home Sunday night to secure the 8-seed — and two chances at reaching their first playoffs since 2021.

8/9. LA Clippers

The Clippers turned a disastrous 6-21 start into a play-in appearance, but Friday’s loss means Sunday’s game against Golden State is likely a preview of the 9-10 game.

10. Golden State Warriors (locked)

Golden State has been locked into the 10-seed for quite some time and will be hoping to have both Stephen Curry and Kristaps Porzingis available for the 9-10 game in Portland or Los Angeles on Wednesday. If both stars play, the Warriors should feel confident about their chances.

Race for the No. 1 pick

1. Washington Wizards

Friday’s loss locked Washington into the top spot in the NBA draft lottery, meaning it can’t fall further than fifth.

2. Indiana Pacers

Indiana has clinched a top-3 spot in the lottery, which is all a team needs to do to maximize its percentage at the top pick (14%). Because of the Ivica Zubac trade in February, Sunday’s game against Detroit only matters for the possibility of Indiana winning and moving into a tie with Brooklyn for the league’s second-worst record. That would cause a coin flip to see which team will finish higher if they don’t move up in the lottery. If the Pacers don’t land a top-four pick via the lottery, their pick goes to the LA Clippers.

3. Brooklyn Nets

Three wins in the past two weeks led to some stress over the past few days in Brooklyn, but the combination of losing to Indiana Thursday and Milwaukee on Friday and both Utah and Sacramento winning Friday means the Nets have locked in a top three spot in the lottery, and thus guaranteeing the highest possible chance of moving up.

Losing to Toronto on Sunday would open the possibility of Indiana beating Detroit and moving into a tie with Brooklyn, where a coin flip would determine both teams’ draft order if both aren’t selected in the draft lottery.

4. (tie) Utah Jazz

Both Utah and Sacramento won Friday, leaving both teams tied for fourth in the lottery standings. If still tied after Sunday’s games, a coin flip would determine which order the teams will pick in if neither moves up in next month’s draft lottery.

4. (tie) Sacramento Kings

The Kings have gone 8-9 over the past two weeks to fall out of the top three in the lottery. They missed a chance to claim fourth place in the lottery standings outright by defeating Golden State on Friday. They finish with a motivated Portland team Sunday.

6 (tie). Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks have navigated to sixth in the lottery standings by losing 30 of their past 36 games. A loss to the Bulls on Sunday would keep Dallas ahead of New Orleans and Memphis.

6. (tie) Memphis Grizzlies

Going 2-20 in their past 22 games has put the Grizzlies in position to get a high pick in this year’s draft, but their final positioning will be determined by what happens with Dallas and New Orleans Sunday. After losing to Utah on Friday, the Grizzlies will likely lose to Houston. The Grizzlies will then be rooting for Dallas to beat Chicago and break the tie for sixth. Assuming the two teams remain tied, a coin flip will determine the order they’ll pick if neither moves up in the lottery.

8. New Orleans Pelicans

New Orleans doesn’t have control of its pick, and yet has still sat its veterans for the past few games. Assuming the Pelicans do the same again Sunday in Minnesota, they will either be eighth in the lottery by themselves, or will move into a tie with Memphis and/or Dallas if one or both teams win Sunday.

9. Chicago Bulls

Chicago’s loss to Orlando on Friday, coupled with Milwaukee’s win over Brooklyn, has the Bulls sitting by themselves in ninth in the lottery standings. But if Chicago beats Dallas and Philly beats Milwaukee on Sunday, the Bulls and Bucks will be tied, with a postseason coin flip to determine which team will pick ninth.