NBA Standings shake-up: LeBron’s Lakers, Tatum’s Celtics and Jokic’s Nuggets hit All-Star break reset
01.02.2026 - 13:03:50 | ad-hoc-news.de
The NBA Standings are officially on pause at the All-Star break, and the league could not have picked a better moment to catch its breath. With LeBron James and the Lakers clawing to stabilize in the West, Jayson Tatum and the Celtics cruising at the top of the East, Stephen Curry trying to drag the Warriors back into the mix, and Nikola Jokic quietly anchoring another Nuggets title push, the playoff picture is loaded with storylines before games resume on Thursday.
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There were no regular-season games on the court last night as the league wrapped up All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis, but the impact on the NBA Standings still feels huge. The break acts like a psychological line in the sand: contenders sharpen their rotations, fringe teams decide whether to push for the Play-In or pivot to the lottery, and every possession suddenly takes on that playoff-tinged weight.
Game highlights from Indy: All-Star fireworks, subtle playoff vibes
Even without official standings movement, the All-Star action delivered plenty of signals for what is coming next. The Eastern Conference, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, outgunned the Western Conference in the 2025 NBA All-Star Game 211–186 in Indianapolis, turning the night into a pure offense showcase that felt like a three-point contest on steroids.
Karl-Anthony Towns stole the show with a ridiculous 50-point outburst on 23-of-35 shooting, burying jumpers from all over and reminding everyone why he is one of the most dangerous stretch bigs in the league. Behind him, stars like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic eased through the night, focusing more on entertainment than defense, but the chemistry snapshots and one-on-one battles still told a story.
LeBron looked every bit like a veteran who knows the real games start on Thursday. He picked his spots, flashed playmaking, and spent as much time talking to other stars as he did hunting highlights. Tatum, meanwhile, carried himself like a man whose team controls the East and expects to stay there. Curry’s range from downtown had the crowd gasping, even in a game where everyone was launching, and Jokic leaned into the fun, stringing together no-look dimes and touch passes that had his West teammates laughing mid-possession.
On Saturday night, the vibe was a little more intense. In the three-point contest, shooters were locked in, knowing that come Thursday, those same shots will decide seeding. The dunk contest once again flashed young athleticism, a reminder that the next wave is already here and hungry for playoff minutes.
Where the NBA Standings sit at the break: Celtics out front, chaos in the West
Zoom out from the All-Star glow and the current playoff picture is clear: Boston owns the East, Denver remains steady in the West, and almost everyone else is clumped in traffic. Using the latest official standings from NBA.com and ESPN as of the All-Star break, the top of the board looks like this.
| Conference | Seed | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| East | 1 | Boston Celtics | 45-12 |
| East | 2 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 36-17 |
| East | 3 | Milwaukee Bucks | 35-21 |
| East | 4 | New York Knicks | 33-22 |
| East | 5 | Philadelphia 76ers | 32-23 |
| West | 1 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 39-16 |
| West | 2 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 37-17 |
| West | 3 | Denver Nuggets | 36-19 |
| West | 4 | Los Angeles Clippers | 36-18 |
| West | 5 | New Orleans Pelicans | 33-22 |
The Celtics are not just leading; they are setting the tone for the entire league. Tatum and Jaylen Brown have Boston top-5 in both offense and defense, and that balance has them looking like the one true heavyweight in the East. The Cavs and Bucks are chasing, but they feel a tier below until proven otherwise in a seven-game series.
Out West, things are far more volatile. The Timberwolves, Thunder, Nuggets and Clippers are separated by only a couple of games in the loss column. One bad week could drop a team from home-court advantage into the chaos of the 5–6 range. Denver still feels like the most trusted group when it comes to the playoffs, but Minnesota’s defense, Oklahoma City’s fearless youth and the Clippers’ star power with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George make the top of the West a nightly slugfest.
Just behind them, the Lakers and Warriors hover in that dangerous band where every loss cuts deeper. They are fighting not just opponents, but also the clock. For LeBron and Curry, every game from here on is about legacy and opportunity. Falling into the Play-In again would mean high-wire basketball before the postseason even officially starts.
Player stats, top performers and the MVP race coming out of Indy
The All-Star break might be a pause in the schedule, but it is a checkpoint for the awards conversation. The MVP race is as wide open as it has been in years, and the top of the ballot is stacked with different archetypes of dominance.
Nikola Jokic has once again put together a monster statistical profile, flirting with a triple-double almost every night. He is averaging well over 25 points, double-digit rebounds and close to 9 assists per game on elite efficiency, casually dissecting defenses from the high post and the top of the key. Every Denver run in crunchtime still flows through his hands, and the Nuggets’ on/off numbers scream value.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has turned Oklahoma City from feel-good story into full-fledged contender. His Player Stats jump off the page: north of 30 points per game, elite free-throw volume, and late-game shotmaking that feels inevitable. In tight games, the Thunder just clear a side and let SGA go to work. Defenders know what is coming, and it still does not matter.
Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to be a walking Double-Double, pouring in points at the rim, owning the glass and forcing defenses to build walls. But Milwaukee’s uneven first half and coaching turbulence muddy his MVP narrative, even with the raw numbers doing all they can to argue in his favor.
Tatum is firmly on the MVP ladder too, powered by Boston’s dominance in the NBA Standings. His scoring has leveled up in key moments, and his playmaking reads have sharpened. On a stacked roster, he is the one guy defenses game-plan around. The only knock: the Celtics are so good top to bottom that voters may split credit across the roster.
And then there is Luka Doncic, piling up outrageous box scores and regularly flirting with 40-point triple-doubles. His usage is sky-high, his Game Highlights are appointment viewing, and he carries Dallas into every game with a puncher’s chance, even when the supporting cast wobbles.
Who is rising, who is slipping in the playoff picture?
On the rise: the New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder. New York, when healthy, has looked like a bruising, defensive-minded group built for playoff basketball. Their recent surge up the East standings has turned Madison Square Garden into a nightly event again. Oklahoma City’s rise is even more dramatic. Their core is young, athletic and fearless, the kind of group that might not know enough to be afraid of the moment.
Slipping: the Philadelphia 76ers and the Golden State Warriors. With Joel Embiid sidelined, the Sixers’ offense has lost its anchor. Every missed game from Embiid not only hurts their record, it chips away at their seeding security. Philly is in danger of sliding from a top-4 lock into the Play-In conversation if they cannot cobble together enough wins without him.
Golden State, meanwhile, continues to live on the knife’s edge. Curry is still capable of detonating from downtown, but the margin for error is shrinking. Their defense has been inconsistent, late-game execution has cracked at times, and the rest of the conference is younger and deeper than the Warriors have seen in years.
LeBron’s Lakers sit somewhere in between. On some nights, they look like a problem in a series: size inside, high-IQ playmaking, and enough shooting when the supporting cast is locked in. On others, they look like a team one injury away from the bottom dropping out. The Play-In is once again looming as a very real possibility, and that is a dangerous way to live when every game from mid-April on could be an elimination game.
MVP radar and under-the-radar stars to watch
As the stretch run begins, expect the MVP Race to tighten and the advanced metrics to get thrown around like confetti. Jokic, SGA, Giannis, Tatum and Luka are the names on every panel, but a second tier of stars is quietly shifting the landscape.
Anthony Edwards has powered Minnesota’s leap in the West. His scoring bursts, swagger and late-game fearlessness have turned the Timberwolves from League Pass curiosity into a real contender. Every highlight reel dunk is fun, but it is the fourth-quarter shotmaking and improved decision-making that make him a problem.
In Cleveland, Donovan Mitchell has been an engine. When he heats up, the Cavs’ offense jumps a level, and his ability to score from all three levels has kept them firmly in the top tier of the East. If they keep winning at this pace, he will drift further into the MVP conversation, even if he is fighting for oxygen behind bigger names.
Do not forget the two-way impact guys, either. Kawhi Leonard has crept back into his efficient, ruthless form, quietly torching defenses from the midrange and anchoring elite wing defense. If the Clippers climb further up the West, voters will have to reckon with how dominant he has been on both ends.
News, injuries and what they mean for the stretch run
The biggest dark cloud still hanging over the second half is health. Embiid’s status in Philadelphia has massive ripple effects. Without him, the Sixers go from potential Finals sleeper to team just trying to stay out of the Play-In. His knee timeline will be monitored daily, and every update changes the calculus for the East.
In the West, depth is going to separate the true contenders from the pretenders. Denver’s rotation stability, Minnesota’s wave of bigs, Oklahoma City’s army of long wings and the Clippers’ veteran-heavy roster all look suited for the grind. The Lakers and Warriors, by contrast, will need near-perfect health and elite star-level production from LeBron and Curry to survive the schedule gauntlet.
Coaches are already tightening things up. Expect shorter rotations, fewer experimental lineups, and more playoff-style game plans against direct rivals in the NBA Standings. When Minnesota sees Denver, or Boston faces Milwaukee or Cleveland, those nights will feel like May in the middle of February and March.
Must-watch games and what is at stake when play resumes
Once the league comes out of the break, the calendar wastes no time throwing gasoline on the playoff race. Marquee matchups between the Celtics and other East heavyweights, plus Nuggets, Timberwolves, Clippers and Thunder showdowns out West, will instantly reshape the daily standings watch.
Every head-to-head between bubble teams is essentially a four-point swing: win, and you climb while pushing a rival down. Lose, and the tiebreaker math starts to work against you. Those Play-In slots from 7 to 10 in each conference will be a nightly roller coaster.
For fans, this is the sweet spot of the season. The All-Star shine has not worn off yet, the players are rested, and the sense of urgency is real. From Live Scores on your phone to late-night West Coast crunchtime finishes, following the NBA Standings from now through April is going to feel like tracking a stock market that never closes.
If the first half was about positioning, the second half is about survival. Jokic, Tatum, LeBron, Curry and the rest of the league’s elite know that from here on, every missed box out, every blown rotation and every clutch three from downtown can swing a series months before it even tips off. Buckle up, keep an eye on the standings and the MVP chatter, and stay locked in as the run to the playoffs begins.
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