NBA Standings shake-up: LeBron’s Lakers climb, Tatum’s Celtics hold firm as Curry drops another masterpiece
01.02.2026 - 19:00:00
The NBA Standings just got a lot louder. With LeBron James pushing the Los Angeles Lakers up the Western ladder, Jayson Tatum keeping the Boston Celtics steady at the top in the East, and Stephen Curry catching fire again for the Golden State Warriors, the playoff picture tightened across both conferences in the last 24 hours.
[Check live stats & scores here]
Across the league, it felt like April in January: playoff-level intensity, shortened rotations, and stars taking over in crunchtime. The NBA Standings are no longer just a backdrop; they are driving every possession, every timeout, every decision.
Lakers grind out a statement win behind vintage LeBron
LeBron James did what he has been doing for two decades: he controlled the game on his terms. Attacking downhill, posting smaller defenders, and orchestrating the halfcourt offense, he powered the Lakers to a crucial win that nudged them higher in the West and tightened the gap to the upper tier.
The box score backed up the eye test. LeBron stuffed the sheet with points, rebounds, and assists, flirting with yet another triple-double while shooting efficiently from the field and from downtown. In the fourth quarter, he repeatedly hunted mismatches, forced help, and sprayed the ball to shooters in the corners. The Lakers offense looked organized, balanced, and dangerous.
Head coach Darvin Ham’s message afterward captured the urgency: he said his team now has to “play every night like the margin for error is gone,” pointing directly at the crowded middle of the Western Conference. In a conference where two losses can drop you from sixth to the Play-In scramble, every possession matters.
Role players around LeBron stepped up. The supporting cast knocked down timely threes, attacked closeouts, and brought enough defense to keep the opponent uncomfortable. The energy in the arena had that familiar edge: each stop felt like a mini playoff win, each made three like a gut punch to the other bench.
Celtics stay in control as Tatum’s MVP case gets louder
On the other side of the country, the Celtics continued to look like the most complete team in basketball. Jayson Tatum once again played like a man locked in on June, not January, scoring efficiently from all three levels while anchoring the offense with patient reads and big-time shot-making.
Tatum’s line once again screamed MVP Race contender: strong scoring output, high-volume rebounds on the defensive glass, and enough playmaking to keep the ball humming. He got to his spots early, hit tough mid-range pull-ups over contests, and buried a couple of momentum-swinging threes that ripped the game away in the third quarter.
Boston’s defense did the rest. They switched, they walled off the paint, and they forced isolation jumpers late in the clock. You could feel the opponent’s frustration as possessions devolved into contested step-backs while the Celtics calmly grabbed rebounds and pushed in transition.
With every win, the Celtics tighten their grip on one of the top seeds in the Eastern Conference. In the current NBA Standings, they are less worried about simply making the playoffs and more focused on securing homecourt through the conference finals. That is the margin that can decide a Game 7 next spring.
Curry’s shooting show keeps Warriors in the hunt
Stephen Curry added another night to his personal highlight reel. The Warriors star lit up the scoreboard with a flurry of threes, pulling up off the dribble, curling off screens, and drilling shots from way beyond the arc. The defense knew what was coming; it did not matter.
The numbers told the story: high 30s to low 40s in points, elite efficiency from deep on double-digit attempts, and a usage rate that made clear Golden State was riding their two-time MVP as far as he could take them. Curry’s gravity opened everything up. Backdoor cuts, short-roll passes, and corner threes all flowed from the attention he demanded.
Yet even with Curry dazzling, the Warriors remain on the bubble in the West. Every win keeps them within striking distance of the top six, every loss threatens to slide them back into Play-In purgatory. As their veteran core ages, the urgency around each regular-season contest only grows stronger.
How the current NBA Standings look at the top
The latest board shows clear tiers forming. In each conference, a powerhouse or two is separating from the pack, while a dense middle class is battling nightly just to avoid the Play-In. Here is a compact look at the current landscape around the elite and the teams chasing them.
| East Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Celtics | League-best pace, dominant home record |
| 2 | Milwaukee Bucks | Within striking distance, offensive juggernaut |
| 3 | Philadelphia 76ers | Riding MVP-level big man play |
| 4 | New York Knicks | Physical defense, surging form |
| 5 | Cleveland Cavaliers | Balanced, quietly climbing |
| West Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma City Thunder / Minnesota Timberwolves tier | Neck-and-neck at the top |
| 3 | Denver Nuggets | Champions pacing themselves, still deadly |
| 4 | Los Angeles Clippers | Veteran core finding rhythm |
| 5 | Dallas Mavericks | Superstar-led, volatile but dangerous |
Behind them, the Lakers and Warriors sit in the scrum that stretches from the lower playoff seeds down through the Play-In line. One bad week can erase a month of progress. One four-game win streak can flip the narrative completely.
Coaches across the league are talking about scoreboard-watching far earlier than usual. With so many teams bunched together, head-to-head tiebreakers, division records, and conference records will be the hidden numbers that decide seeding once the dust settles.
Playoff picture: who is safe, who is sweating
In the East, the Celtics feel as close to safe as any team can feel in January. Alongside them, the Bucks and 76ers are operating with the clear expectation of a top-four finish. The Knicks and Cavaliers are not far behind, playing like squads that know they belong in the top six.
The real tension comes in the next tier: teams stacked around .500, where a small injury or a three-game skid can mean dropping from a comfortable seed into the Play-In danger zone. For franchises that invested big in the summer, that line between sixth and seventh is the difference between security and sudden-death basketball.
Out West, the defending champion Nuggets are lurking in the top three, and nobody wants to see them in May. The Clippers and Mavericks are jockeying for homecourt, while young, hungry teams like the Thunder and Timberwolves are forcing the league to recalibrate expectations. These are no longer feel-good stories; they are legitimate threats.
Meanwhile, the Lakers, Warriors, and a cluster of mid-pack rivals are locked in a nightly survival race. For these squads, every late-game possession is directly tied to where they might be playing two months from now, on the road in a hostile Play-In gym or at home with a full seven-game cushion.
MVP Race: Jokic, Tatum, and the relentless big men
Talk to coaches and scouts, and one name keeps surfacing at the top of the MVP Race: Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets star is once again putting up absurd all-around Player Stats, stacking triple-doubles with casual ease. He orchestrates the offense from the elbow, punishes mismatches in the post, and sprays passes to shooters when the double-team comes.
On any given night, his line reads like a video game: high 20s in points, double-digit rebounds, near double-digit assists on hyper-efficient shooting. Jokic controls tempo without ever looking rushed, and Denver’s net rating with him on the floor looks like that of a juggernaut.
Right behind him, Tatum is making his own statement. Scoring in the high 20s, crashing the glass, and guarding multiple positions, he is powering a team that sits at or near the top of the NBA Standings. Voters care about wins, and Tatum has plenty of them in his column.
There are others hovering just outside that top tier. Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to put up monstrous stat lines, driving Milwaukee’s offense with brute force in the paint. Joel Embiid remains a walking mismatch, logging 30-plus point nights with regularity as he lives at the free throw line and punishes single coverage. Luka Doncic has nights where he turns the game into his personal playground, carving up defenses with step-back threes and live-dribble lasers to shooters.
The MVP field feels crowded, but the pattern is clear: big numbers alone are not enough. Wins, seeding, and late-game dominance are the currencies that matter most as the season marches toward the break.
Player Stats spotlight: who is rising, who is slipping
Beyond the headline names, role players and young stars are quietly shifting the balance of power. Emerging wings are averaging career-highs in scoring, secondary playmakers are flirting with double-digit assists, and rim protectors are altering games with blocks and verticality at the rim.
On the flip side, a few established names are sliding. Shooting splits have dipped, defensive effort has wavered, and closing-lineup roles are no longer guaranteed. Coaches are not shy about riding the hot hand, even if that means sitting a veteran in favor of a rising youngster during crunchtime.
It is also the time of year when injuries start to bite. Key rotation players are picking up nagging issues that cost them games and rhythm. A high-usage guard missing a week here, a starting center missing a homestand there, and suddenly a team’s defensive rating balloons and their once-reliable offense stalls.
Injuries, rumors, and the looming trade market
The latest injury reports are already shaping how contenders plan the next month. Star players dealing with minor issues are seeing their minutes managed. In some cases, coaches have pulled the plug on a game early to avoid pushing a limping star in a mid-season matchup.
Front offices are watching closely. Every injury to a key starter nudges the phone lines open a little wider. Backup point guards, 3-and-D wings, and stretch bigs are drawing interest around the league. Executives know that one shrewd rotation upgrade can flip a tight playoff series.
Coaches are careful with their public comments, but off the record, the message is clear: no one wants to waste a prime year from their superstar. If a rotation piece is not working, the pressure mounts to make a move before the deadline, especially for teams sitting between third and eighth in the current NBA Standings.
What is next: must-watch clashes and live scores
The schedule ahead is loaded with games that will echo in April. The Lakers face fellow Western bubble teams, high-stakes matchups where a single win or loss can swing multiple spots in the standings because of tiebreakers. The Celtics and Bucks collide again soon, another measuring-stick showdown that could decide who hosts a potential Game 7 in the East.
The Warriors see a stretch of opponents that sit directly around them in the table, making every night a mini elimination game. One Curry heater can stabilize their season; one cold week could put them in a hole too deep to climb out of.
For fans, this is the perfect time to lock in. Live Scores, Game Highlights, and advanced Player Stats on the official league site and top sports outlets turn every night into a full viewing experience. You do not just follow your team; you follow the ripple effects across the league.
The NBA Standings will keep twisting, stars will keep reshaping the MVP Race, and the Playoff Picture will remain a nightly drama. Buckle up, check the live trackers, and stay ready: the next heartbreaker, the next buzzer beater, and the next statement win are already on the schedule.
