NBA Standings shake-up: LeBron’s Lakers climb, Tatum’s Celtics hold firm as Curry keeps Warriors alive
09.02.2026 - 07:37:18
The NBA standings tightened again over the last 24 hours, with LeBron James pushing the Lakers back into the mix, Jayson Tatum keeping the Celtics steady at the top of the East and Stephen Curry dragging the Warriors closer to the play-in line. With every result impacting seeding, the playoff picture and the MVP race are starting to feel very real, even in early February.
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LeBron powers late Lakers push while Curry keeps Warriors breathing
LeBron James once again turned back the clock, stuffing the box score and controlling crunchtime as the Lakers grabbed a vital win that nudged them upward in the Western Conference race. The 39-year-old dominated the tempo, mixing bully drives, post touches and kick-outs to shooters to post a vintage all-around line and keep Los Angeles in the thick of the play-in chase.
It wasn’t just the scoring. LeBron’s playmaking in the fourth quarter, reading traps and hunting mismatches, flipped what felt like a 50-50 game into a statement win for a team that has endured an up-and-down season. The crowd rode every possession, and the bench reaction on big threes from the corners said everything about what this one meant for the locker room.
Up in the Bay, Stephen Curry kept the Warriors breathing in the West. The spacing warped every time he crossed half court, and his deep threes from downtown still felt inevitable. Golden State desperately needed this result to stay within striking distance of the final play-in spots, and Curry delivered again with another high-usage, high-efficiency scoring night that reminded everyone his MVP-level shotmaking hasn’t gone anywhere.
Postgame, Warriors players talked about a “playoff atmosphere” and the urgency they’re feeling. With their margin for error razor thin, every Curry flurry matters in the standings column as much as it does on the highlight reel.
Celtics stabilize the East, Nuggets and Thunder stalk the top of the West
At the other end of the pressure spectrum, Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics continue to look like the model of regular-season stability. Even on nights when the shots don’t fall early, Boston’s defense and depth keep them in control. Tatum’s ability to toggle between scorer and playmaker is central to that, and the latest win did nothing to shake their grip on a top seed in the East.
In the West, the Denver Nuggets and the Oklahoma City Thunder continue to shadow each other near the top lines of the NBA standings. Nikola Jokic’s nightly triple-double watch has become almost routine, but the impact is anything but boring. He dismantles defenses with surgical passing and brutal efficiency on the block. Oklahoma City, meanwhile, is being driven by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s relentless rim pressure and midrange mastery, keeping the Thunder ahead of schedule in their rebuild and firmly in the home-court conversation.
Coaches across the league are starting to admit, even if grudgingly, that the road to the Finals is likely to run through these elite outfits. The gap behind them, though, is shrinking as hot streaks collide with schedule quirks and injuries.
How the current NBA standings look at the top
Zooming out from the individual storylines, the table has started to form real tiers. In the East, Boston maintains its cushion, while Milwaukee clings to the second seed, trying to smooth out defensive issues. In the West, Denver, Oklahoma City and Minnesota are trading punches near the summit, with the Clippers and Suns lurking and hoping to peak late.
Here is a compact snapshot of how the top of the conferences and the play-in race currently shake out:
| Conference | Seed | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| East | 1 | Celtics | Best-in-East, clear cushion |
| East | 2 | Bucks | Firmly top-3, defensive questions |
| East | 3 | 76ers | Top-tier when healthy |
| East | 7 | Heat | On play-in edge |
| East | 8 | Pacers | Elite offense, thin margin |
| West | 1 | Nuggets | Champ-level pace |
| West | 2 | Thunder | Young and dangerous |
| West | 3 | Timberwolves | Defense-first juggernaut |
| West | 9 | Lakers | In the play-in mix |
| West | 10 | Warriors | Fighting to stay alive |
Those middle seeds are where the real chaos is brewing. One mini-win streak can vault a team from the danger zone to home-court conversations, while a poorly timed skid can erase months of solid work. Coaches are already alluding to “must-win” games even though the calendar has not yet flipped to April.
Player stats and last-night headliners
While the standings tell one story, the box scores from the latest slate give the color and context. LeBron’s line popped off the page, combining high-20s scoring with double-digit assists and sturdy rebounding. It was the kind of near triple-double where every possession ran through him, and he controlled the game without forcing much. The Lakers leaned heavily on his ability to orchestrate pick-and-rolls with Anthony Davis, bending the defense until open shooters flashed to the corners.
Stephen Curry’s bucket-by-bucket grind was similarly crucial. He piled up points with his typical mix of off-the-dribble threes and off-ball motion, forcing defenders to sprint through a maze of screens. His player stats once again skewed toward elite true shooting, and he sprinkled in secondary playmaking to punish traps. The Warriors’ supporting cast finally cashed in enough open looks to turn his gravity into a comfortable margin.
Jayson Tatum, meanwhile, put together another balanced scoring night. Boston did not need a 50-piece; instead, Tatum’s 20-plus points blended with all-around defense, solid glass work and calm late-game decision-making. His efficiency and willingness to trust his teammates are underlining why his name keeps surfacing in every serious MVP race conversation.
On the disappointing side, a couple of fringe contenders saw their stars struggle. Turnovers in crunchtime, missed free throws and stagnant offense undercut what looked like winnable games. Coaches did not hold back afterward, speaking about focus, shot selection and accountability. For teams hovering around the 6 to 10 range, there is no margin left for mental lapses.
MVP race: Jokic, Tatum, SGA and the familiar silhouette of LeBron
The MVP race has started to harden into a familiar hierarchy, but big nights can still shuffle the order. Nikola Jokic remains the statistical monster, stacking triple-doubles and leading a Nuggets offense that hums whenever he is on the floor. His efficiency and on-off splits make an overwhelming case; every passing clinic and high-arcing three from the top of the key adds to the résumé.
Jayson Tatum is building his argument on winning and two-way impact. Boston’s dominance at the top of the NBA standings is his loudest bullet point, and the way he accepts defensive assignments on wings while still carrying the scoring load is not lost on voters. Media members around the league keep circling back to Boston’s net rating and crunch-time composure when they talk about his candidacy.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has turned the Thunder into a genuine threat, and his shot diet — living in the paint and the midrange while still getting to the line — screams superstardom. On any given night, his 30-plus points feel almost inevitable, and his ability to close games has made Oklahoma City one of the most feared late-game teams in the West.
Lurking in the background is LeBron James, still putting up MVP-level stretches even if the season-long volume is a step behind the younger leaders. His name surfaces whenever the Lakers string together wins, and if Los Angeles continues to climb, the narrative weight of what he is doing at his age will be impossible to ignore.
Injuries, absences and how they reshape the playoff picture
No discussion of the current landscape is complete without the injury report. Lineups are in flux almost nightly, and coaches have had to lean deeper into their benches than they would like. Several contenders are juggling nagging issues to key starters and rotational pieces, forcing role players into expanded minutes and responsibilities.
Franchises with veteran cores are clearly trying to protect their stars for the postseason grind. That has led to some rest nights and cautious returns that show up directly in the standings. A single stretch without an All-NBA caliber player can turn a comfortable top-four seed into a dogfight just to hold home court in the first round.
On the flip side, a handful of young players have seized the moment. Given bigger roles due to injuries ahead of them, they have flashed real two-way chops — energetic defense, confident shooting and decisive drives. Coaches are openly wondering whether those breakout performances will force permanent rotation changes once everyone is healthy again.
What’s next: Must-watch games and the evolving playoff picture
All of this feeds straight into the schedule ahead. Over the coming days, we get heavyweight showdowns that could swing tie-breakers and tighten the gaps between seeds. West-on-West wars featuring the Nuggets, Thunder, Clippers, Suns, Lakers and Warriors will feel like mini-playoff series, with every possession dissected on film the next morning.
In the East, clashes involving the Celtics, Bucks and 76ers will serve as litmus tests for schemes that might define May and June. Coaches will hide a few wrinkles but cannot fully disguise the matchups they trust and the lineups they fear. There is no better preview of postseason basketball than these late-winter statement games.
For fans, the marching orders are simple: track the NBA standings daily, keep an eye on player stats for subtle trends — shooting slumps, minute spikes, assist bumps — and circle the head-to-head battles between MVP candidates on your calendar. Every night between now and the playoffs feels a little bigger, a little louder, and a little more defining for the season’s ultimate story.
LeBron’s late-career brilliance, Curry’s relentless shotmaking, Tatum’s steady dominance and Jokic’s absurd control of every possession are all feeding into one sprawling narrative: the race is wide open, and a single hot month could tilt the balance. Stay locked in, because the most important chapters of this year’s journey are arriving fast.
