NBA Standings shake-up: Luka Doncic, Giannis and Celtics surge while Lakers, LeBron scramble for ground
07.02.2026 - 23:48:44
The NBA Standings tightened overnight as contenders flexed, bubble teams scrambled and stars like Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo reminded everyone why the MVP race is still wide open. With the Boston Celtics steady at the top, the Milwaukee Bucks charging and the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors fighting for Play-In survival, the playoff picture looks more volatile than ever.
[Check live stats & scores here]
Last night’s headliners: Luka cooks, Giannis powers through, Celtics stay cold-blooded
Luka Doncic once again owned the night, stuffing the box score in a high-usage, high-drama performance for Dallas. From step-back threes to cross-court lasers, he controlled pace and space, piling up points, rebounds and assists in a way that felt almost casual. Every trip down the floor looked like a clinic in modern offense, the kind of all-around dominance that keeps his name front and center in any serious MVP conversation.
Giannis Antetokounmpo answered with his own brand of violence at the rim. Milwaukee leaned on its two-time MVP to bully his way into the paint, living at the free throw line and collapsing the defense on nearly every touch. His combination of rim pressure and improved playmaking turned the Bucks offense into a freight train, leaving defenders a step late and a decision short all night long.
The Boston Celtics, meanwhile, played like a team completely comfortable with the target on their back. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown didn’t need a historic box score line; they simply dissected their opponent possession by possession. Boston’s spacing, ball movement and switch-heavy defense made it feel like a playoff dress rehearsal, with every closeout and rotation on time. In crunchtime, they calmly executed out of set after set, a reminder why they occupy prime real estate near the top of the NBA Standings.
On the West Coast, LeBron James and the Lakers were again living on the edge. At 39, LeBron still toggles between floor general and downhill freight train, but the margin for error for Los Angeles is razor thin. Every late-game turnover, every missed corner three feels massive with the Play-In tournament looming. Anthony Davis continues to anchor the defense and rack up Double-Doubles, yet the Lakers are one bad week away from serious trouble in the Western Conference hierarchy.
Stephen Curry and the Warriors, for their part, are still leaning heavily on his gravity from downtown just to keep their heads above water. Golden State flashes spurts of vintage ball movement, but defensive lapses and inconsistent bench production keep pulling them back toward the Play-In line. Curry can still detonate for 30-plus on efficient shooting any given night, but the cushion they once enjoyed in the West is gone.
How the NBA Standings look at the top: Celtics, Nuggets, Bucks set the tone
The standings board tells the real story. With roughly a third of the regular season behind us, tiers are forming. Boston, Denver and Milwaukee have separated themselves as title-grade machines, while a logjam of hopefuls from Oklahoma City to the Lakers fight for seeding and survival.
Here is a snapshot of the current top of the NBA Standings in each conference (records and seeds based on the latest official listings from NBA.com and ESPN at the time of writing):
| East Seed | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Celtics | Leading East, dominant home record |
| 2 | Milwaukee Bucks | Within striking distance of 1st |
| 3 | Philadelphia 76ers | Firmly in top tier |
| 4 | New York Knicks | Climbing, strong recent form |
| 5 | Cleveland Cavaliers | In solid playoff position |
| West Seed | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver Nuggets | On top, elite at both ends |
| 2 | Minnesota Timberwolves | Within a game of 1st |
| 3 | Oklahoma City Thunder | Surprise contender tier |
| 4 | Los Angeles Clippers | Surging after slow start |
| 5 | Dallas Mavericks | Riding Luka’s offense |
Below that first tier sits the chaos. Teams like the Lakers, Warriors, Kings and Pelicans in the West, and the Heat, Pacers and Magic in the East, shuffle between guaranteed playoff security and the Play-In trapdoor almost nightly. One two-game losing streak can drop a team from the sixth seed to the ninth, flipping a comfortable playoff berth into a win-or-go-home scenario.
Coaches are already talking about seeding like it is late March. One Western Conference assistant put it bluntly after a tight loss this week: “Every game feels like a mini playoff. You slip for three nights and you’re staring at a road Play-In with LeBron or Steph on the other side.” That sense of urgency has ratcheted up defensive intensity and shortened rotations earlier than usual in the regular season.
Playoff picture and Play-In pressure: Lakers, Warriors, Heat on the bubble
The middle of the bracket is where the drama lives. The NBA’s Play-In format keeps more teams alive longer, but it also exposes every weak link.
In the West, the Lakers and Warriors are feeling the heat. Los Angeles leans heavily on LeBron’s decision-making and Anthony Davis’s rim protection to stay afloat. Any night where the role players fail to hit open shots or contain opposing guards turns into a nail-biter in the final two minutes. The Lakers still profile as a dangerous matchup in a seven-game series, but they have to get there first.
Golden State’s margin is even thinner. Curry continues to post elite Player Stats in points and three-pointers made, but defensive breakdowns and foul trouble for Draymond Green have cost them winnable games. If they end up in a one-and-done Play-In scenario on the road, the dynasty suddenly looks vulnerable.
In the East, the Miami Heat remain the classic “no one wants to see them in April” group, but their regular-season inconsistency has them hovering in that 6-to-9-seed range. Jimmy Butler can flip into playoff mode at any moment, yet Miami has not found a consistent gear offensively. One scout put it this way: “You still fear them in a series, but you no longer pencil them in for the conference finals.”
MVP Race: Jokic, Luka, Giannis and Tatum drive the narrative
The MVP race is turning into a weekly referendum on style and substance. Nikola Jokic still feels like the quiet favorite. His nightly line hovers around a near Triple-Double, with absurd efficiency and a usage rate that never feels forced. Every time Denver needs a bucket, he either finds a cutter, hits a soft floater, or pulls a center out to the arc for a dagger three. His impact metrics remain off the charts.
Luka Doncic is the loudest challenger. His scoring eruptions, 35-plus point nights and high-assist games are keeping Dallas in the upper half of the Western bracket. He has logged multiple near Triple-Doubles in the last few weeks, and when his step-back from downtown is falling, defenses simply run out of answers. The knock will continue to be defense, but his offensive load is so heavy that it is hard to argue with his value.
Giannis Antetokounmpo lives in attack mode. He has already stacked up several massive Double-Doubles and highlight-reel chases in transition, and his synergy with Damian Lillard continues to evolve. His scoring efficiency at the rim remains absurd, and the Bucks’ record keeps his name firmly engraved on every MVP short list.
Jayson Tatum might be the quiet storm of the group. His raw scoring numbers may not spike quite as high as Luka’s on a nightly basis, but he is playing within a deep Boston system that demands reads, not hero ball. He rebounds, defends multiple positions and steps into big shots when it matters most. If the Celtics finish with the league’s best record, it will be impossible to ignore his candidacy.
Player Stats spotlight: hot hands, cold streaks
Beyond the headliners, several players have nudged their way into the season’s bigger storyline.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to drop efficient 30-piece nights for the Oklahoma City Thunder, mixing crafty drives with a lethal midrange pull-up. His steal numbers stay high, and his ability to control tempo without turning the ball over is quietly elite. If the Thunder stay near the top of the West, his name will surface more loudly in the MVP chatter.
On the flip side, some big names are struggling to find rhythm. A couple of high-usage guards around the league have hit shooting slumps from three, forcing their coaches to re-balance rotations and usage rate. Those cold spells matter when margins are thin and every possession swings seeding. While no one is pressing the panic button yet, the next two weeks will be crucial for teams that rely heavily on perimeter shot-making.
Injuries, roster tweaks and what they mean for the stretch ahead
Injuries continue to shape the landscape as much as any hot streak. Several teams dealing with banged-up stars are essentially in survival mode. Medical staffs are walking the tightrope between rest and rhythm, especially for players with recent soft-tissue issues or lingering knee soreness.
Coaches are coy with timelines, but the subtext is clear: the true priority is being healthy for the final month and the postseason, not chasing an extra regular-season win in January. A veteran assistant said it best off the record: “Seeding is nice. Healthy stars are non-negotiable.” That calculus may open the door for a surprise riser to steal a top-4 seed if they can stay relatively injury-free.
On the roster-move front, fringe contenders are already window-shopping bench upgrades. With shooting and versatile wing defense always at a premium, phone lines around the league are buzzing. Teams in the middle of the pack are asking themselves the same question: Is this group one trade away from being dangerous, or one injury away from a reset?
What’s next: must-watch games and shifting playoff picture
The upcoming schedule is loaded with matchups that could swing both the NBA Standings and the national narrative.
Celtics vs. a top East rival promises a measuring-stick night with playoff-type intensity. Every possession will feel like a chess match, and Tatum’s crunch-time decision-making will be under the microscope. Denver facing another West contender will offer another data point in Jokic’s quiet MVP march. And any time the Lakers or Warriors step on national TV with seeding on the line, it carries that familiar “don’t change the channel” energy.
For fans, this is the sweet spot of the regular season. Teams have enough sample size to know who they are, but enough time left to rewrite the script. One five-game win streak can vault a Play-In hopeful into a locked-in playoff spot; one bad week can push a dark-horse contender back into the pack.
Stay locked in on the standings page, track those live scores and box scores, and watch how the MVP Race weaves through every Game Highlight and clutch moment. The NBA Standings may look one way this morning, but with the way LeBron, Curry, Giannis, Jokic, Tatum and Luka are playing, they are one wild week away from being flipped again.
