Playoff seeding, key injuries fuel intrigue in NBA regular seaon final week
The final week of the 2025-26 NBA regular season could have some needed drama, with big games every day as teams jockey for playoff position.
The NBA's tanking issue has largely overshadowed the stretch run of the 2025-26 season and the race for seeding ahead of the postseason to this point. But the final week of the schedule has set the stage for some needed drama, with games every day that loom large as teams jockey for playoff position and try to avoid the play-in tournament. Though the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs have locked up the top two spots in the Western Conference, and the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics are comfortably positioned atop the Eastern Conference, there's plenty at stake for the rest of the postseason bracket and several key injuries that could impact the next few days and the start of the 2026 NBA playoffs.
Here's a breakdown at some key storylines as the NBA begins the final week of the 2025-26 regular season: NBA POWER RANKINGS: Where do Lakers go with Luka Donฤiฤ injury? NBA playoff picture Perhaps the most compelling race entering the final week of the NBA regular season centers around the Western Conference teams that will hold home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Thunder and Spurs are locked into the top two seeds, but the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets are in a logjam beneath them.
The Lakers have the same record as the Nuggets (50-28) entering Monday, with the Rockets just one game behind after reeling off a sixth-straight win Sunday, April 5 against the Golden State Warriors . Two games separate the No. 6 seed from the No.
10 seed in the Eastern Conference entering Monday's NBA slate as the Philadelphia 76ers try to fend off the Toronto Raptors, Charlotte Hornets, Orlando Magic and Miami Heat in a race to avoid the play-in tournament. The Raptors and Heat notably play one another in back-to-back games in Toronto this week. There's also some intrigue playing out ahead of the Western Conference play-in tournament, with the Los Angeles Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers tied in their pursuit of the No.
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