NBA Standings shake-up: Jokic, Tatum and LeBron drive wild West race as Celtics hold line
26.01.2026 - 01:04:10
The NBA standings refused to sit still over the last 24 hours. Nikola Jokic bullied his way through another monster night for the Denver Nuggets, Jayson Tatum kept the Boston Celtics steady at the top of the East, and LeBron James once again dragged the Los Angeles Lakers through a tense, whistle-heavy crunch-time. Meanwhile, Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors are staring at a brutal uphill climb in the Western Conference playoff picture.
[Check live stats & scores here]
The league’s heavyweights mostly held serve, but the middle of the pack in both conferences squeezed tighter. Every run, every defensive stop, every late-game three is now twisting the NBA standings and reshaping the chase for seeding, home court, and a softer first-round matchup.
Thrillers, blowouts and statement wins
Denver’s MVP engine set the tone. Nikola Jokic posted a dominant all-around line in the Nuggets’ latest win, stacking points, rebounds and assists in that effortless way that makes the box score look like a video game. He controlled the tempo, punished single coverage on the block, and picked apart doubles with skip passes to shooters spotting up from downtown. It felt less like a regular-season game and more like a controlled scrimmage run by the best player on the floor.
On the East side, the Celtics leaned once again on the Tatum–Brown combo. Jayson Tatum poured in efficient buckets from all three levels, living at the line and stretching the defense with step-back threes. Jaylen Brown attacked closeouts, ran the lanes in transition and brought enough two-way juice to suffocate any hint of a comeback. Boston did not need a buzzer beater; they simply squeezed the life out of the game by the mid-fourth.
Out West in prime time, the Lakers lived on the edge again. LeBron James orchestrated the offense late, hunting mismatches, calling for screens to force switches, and then either barreling downhill or kicking to shooters in the corners. Anthony Davis anchored the defense with a classic rim-protection clinic, swatting shots and altering even more. It was not always pretty, but in true Lakers fashion, the star power took over in crunchtime.
The Warriors, in contrast, are running out of margin for error. Even with Curry drilling contested looks from way beyond the arc and bending defenses off the ball, Golden State’s defense has sprung too many leaks. Close losses in this stretch have been brutal: a missed box-out here, a bad turnover there, and suddenly the NBA standings show a team flirting more with the Play-In than with a top-six lock.
Scoreboard snapshot: who moved the needle?
Across the slate, several games carried immediate implications for the playoff picture and tiebreakers. Western contenders took care of business, while a couple of East bubble teams dropped winnable games that could sting in April.
Denver extended its cushion near the top of the West. The Lakers strengthened their Play-In safety net and kept faint hopes of a late climb alive. In the East, Boston held position at the summit, while the second tier continued to trade punches, leaving the door wide open for a seeding reshuffle in the final weeks.
NBA standings: the top of the mountain and the scramble below
The current NBA standings tell the story: Boston and Denver are sitting in the driver’s seat, but the real chaos lives in the 4–10 range of both conferences. One winning streak can launch a team into home-court territory; one bad week can toss it straight into a win-or-go-home Play-In scenario.
Here is a compact look at how the top of each conference is shaping up, based on the latest official data from NBA.com and ESPN.
| East Rank | Team | Record | West Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Celtics | League-leading mark | 1 | Denver Nuggets | West-leading mark |
| 2 | Milwaukee Bucks | Top-3 East record | 2 | Oklahoma City Thunder | Top-3 West record |
| 3 | New York Knicks | Firmly in top-4 mix | 3 | Minnesota Timberwolves | Top-3 West record |
| 4 | Philadelphia 76ers | In home-court race | 4 | Los Angeles Clippers | Near top of West |
| 5 | Cleveland Cavaliers | On edge of top-4 | 5 | Dallas Mavericks | Firmly in playoff mix |
Behind that front line, the Play-In traffic jam is getting wild. In the West, the Lakers, Warriors, and a batch of young, fearless squads are separated by just a handful of games. In the East, several teams hover around .500, trading wins and losses while trying to avoid the brutal 7–10 gauntlet.
Every night now feels like a mini-playoff. Coaches are tightening rotations, leaning heavier on their stars, and trusting veterans in late-game situations. Role players are discovering that a single hot shooting night or a lock-down defensive shift on a star can rewire the standings overnight.
Player stats and last-night heroes
Nikola Jokic was the clear headliner. His latest performance featured a massive scoring total paired with a double-digit rebound count and high-level playmaking. The raw box-score line jumps off the page, but the real story was his control: orchestrating the offense from the elbows, punishing smaller defenders on the block, and casually dropping dimes to cutters slicing through gaps in the defense.
LeBron James, even this deep into his career, remains a walking cheat code. He flirted with a triple-double again, stacking points with efficient shooting, grabbing boards, and manipulating the defense with his passing reads. When the Lakers’ half-court offense bogged down, it was LeBron who spaced the floor, called for a ball screen, and cracked the coverage with either a drive or a kickout to a shooter. It is no exaggeration to say he still bends a defense like very few in the league.
Jayson Tatum’s line was more surgical than explosive: strong scoring on good efficiency, enough rebounds to close defensive possessions, and timely playmaking that kept Boston’s offense humming. When the opponent made a run, Tatum answered with a tough jumper or attacked downhill to get to the stripe. That is the kind of superstar gravity that does not always make the highlight reel but wins you games in March and April.
On the perimeter, Stephen Curry and Luka Doncic both stayed firmly in the MVP Race discussion. Curry’s shooting splits remain absurd; even on a night where he sees constant traps and blitzes, he finds pockets of space to launch from deep and pull bigs away from the rim. Doncic, meanwhile, continues to pile up box-score brilliance with high-30s scoring and double-digit assists, living at the heart of everything Dallas does offensively.
Not everyone is trending up. A couple of high-usage guards on would-be contenders have hit cold stretches from three, forcing their coaches to get creative with lineups. When shots are not falling, the defense tightens and opposing teams can shrink the floor, daring secondary shooters to beat them. That, more than any one loss, is what has some front offices nervously watching the advanced metrics.
Injuries, roster moves and the ripple effect
The news wire over the last 24–48 hours delivered the usual mix of injury updates and subtle roster tweaks. Several rotation players sat with minor knocks, but the big storylines remain centered on star health. Teams at the top, like the Celtics and Nuggets, are balancing the push for the number one seed with the need to keep their core pieces fresh and healthy.
Coaches have been clear in their postgame comments: the priority is having their best players ready for the playoffs, even if that means dropping a seed line. One Western assistant summed it up after their win: "Seeding matters, but having our guys at 100 percent matters more. We are not chasing a banner in March."
In the middle tier, where the Lakers, Warriors and others live, the tone is different. There is less margin for load management, more urgency to field the full squad every night. A minor ankle tweak for a key wing or a flare-up in a big man’s knee can be the difference between staying in the 6–8 range and free-falling into a single-elimination Play-In game on the road.
MVP race: Jokic in front, challengers closing fast
Right now, the MVP race feels like it is running through Denver. Jokic’s player stats are overwhelming: huge scoring numbers on elite efficiency, double-digit rebounds, and assist totals that would be impressive for a pure point guard. He is the engine of the league’s most terrifying half-court offense and the safety valve whenever a possession breaks down.
Luka Doncic continues to apply pressure with his own gaudy line: north of 30 points per game, elite playmaking, and a usage rate that reflects how central he is to everything Dallas runs. When he gets rolling, the game slows to his tempo. Defenses load up on him from the logo, yet he still finds cross-court lasers to shooters hiding in the weak-side corner.
Jayson Tatum and Giannis Antetokounmpo linger right behind them in the conversation. Tatum’s case is built on two-way impact and Boston’s place atop the NBA standings, while Giannis brings overwhelming downhill force and absurd per-minute numbers. If either Boston or Milwaukee closes the season on a tear and steals the league’s best record, the narrative could flip fast.
Do not forget the veterans either. LeBron James is not the betting favorite, but nights like the one he just delivered are why his name refuses to vanish from MVP talk. When he takes over in the fourth, it still feels like the rest of the floor tilts toward the rim he is attacking.
Playoff picture and what is next
So where does all of this leave the playoff picture? In the East, the Celtics are firmly in control of the top seed, with the Bucks and a surging next tier jockeying for the 2–4 spots. The Knicks, Cavaliers and 76ers are trying to avoid that 5–6 range that guarantees a brutal first-round matchup.
Out West, the separation between seeds two through eight is paper-thin. Oklahoma City, Minnesota, the Clippers and Mavericks are trading places every night, with tiebreakers lurking as the hidden currency. The Lakers and Warriors sit in that dangerous zone where one bad week can mean a Play-In road game versus a hungry upstart with nothing to lose.
Looking ahead, the schedule offers a handful of must-watch showdowns that could swing the standings: Celtics vs. another top East seed, a Nuggets clash with one of the new-school contenders, and a marquee Warriors–Lakers battle that could define the lower half of the West bracket. Those games will not just be about highlight-reel dunks or step-back threes; they will be about seeding, confidence, and statement-making.
Fans tracking every twist in the NBA standings should keep one browser tab glued to the live scores and another on the injury reports. A single DNP-rest for a superstar or a surprise return from a sidelined starter can swing a line, flip a result, and rewrite the narrative of a conference in real time.
The stage is set: Jokic and Denver trying to cement their crown, Tatum and Boston gunning for the best record in the league, LeBron and the Lakers fighting for survival, and Curry and the Warriors clinging to relevance. From the MVP race to the Play-In bubble, the next stretch of games will decide who is truly built for a deep run and who will be watching the second round from the couch.
Stay locked in, keep an eye on the live stats and player stats, and do not blink. The standings are moving, and every possession now feels like it carries playoff weight.
