Celtics Notes: Tatum, Brown, Walsh, Vucevic, Garza
Jayson Tatum is grateful for his 16 regular season games, but the chance to compete for a title is the real reason he worked so hard to come back from a torn Achilles tendon, writes Jay King of The Athletic. The Celtics star will see his first playoff action on Sunday since suffering the injury in the second round last May.
“I didn’t even know if I was going to play this year,” he said, “so I get the opportunity to be a part of the team and play in the playoffs. I couldn’t be more grateful.”
Tatum admitted it can be “frustrating at times” to not fully be back at 100%, but he and the team were very successful in the games that he played. Boston went 13-3 with Tatum in the lineup and outscored opponents by 10.5 points per 100 possessions when he was on the court. He was on a minutes restriction in most of his games, but still averaged 21.8 points, 10 rebounds and 5.3 assists and his stats improved as he got used to playing again.
“I’m excited,” Tatum added. “My perspective has changed these last 48 weeks (since the injury). I remember when I got injured, there was a lot of uncertainty. The playoffs wasn’t a sure thing. And now that I get that opportunity, couldn’t be more happy.”
There’s more from Boston:
- The Celtics believe Tatum and Jaylen Brown are still improving in their ninth season together, Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe states in a subscriber-only piece. It’s an unusually long run for NBA teammates, and it has enabled both players to move into the top 10 on the career scoring list for the franchise. “I think it’s great, it’s been a historic sort of run,” Brown said. “We were able to deliver a championship in 2024. Unfortunately we had our opportunities in the past that got away from us, but we’ve been right there for a long amount of time. We gained a lot of experience. I personally gained a lot of experience. It’s been a pleasure.”
- After holding Tyrese Maxey to 1-of-9 shooting as his primary defender in a November game, Jordan Walsh is eager for the chance to match up with the Sixers guard in the playoffs, per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. “Just taking away tendencies and then knowing the small things that get under his skin,” Walsh said. “But I think the biggest thing is, like I’ve been saying all year, not letting the guy do what they want to do. Make them go to their second option, their third option, their second move, stuff like that. Like, if he wants to go right and do a step-back, just don’t let him do that. Make him do something else. And then usually we’ll live with the end result.”
- Coach Joe Mazzulla will face a tough decision on whether to give most of the backup center minutes to Nikola Vucevic or Luka Garza, Brian Robb of MassLive notes in a mailbag column. Vucevic is only shooting 43.9% from the field and 34% from beyond the arc since being acquired from Chicago in February, but he’s a more experienced option and Robb points out that the team’s overall net rating has been fine with him on the court.
Sixers Notes: George, Celtics Matchup, Maxey, Embiid
The Sixers and Celtics played four times during the regular season, but those meetings don’t offer much insight into the current version of both teams, writes Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required). Three of those games were early in the season and the final one took place March 1, shortly before Jayson Tatum returned from his Achilles injury. Philadelphia’s Paul George also missed all four games, either because of injuries or suspension.
Coach Nick Nurse talked about the importance of having George to help slow down Tatum and Jaylen Brown when the first-round series starts Sunday afternoon. George, who has averaged 21 points per game and shot 41.5% from three-point range since returning from the suspension, sidestepped a question at Saturday’s practice about the Sixers’ underdog status.
“That sounds like a little bulletin board material right there,” he said. “We’ve given them their respect. But at the end of the day, man, it’s competition. We’ve got to go and compete. They’ve got to go and compete. That’s just what it boils down to. … We’re not going to back down. They’re not going to back down.”
There’s more on the Sixers:
- Boston has two obvious advantages heading into the series, Mizell adds in the same piece. One is three-point shooting, where the Celtics rank third in makes per game (15.5) and eighth in percentage (36.7%), while the Sixers are 22nd (12.3) and 23rd (34.9%) in those categories. The other is Boston’s huge advantage in offensive rebounding, which was on display in the March 1 game as the Celtics pulled down 19 offensive boards and scored 30 second-chance points. “The last game we played against them, we lost because we didn’t rebound,” Dominick Barlow said. “I think that’s going to be the game.”
- Philadelphia will need big scoring numbers from its backcourt combination of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe to have a chance in the series, notes Tony Jones of The Athletic. Maxey is looking forward to being back on the playoff stage in the wake of last year’s disastrous season. “Being in the playoffs means everything,” he said. “It means everything, man. The way last season went, I just didn’t want to have that feeling again. I challenged myself last summer, and I feel like I rose to that challenge. We’re here now, and we’re in the playoffs and that’s what matters the most.”
- Joel Embiid‘s status is uncertain as he recovers from an appendectomy, and Nurse refused to speculate on whether his star center will be available beyond the series opener (Twitter video link from PHLY Sports.) “I’m preparing for Sunday’s game, and I know he’s not playing in that one,” Nurse told reporters. “That’s all — we’re just zeroed in on trying to see, can we go in there and get ready to battle.”
Details On NBA’s Playoff Bonus Money For 2025/26
The pool of bonus money for NBA playoff teams this season is worth approximately $36MM, according to Kurt Badenhausen and Lev Akabas of Sportico.
The top six teams in each conference earn bonuses based on their regular season records, while the 16 playoff teams also receive a chunk of money from the playoff pool, increasing the value of their payout with each series win. That bonus money is divvied up among the players on each club’s 15-man roster.
Teams eliminated in the play-in tournament aren’t entitled to any of the playoff bonus money, even if they had the seventh- or eighth-best regular season record in their conference.
The breakdown for 2026’s playoff pool money is as follows (rounded to the nearest thousand), per Sportico:
Regular season achievements:
- Best record in NBA (Thunder): $896K
- No. 1 seeds in each conference (Pistons, Thunder): $784K per team
- No. 2 seeds (Celtics, Spurs): $628K per team
- No. 3 seeds (Knicks, Nuggets): $471K per team
- No. 4 seeds (Cavaliers, Lakers): $384K per team
- No. 5 seeds (Raptors, Rockets): $297K per team
- No. 6 seeds (Hawks, Timberwolves): $210K per team
Postseason achievements:
- Teams participating in first round (all 16 playoff teams — the 12 listed above, plus the Sixers, Trail Blazers, and Friday’s play-in winners): $481K per team
- Teams participating in conference semifinals (eight teams): $586K per team
- Teams participating in conference finals (four teams): $980K per team
- Losing team in NBA Finals: $3,921,000
- Winning team in NBA Finals: $9,078,000
A team that makes a deep playoff run will cash in on more than one of the bonuses listed above.
For example, if the Thunder win the championship, their payout from the playoff pool would be worth more than $12.8MM in total — that amount would include their bonuses for posting the NBA’s best record, claiming the West’s No. 1 seed, making the first round, making the conference semifinals, making the conference finals, and winning the NBA Finals.
The total amount of the playoff bonus pool, which is based on a formula connected to basketball-related income (BRI), is up 3% from last season, according to Badenhausen and Akabas.
Sixers Clinch Playoff Spot, Will Face Celtics In First Round
The Sixers got 31 points from Tyrese Maxey on Wednesday as they claimed the seventh seed in the East with a 109-97 win over the Magic. Maxey broke open a tight game by scoring seven straight points late in the fourth quarter to give Philadelphia a victory in front of its home fans. Orlando lost the opportunity to host the play-in matchup by falling to Boston on Sunday in the final game of the regular season.
Sixers players got a pregame surprise as Joel Embiid greeted them in locker room for the first time since undergoing an emergency appendectomy last week in Houston, according to Dan Gelston of The Associated Press. There’s still no timetable for Embiid to return, but he felt well enough to watch Wednesday’s game from the bench.
Adem Bona got the start at center in place of Embiid, but veteran Andre Drummond had the more effective night, according to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports. Drummond finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, three steals and three blocks in nearly 32 minutes and helped to offset Orlando’s natural advantage on the boards. Drummond also went 2-of-3 from three-point range, and Neubeck observes that he has become more comfortable knocking down corner threes.
Rookie guard VJ Edgecombe contributed 19 points and 11 rebounds in his first postseason appearance and pushed the ball on the fast break several times in an otherwise slow game, Neubeck adds. He noted that Orlando’s vaunted defensive guards had trouble keeping up with Edgecombe when he reached full speed.
“I was tweaking a little bit tonight,” Edgecombe said (Twitter video link). “… I guess that happens when you let a kid play in such a high intensity game. I was out there having fun. If I gotta play wild for us to win, I’ll play wild.”
The Sixers’ victory sets up a first-round series against the Celtics, with Game 1 set for 1:00 pm ET on Sunday. The NBA announced that this will be the 23rd playoff meeting between the two teams, making it the most frequent matchup in the league’s postseason history.
The Magic will host the Hornets at 7:30 pm ET on Friday with the No. 8 seed in the East up for grabs. The winner will face the Pistons in the first round with the opening game set for 6:30 pm ET on Sunday.
Poll: Who Will Win Wednesday’s Play-In Games?
Entering the 2025/26 season, both the Clippers and Warriors were widely projected to finish among the top seven teams in the Western Conference, with Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and Ivica Zubac leading the way for L.A. and Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler as the co-stars in Golden State.
Nearly six months later, much has changed for both teams.
The Clippers, who have been the subject of an NBA investigation all season long due to allegations of salary-cap circumvention, got off to a miserable 6-21 start that had fans questioning whether blowing up the roster at the trade deadline was a real possibility for the club. L.A. rebounded nicely, finishing the season on a 36-19 run to get above .500 (42-40), but the team did break up its veteran core at the deadline after all, sending Harden to Cleveland and Zubac to Indiana.
The Clippers got enough back in those deals – including two-time All-Star Darius Garland – to remain competitive, especially with Leonard staying healthy and delivering a vintage season. But his future in Los Angeles remains a major question mark as he and the Clippers fight to earn a playoff spot this spring.
In Golden State, the Warriors’ star duo was broken up by an injury rather than a trade. Butler suffered a torn ACL in January that prematurely ended his season, while Curry went down shortly after that with a knee injury that kept him on the shelf for over two months. Without their top two scorers, the Warriors’ offense predictably nosedived — of the 20 teams that eventually made the postseason, none had a worse offensive rating from February 1 onward than Golden State. And none entered the play-in tournament with a worse record than the Warriors’ 37-45 mark.
Curry is back for the play-in tournament, but he’s still not at 100%, having played no more than 29 minutes in any of his four tune-up games at the end of the season. And without Butler available, the Warriors’ ceiling is limited.
Still, these are two veteran clubs with a ton of postseason experience between them, so Wednesday’s win-or-go-home game in L.A. will be a fascinating one. The No. 9 Clippers are currently favored over the No. 10 Warriors by about five points by most sportsbooks.
Before the Warriors and Clippers tip off, the Sixers and Magic will face one another in Philadelphia in Wednesday’s early game to determine which team will get the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference.
The 76ers have looked like a dangerous team at times in 2025/26, but the inconsistent availability of Joel Embiid and Paul George has once again made it hard for them to generate a ton of momentum. While Philadelphia posted a 24-14 record when Embiid played this season, he’s currently unavailable after undergoing an emergency appendectomy last week.
The Sixers were a sub-.500 team with Embiid inactive this season, but the good news is that both George and Tyrese Maxey are ready to go this week, and the club went 20-14 in the games they played together this season.
The 76ers are favored by two points against the Magic, who were viewed by oddsmakers as the third-best team in the East entering the season. Like Philadelphia, Orlando has been affected by injuries — star forward Franz Wagner was limited to 34 games due to a nagging high ankle sprain.
Still, even when they’ve been healthy, the Magic haven’t lived up to preseason expectations. They’ve struggled to maintain their past defensive level, dropping to 13th in defensive rating after finishing in the top three in each of the previous two seasons. And while Desmond Bane has been everything the team hoped for when it gave up four first-round picks to acquire him last summer, it hasn’t been enough to significantly improve Orlando’s offense, which was just 18th-best in the league this season.
The last week-and-a-half of the regular season was a microcosm of the Magic’s year as a whole. Battling for a top-six seed in the East, Orlando reeled off five straight wins from April 3-10, including an impressive victory over Detroit last Monday. But in Sunday’s regular season finale against a Celtics team resting nearly all of its regulars, the Magic failed to take care of business, losing 113-108 to slip to the No. 8 spot in the East.
Orlando wouldn’t have clinched a playoff spot with a win on Sunday, but that loss in Boston was the difference between hosting tonight’s game or visiting Philadelphia. And it’s probably safe to assume home court advantage would’ve made the Magic the favorites. Instead, they’re viewed as narrow (two-point) underdogs.
We want to know what you think. Which veteran Western Conference team will keep its season alive on Friday? Can the Emibid-less Sixers pull out a win against the up-and-down Magic to clinch a playoff spot?
Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your predictions!
Who will win Wednesday's play-in games?
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Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Clippers 35% (239)
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Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Clippers 30% (203)
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Philadelphia 76ers and Golden State Warriors 21% (140)
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Orlando Magic and Golden State Warriors 15% (100)
Total votes: 682
Eastern Notes: Donovan, Okoro, Hornets, Whitmore, Sixers
As of Sunday night, Billy Donovan and the Bulls hadn’t scheduled their end-of-season meeting that will help determine whether he remains in his role as head coach, writes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune (subscription required).
However, the expectation is that it will happen at some point this week and that Donovan won’t take long after the meeting to make a decision on his future, Poe adds. Bulls leaders, including CEO and president Michael Reinsdorf, have expressed strong interest in retaining Donovan after parting ways with top basketball operations executives Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley, and multiple players have also said they hope the veteran coach returns.
“We’re at this pivot point right now,” Donovan said on Sunday. “Everything has changed. So for me to have to sit down and have a conversation — that’s really what I want to do, just to find out where we’re all at on this and how we’re going to move forward.”
We have more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Bulls forward Isaac Okoro has another year left on his contract, but after being traded last summer, he knows there are no guarantees he’ll still be in Chicago for the start of the 2026/27 season, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Okoro said on Monday that he’ll “just control what I can control” and focus on improving as a player this offseason. “It’s the NBA, it’s the business, and I can be traded again somewhere,” he said. “I love being here and I love the culture we’re trying to build, so I just have to try and control what I can control. But I’ve gotten used to it. I’ve only been traded one time, but in Cleveland come every offseason I felt like I could have been traded.”
- In a pair of in-depth stories, ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic take a closer look at the turnaround in Charlotte, where the Hornets have gone from being a perennial punching bag to an exciting young team on the rise. As Vorkunov details, besides bringing in new leaders – general manager Jeff Peterson and head coach Charles Lee – and compiling a promising young core of players, the Hornets have dramatically upgraded their organizational infrastructure under co-owners Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin, hiring more than 60 new people, renovating their arena, and beginning construction on a new practice facility and team headquarters.
- Discussing the deep vein thrombosis that cut his third NBA season short, Wizards forward Cam Whitmore suggested on Monday that not being able to play basketball during the second half of 2025/26 was a secondary concern, given the serious nature of the issue. “That was a life-threatening (situation),” Whitmore said, per Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network (Twitter link). “… I’m grateful just to be alive, to be honest. I’m grateful to talk to my family.”
- Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice and Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required) consider what the Sixers‘ rotation will look like during the play-in tournament this week, with Aaronson suggesting it won’t be a surprise if guards Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe both get to 40-plus minutes on Wednesday vs. Orlando.
Sixers Notes: Play-In, Embiid, Nurse, Maxey
As the No. 7 seed, the Sixers are assured of two opportunities to advance through the play-in tournament, but they don’t want to take any chances entering Wednesday’s game with Orlando, writes Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required). Philadelphia got an unexpected opportunity to host its first game when the Magic lost Sunday night at Boston, and players are determined to take advantage of their good fortune.
“We’ve got a great opportunity to lock in a playoff seed here on our floor,” Paul George said. “It don’t get no better than that in this situation. So we should look at it as ‘win or go home.’ We shouldn’t be looking at a Plan B or an Option B. … It’s the mentality we need to have now. Wednesday is too late. We need to have that mentality now.”
The Sixers and Magic both finished at 45-37, but Philadelphia claimed the tiebreaker by winning two of their three meetings during the season. Both teams battled injuries that may have kept them from finishing in the top six, and coach Nick Nurse said Sunday that he’s proud of how his players held together after collapsing under similar circumstances last year.
“We’ve got a lot of ceiling to go yet,” Nurse said. “… So hopefully, we get to play a bunch of games and keep improving.”
There’s more from Philadelphia:
- The Sixers know they’ll have to get through at least the play-in stage without Joel Embiid, who remains without a timetable to return after undergoing an emergency appendectomy last week, Mizell adds. Adem Bona started at center in Sunday’s win over Milwaukee, but Andre Drummond replaced him in the starting lineup for the beginning of the second half. “That’s the one thing that we can kind of check off,” Drummond said, “that we know that (Embiid) won’t be available for a little bit. So now we have to focus on what we can do and who we do have in this locker room, and focus around that.”
- Nurse talked about the matchup with the Magic following Sunday’s game, per Dereck Bodner of PHLY Sports (Twitter link). “Physical team. Big wings and aggressive guards,” Nurse said. “(Jalen) Suggs and (Desmond) Bane are two competitive, physical guys back there. … They’ve been one of many teams in the league that hasn’t been very healthy this year, so it’s gonna be a tough game.”
- This will be this first time in Tyrese Maxey‘s career that he’s entered the postseason as the team’s primary scoring option, Adam Aaronson of Philly Voice observes in an overview of the roster. Maxey’s challenge is being made more difficult by a finger injury on his right hand that limits his movement and is forcing him to wear a splint.
Raptors Clinch Final Guaranteed Playoff Spot In East
The Raptors have clinched a playoff spot in the East after beating the Nets 136-101. This will be Toronto’s first playoff appearance in four years.
Scottie Barnes closed out his season with an 18-point triple-double, while RJ Barrett and Brandon Ingram contributed 26 and 25 points, respectively.
“It’s a big relief,” Barnes said about reaching the playoffs for the first time since his rookie season, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet (Twitter link).
It wasn’t all good news for Toronto though. Immanuel Quickley left the game after just 17 minutes with right hamstring tightness, according to TSN’s Josh Lewenberg (Twitter link). Quickley has been battling plantar fasciitis in recent weeks, but avoiding the play-in will allow the point guard more time to get healthy before the Raptors’ first-round matchup.
Because they won on Sunday and the Hawks dropped their regular season finale to Miami, the Raptors will enter the postseason as the East’s No. 5 seed, with Atlanta slipping to No. 6.
The Sixers and Magic were also in the hunt for a top-six spot in the East entering Sunday, and while Toronto’s victory kept both teams in play-in territory, the 76ers finished their season with a win over Milwaukee to claim the No. 7 seed. Despite facing a Celtics team sitting their entire starting lineup, Orlando lost on Sunday to slip to No. 8 and will visit Philadelphia in the play-in tournament, with the No. 9 Hornets hosting the No. 10 Heat.
The Players Who Could Be Financially Impacted By The 65-Game Rule
Earning a spot on an All-NBA team is the simplest way for a player to become eligible for a Designated Veteran or Rose Rule contract, allowing them to earn a higher maximum salary than they'd typically qualify for (35% instead of 30% for veterans, or 30% instead of 25% for players coming off rookie contracts). But that doesn't mean that there are financial benefits for every player who receives All-NBA recognition.
In order to become "super-max" eligible, a player must meet a set of specific criteria related not just to his on-court achievements but to his total NBA years of service, his contract situation, and how he joined his current team.
For instance, Luka Doncic would have been super-max eligible last summer as a member of the Mavericks, but the trade that sent him to the Lakers took that option off the table, since a player who changes teams via trade during his second contract isn't permitted to sign a Designated Veteran deal. With a super-max deal no longer in play, Doncic signed a standard max-salary extension (starting at 30% of the cap) with his new team last summer.
So, while Doncic's bid to be granted an "extraordinary circumstances" exception to circumvent the 65-game rule and gain All-NBA (and MVP) eligibility this spring could have a real impact on his career résumé, there are no financial implications hinging on that ruling.
For other players who narrowly met the 65-game criteria or will fall just short of it, there are more significant financial consequences to take into account. In the space below, we're taking a closer look at the All-NBA caliber players whose future earnings figure to be impacted the most by whether or not they got to 65 games this season.
Ten Postseason Seeds Up For Grabs On Final Day Of Regular Season
While we’ve known which 20 NBA teams will be competing in the 2025/26 postseason for some time, 10 seeds are still in flux entering April 12, the final day of the 2025/26 regular season. Most importantly, three Eastern Conference teams are still vying for the final guaranteed playoff spot ahead of Sunday’s slate of games, which will see all 30 teams take the floor.
Here are the current playoff and play-in standings in both conferences, as well as where each team could finish, per the league (Twitter links).
Eastern Conference:
- Detroit Pistons (59-22)
- Boston Celtics (55-26)
- New York Knicks (53-28)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (51-30)
- Atlanta Hawks (46-35) — fifth or sixth
- Toronto Raptors (45-36) — fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth
- Orlando Magic (45-36) — sixth, seventh or eighth
- Philadelphia 76ers (44-37) — sixth, seventh or eighth
- Charlotte Hornets (43-38) — ninth or 10th
- Miami Heat (42-39) — ninth or 10th
Western Conference:
- Oklahoma City Thunder (64-17)
- San Antonio Spurs (62-19)
- Denver Nuggets (53-28) — third or fourth
- Los Angeles Lakers (52-29) — third or fourth
- Houston Rockets (51-30)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (48-33)
- Phoenix Suns (44-37)
- Portland Trail Blazers (41-40) — eighth or ninth
- Los Angeles Clippers (41-40) — eighth or ninth
- Golden State Warriors (37-44)
Notes: Teams in bold are locked in to their current seeds. A top-six seed ensures a guaranteed playoff spot, while the Nos. 7-10 teams will compete in the play-in tournament to determine the seventh and eighth seeds in each conference.
The most critical matchup Sunday is Brooklyn at Toronto. If the Raptors win, they can finish no worse than sixth place, securing the final guaranteed playoff berth.
The Hawks have ruled out most of their top players ahead of Sunday’s game at the Heat after securing a guaranteed playoff spot on Friday, tweets Brad Rowland of Locked on Hawks. That matters for Miami, because if they beat Atlanta and the Hornets lose at New York, the Heat would move ahead of Charlotte due to a head-to-head tiebreaker. That said, the Knicks will be playing without four of their five starters tonight, and if the Hornets win, they stay at No. 9.
It would be shocking if the Raptors don’t win Sunday, since the tanking Nets have already ruled out nine players (a 10th is doubtful) and have an incentive to lose the game. We’ll get more into that shortly.
Still, if the Raptors do lose Sunday’s game, it opens the door for the Magic or Sixers to move up to No. 6. A Raptors loss combined with a Magic win at Boston — the Celtics are likely to be without their top-seven rotation members — would see Orlando earn the guaranteed playoff berth. The 76ers, who face Milwaukee, need to win and need Toronto and Orlando to lose to move up two spots.
If the Hawks, Raptors, Magic and Sixers all win, they will finish where they currently are in the standings.
In the West, the scenarios are more straightforward. If the Nuggets win at San Antonio, they stay at No. 3. If they lose and the Lakers beat the Jazz, Denver and Los Angeles will switch places in the standings.
The Trail Blazers hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Clippers, so if they beat Sacramento tonight they will finish No. 8. The Clippers could move up if they beat Golden State and Portland loses to the Kings.
Lottery odds and traded draft picks
At the other end of the standings, the Wizards (17-64) have clinched the worst record in the league and thus have the top draft-lottery floor, notes Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Washington has a 52.1% chance at landing a top-four pick in the 2026 draft lottery and 47.9% odds at No. 5, which is the worst selection the team can end up with.
The Pacers (19-62) and Nets (20-61) are also guaranteed to finish with bottom-three records and will have identical 52.1% odds at moving into the top four, including a 14.0% chance at No. 1 overall. If the Nets lose this evening and the Pacers beat Detroit, the two teams would tie and a coin flip would determine which team has the second-best lottery floor. The winner of the coin flip can finish no worse than sixth in the draft lottery, while the loser can finish no worse than seventh.
The Clippers will be hoping the Pacers lose tonight, since Indiana will send its 2026 first-round pick to L.A. if it lands outside the top four. The Pacers will retain the pick if it stays in its protected range (top four).
Several other lottery situations are still in flux entering Sunday. The Jazz and Kings are currently tied for the fourth-worst record (22-59), the Grizzlies and Mavericks are tied for the sixth-worst record (25-56), and the Pelicans (26-55) have a chance at making the latter situation a three-way tie. The Hawks will be hoping the Pelicans lose and Grizzlies and Mavericks win, since they control the better of New Orleans’ or Milwaukee’s first-rounders.
Utah will send its first-round pick to the Thunder if it’s not in the top eight. But even if the Jazz finish with the NBA’s fifth-worst record (or finish tied for the fourth-worst record and lose a coin flip), the odds of their pick landing at No. 9 would be minuscule (0.6%).
There’s a chance the Bulls (31-50) and Bucks (32-49) could have a coin flip for the ninth and tenth spots. It would require Chicago to win at Dallas and Milwaukee to lose at Philadelphia.
The four other lottery teams will be the four clubs that are eliminated in the play-in tournament.