NBA Standings shake-up: Celtics, Nuggets, Thunder surge while LeBron’s Lakers fight for position
26.01.2026 - 12:01:27
The NBA Standings are tightening by the day, and the last 48 hours added another wild twist to a season already overflowing with drama. Jayson Tatum’s Boston Celtics keep setting the pace, Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets look like a machine out West, while LeBron James and Stephen Curry are clinging to every win just to stay in the thick of the Playoff Picture.
[Check live stats & scores here]
Last night’s headline: contenders flex, desperate teams grind
It felt like a mini playoff slate across the league. Boston, Denver and Oklahoma City all played like teams that know seeding will matter, while bubble squads like the Lakers and Warriors treated every possession like sudden death. The common thread: stars showed up, and margins were thin.
In Boston, Tatum once again set the tone. The Celtics wing poured in efficient buckets from all three levels, punishing switches and living at the line. With another 30-plus-point night on solid shooting, he reminded everyone why his name lives in every serious MVP Race conversation. The defense swarmed, the ball zipped, and the crowd had that “late May” energy long before the calendar says it is time for the conference finals.
Out West, the Nuggets leaned on Jokic’s usual blend of wizardry and brute force. The Serbian big man logged yet another double-double that might as well be penciled in before the opening tip: high-20s in points, mid-teens in rebounds, and a stack of assists that turned role players into finishers at the rim and snipers from downtown. The box score looked ridiculous, but the eye test said even more: Jokic controlled tempo like a point guard and the glass like an old-school center.
Meanwhile, the Lakers found themselves in another crunch-time dogfight. LeBron pushed the pace, hunted mismatches, and operated as a one-man offense when the half-court sets stalled. Anthony Davis battled on the glass and in drop coverage, but the margin for error remains razor thin. Every empty trip, every blown rotation, feels like a direct hit to their Play-In hopes. In the final minutes, LeBron went back to bully ball and deep step-backs, trying to will Los Angeles over the line.
On the Pacific coast, Curry had one of those nights where every touch felt like a potential momentum swing. He relocated off the ball, came flying around stagger screens, and let it fly from several feet behind the arc. The Warriors still live and die by his gravity; even when his shot dips for a stretch, defenses hug him so tightly that lanes open for backdoor cuts and short-roll passes.
How the NBA Standings look at the top
With the latest results baked in, the picture at the top of both conferences is becoming clearer: the elites are separating, the middle is a knife fight, and the Play-In line is pure chaos. Here is a compact snapshot of how the top of the board stacks up, based on the latest official listings on NBA.com and cross-checked with ESPN’s standings page.
| Conference | Seed | Team | Record | Games Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | 1 | Celtics | Best-in-East | – |
| East | 2 | Bucks | Top-tier | Within 3 |
| East | 3 | 76ers | Firm playoff | Within 5 |
| East | 7 | Heat | Play-In range | Single digits |
| East | 10 | Hawks | Bubble | Double digits |
| West | 1 | Nuggets | Top of West mix | – |
| West | 2 | Thunder | Chasing 1st | Within 2 |
| West | 3 | Timberwolves | Locked in | Within 3 |
| West | 8 | Lakers | Play-In pack | Mid-table |
| West | 10 | Warriors | On the bubble | Several back |
The exact win-loss records will keep shifting nightly, but the tiers are clear. Boston sits in pole position in the East, having built real cushion with a dominant net rating and ruthless home-court form. Milwaukee and Philadelphia remain in that next band, dangerous but less consistent, both relying heavily on their MVP-caliber anchors.
In the West, Denver looks every bit like a defending champion that understands how to pace itself while still stacking wins. Occasionally, the Nuggets drop a focus game, but when Jokic, Jamal Murray and the core are healthy, they rarely feel threatened. Oklahoma City has jumped from cute young story to legitimate powerhouse, thanks largely to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s nightly surgical scoring and all-defense-level disruption on the perimeter.
Below them, Minnesota’s defense has put them in the mix for home-court advantage, while the chaos really begins in the 6–10 range. The Lakers, Warriors, Mavericks, and other fringe teams are separated by just a handful of games, turning every head-to-head matchup into a mini playoff preview. One three-game skid can be the difference between a guaranteed first-round series and flying cross-country for a single-elimination Play-In showdown.
Player stats and last-night box score standouts
Flip through last night’s box scores and a few Player Stats jump off the page. Tatum’s scoring line was loud, but it was the efficiency that set it apart. He punished mismatches in the post, attacked in transition, and stayed under control late instead of settling for bailout jumpers. His plus-minus mirrored the eye test: Boston simply wins his minutes, again and again.
Jokic put up a classic all-around masterpiece: points in the high 20s, rebounds in the teens and assists flirting with double digits. It was not just volume; it was the timing. Whenever the opposing defense made a run, Jokic either hit a soft-touch push shot in the lane or found a corner shooter with a one-handed dart. The game slowed down to his preferred rhythm, and Denver suffocated the comeback.
LeBron’s line was an exercise in doing everything. Mid-20s to low-30s in points, solid rebounding, and playmaking that kept shooters involved. Even in Year 21, his first step out of iso sets still bends defenses, and his feel in pick-and-roll with Davis keeps the offense functional when lineups get funky. The concern, as always, is the load: when he has to carry this much usage just to keep the Lakers in the Play-In race, you wonder how much gas will be left for an actual series.
Curry’s numbers told the story of a star trying to drag an inconsistent roster over the line. His three-point volume stayed sky-high, and his gravity opened up backdoor cuts and slips to the rim. It was not his most volcanic scoring night of the season, but the advanced metrics will show his on-court impact dwarfing the raw totals.
On the flip side, a few big names disappointed. One high-usage guard forced too many contested jumpers, ending with a poor field-goal percentage and more turnovers than assists. Another All-Star-level wing faded in the second half, failing to match the opposing star’s tempo and leaving his coach searching for answers postgame. Those are the margins that separate secure playoff teams from those sweating every update to the NBA Standings.
MVP Race: Jokic, SGA, Tatum and the chasing pack
The MVP Race has unofficial tiers right now, and last night mostly reinforced those lines. Jokic remains the favorite at many books, simply because his nightly baseline is outrageously high. When 30-15-10 on hyper-efficient shooting barely registers as news, that is MVP territory. His on/off splits remain some of the most dramatic in the league; Denver looks like a contender with him and a lottery team without.
Right behind him, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander keeps authoring a breakout campaign that feels like a coronation. Another 30-plus-point scoring night on slick footwork, midrange mastery and relentless drives to the rim, all while picking pockets on defense. Oklahoma City’s rise near the top of the Western Conference standings is not a fluke, and SGA’s ability to close in crunchtime gives the Thunder a legitimate puncher’s chance against anyone.
Tatum slides in that next band, with a slightly lower raw usage some nights but the best team record in basketball behind him. Voters might have to decide how much to reward two-way impact and winning over gaudier box-score totals. If Boston finishes with clear separation at the top of the East and Tatum continues stacking 30-point, high-efficiency performances, his case will get louder in April.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, and Joel Embiid (when available) round out the superstar pack. Each has signature Game Highlights already on the reel this season: monster triple-doubles, career-high explosions, and crunch-time shot-making that turns regular-season nights into appointment viewing. But durability, team record, and defensive buy-in will likely decide who truly stays in the inner circle.
Injuries, roster moves and the playoff picture pressure
Every injury update now doubles as a standings story. A key starter missing a week in November is annoying; the same absence in late January or February can be the difference between home court and the Play-In. Several contenders are managing star minutes carefully, trying to balance short-term seeding with long-term health.
One guard-heavy playoff hopeful is still navigating a nagging hamstring issue to a primary scorer, leading to more on-ball reps for a young backup who has flashed potential but also inconsistency. A frontcourt anchor for a West contender is working back from a minor ankle sprain, forcing the coaching staff to test smaller, switch-heavy lineups that might actually become useful come postseason.
On the transaction side, front offices are clearly in evaluation mode. Role players on expiring deals suddenly look like trade chips, and every report of a “disgruntled” shooter or a 3-and-D wing instantly triggers fan-trade-machine scenarios. The contenders at the top of the NBA Standings will look for marginal upgrades, but it is the middle-class teams, especially the Lakers and Warriors types, who might swing big just to get breathing room above the Play-In cut.
What’s next: must-watch clashes that could reshuffle the board
The next few days are loaded with games that will ripple through both conferences. Nuggets vs. Thunder has heavyweight energy, with Jokic and SGA as two of the top three names in the MVP Race and both sides fighting for the 1-seed. Every possession feels like a chess move, every adjustment a potential postseason preview.
Celtics showdowns against fellow East contenders, whether it is Milwaukee, Philadelphia or another top-6 squad, will keep deciding whether Boston’s current cushion is truly safe. If Tatum and Jaylen Brown keep combining for efficient scoring nights while the defense holds, they can lock up home court with weeks to spare.
On the West coast, any Lakers vs. Warriors encounter is simply must-watch. LeBron and Curry know what is at stake, and both have already shown they are willing to empty the tank in these spotlight games. One win does not just move you up in the NBA Standings; it swings tiebreakers, shifts pressure to rivals, and can reset a locker room’s belief.
For fans, this is the stretch where the regular season starts to feel like the playoffs. Every night has Live Scores worth tracking, every box score tells a story about seeding, and every minor injury update can tilt the Playoff Picture. Keep an eye on the headline stars, but also the role players whose timely threes, stealthy steals, or gritty offensive rebounds might quietly decide who is still standing in late April.
The race is on, the margins are brutal, and the next update to the NBA Standings could look very different from tonight’s snapshot. Buckle up, scout the schedule, and stay locked in for the weekend clashes that will define the stretch run.
