Lakers finish fourth in West as NBA postseason begins

And just like that, the 2025-26 NBA regular season has come to an end. The Lakers battled injuries and are currently playing without Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, but thanks to some great games from LeBron James, they’ve managed to earn the fourth seed in the West. Now, they are set to play the Rockets in the first round.

Final 2025-2026 NBA Standings

Here are the final standings for each conference, with the play-in ultimately set to decide who will face the top two seeds in each. The No. 2 seed in each conference will play the winner

of the 7-8 game, while the No. 1 seed will play the winner of the next game, between the loser of the 7-8 game and winner of the 9-10 game.

*Eliminated teams in italics.

Eastern Conference

1. Detroit Pistons
2. Boston Celtics
3. New York Knicks
4. Cleveland Cavaliers
5. Toronto Raptors
6. Atlanta Hawks
7. Philadelphia 76ers (play-in)
8. Orlando Magic (play-in)
9. Charlotte Hornets (play-in)
10. Miami Heat (play-in)
11. Milwaukee Bucks
12. Chicago Bulls
13. Indiana Pacers
14. Brooklyn Nets
15. Washington Wizards

Western Conference

1. Oklahoma City Thunder
2. San Antonio Spurs
3. Denver Nuggets
4. Los Angeles Lakers
5. Houston Rockets
6. Minnesota Timberwolves
7. Phoenix Suns (play-in)
8. Portland Trail Blazers (play-in)
9. LA Clippers (play-in)
10. Golden State Warriors (play-in)
11. Memphis Grizzlies
12. New Orleans Pelicans
13. Dallas Mavericks
14. Utah Jazz
15. Sacramento Kings

With Dončić and Reaves likely to miss most or all of the first round, the Lakers won’t be expected to go far this postseason. Even with key pieces missing, the Lakers still have LeBron, home court and a head coach in JJ Redick who will do everything he can to put LA in an advantageous situation.

Under Redick’s leadership, the Lakers have had back-to-back 50-win seasons, making them one of the most consistent teams in the West over the past two years.

Official 2026 NBA Lottery Odds

And with the 2025-26 NBA season behind us, here is the final lottery order (with their odds to get the No. 1 pick) for the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery on May 10.

1. Washington Wizards — top-8 protected (14%)
2. Brooklyn Nets (14%)
3. Indiana Pacers — pick goes to Clippers if it falls 5-9 (14%)
4. Sacramento (12.5%)
5. Utah — top-8 protected (10.5%)
6. Dallas (9%)
7. Hawks — via Pelicans (7.5%)
8. Memphis (6%)
9. Chicago (4.5%)
10. Milwaukee (3%)
11. Golden State (2%)
12. OKC — via Clippers (1.5%)
13. Miami (1%)
14. Memphis — via Orlando (0.5%)

Plenty of teams were tanking this season in what’s expected to be a deep draft class, but the Lakers weren’t one of them. Now the draft odds for the No. 1 pick are known and we’ll see which team gets to pick first when the NBA Draft Lottery is held on May. 10.

While the Lakers aren’t in the lottery, they will have a first round pick. They tied with the Knicks, so a coin flip will decide whether they select at No. 24 or 25.

However, the draft is something the franchise can focus on later. For now, the priority is to rest up as the play-in teams earn their spots in the playoffs and get ready for a battle with Houston next week.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.