The stretch run is heating up. The Detroit Pistons are almost a lock to finish the season as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, but there is still much else to be determined over the final 43 days of the season. With the regular season ending on April 12, 2026, every remaining game carries playoff weight.
OKC and San Antonio will likely be the top two seeds in the West. The Oklahoma City Thunder are positioned strongly for another championship run—the Oklahoma City Thunder became the first team to clinch a spot in the postseason after beating the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, March 1, to move to 47-15. If the Thunder are able to hold off the San Antonio Spurs and hold onto the No. 1 spot, it will be the second straight season they finish as the top seed in the Western Conference.
Behind them, over the past week, the Minnesota Timberwolves have surged past the Denver Nuggets into the top four of the Western Conference and could soon pass the Houston Rockets for the No. 3 seed. The scheduling advantage matters. The remaining schedule for every team is sorted by cumulative opponent winning percentage, and those seeding matchups in the final weeks will shape home-court advantage in the playoffs.
Both the Spurs and Celtics are 2.5 games back of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Detroit Pistons after Sunday's action. Boston feels like it has the better opportunity to claim the No. 1 seed in its conference because of Jayson Tatum's return and Detroit's current losing run. For the Lakers, things are more complicated. There are 158 games remaining that involve two of the 21 teams that are still competing for playoff or Play-In position (the current top 10 in each conference plus the Milwaukee Bucks). There are plenty of big games left to be played and much at stake, whether it be home-court advantage in the playoffs, an automatic berth (via a top-six finish) or positioning in the Play-In, where every spot has an advantage over the one below. The Thunder's recent momentum shows how momentum shifts can define the remainder of the race.
The 2026 SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament will take place on April 14-17. The first round of the NBA Playoffs starts on April 18. Every win and loss from now until April 12 directly impacts seeding, playoff matchups, and the road to the Finals. The schedule isn't just a formality—it's the final test before everything counts.