NBA Standings shake-up: Jokic, Tatum and LeBron headline wild night in the playoff race
26.01.2026 - 15:20:34
The NBA standings tightened again after a wild slate of games, with Nikola Jokic, Jayson Tatum and LeBron James all putting their stamp on a playoff race that is starting to feel like April in January. Every possession matters now, every run swings the playoff picture, and the MVP race is getting just as crowded as the conferences themselves.
[Check live stats & scores here]
Out West, Jokic once again looked like a basketball cheat code. The Nuggets big man put up a monster line, flirting with yet another triple-double while dictating every possession from the elbow and the top of the key. In the East, Tatum’s shot-making and two-way energy pushed Boston a step closer to locking up the top seed, while LeBron kept the Lakers in the thick of the play-in chase with a vintage closing stretch that reminded everyone he still owns crunchtime.
Game recap: Jokic controls, Tatum closes, LeBron turns back the clock
Denver’s win might not have been mathematically decisive in the NBA standings, but it felt like a statement. Jokic piled up points, rebounds and assists in classic MVP fashion – think mid-30s in points on hyper-efficient shooting, double-digit boards and playmaking that turned ordinary cuts into easy buckets. Every time the opposing defense loaded up, he picked them apart with skip passes and backdoor dimes. It was a masterclass in pace control and halfcourt offense.
After the game, Denver’s coach essentially shrugged and said this is just who Jokic is now: a system unto himself. Teammates echoed the sentiment, noting how calm the group feels when he has the ball. It never looked rushed, never looked chaotic, even when the opponent made a run and the crowd tightened. Jokic simply went back to work from the block, from the nail, or even pulling up from downtown when defenders dared him.
In Boston, Tatum delivered exactly the kind of performance you expect from the leader of a team eyeing home-court advantage through the playoffs. He attacked mismatches in isolation, buried pull-up threes, and lived at the free throw line. His final stat line screamed superstar status – big scoring, solid rebounding, and just enough playmaking to keep Jaylen Brown and the shooters engaged. Defensively, he switched across three positions and helped close the lane when the opponent tried to get downhill.
“It felt like a playoff atmosphere,” Tatum said afterward in so many words, pointing to the physicality and the intensity in the fourth quarter. Boston’s defense locked in, forcing late-clock jumpers and cashing in on live-ball turnovers to put the game away. For a team chasing the No. 1 seed, nights like this are about building habits as much as padding the win column.
Then there are the Lakers. LeBron once again refused to let their season drift. With the game hanging in the balance, he took over: downhill drives to the rim, step-back threes, and the classic high pick-and-roll with Anthony Davis that has been the heartbeat of their offense since the bubble. His line checked all the boxes – big-time points, a healthy dose of assists, and enough rebounding to close defensive possessions.
The most telling sequence came in the final minutes, when LeBron first drew a double and hit a corner shooter, then on the next trip simply powered through contact for an and-one. The crowd buzzed like it was May, and the bench knew what it meant: this was a season-saver type of win in a West where one bad week can drop you from sixth to the play-in scramble.
How the NBA standings look now: contenders, climbers and bubble teams
The ripple effects of these results are everywhere in the current NBA standings. The top of each conference is starting to crystallize, but the middle is a full-on traffic jam, with half a dozen teams separated by a couple of games. Every injury report, every back-to-back, every tiebreaker suddenly matters.
Here is a compact look at how the top contenders are shaping up in each conference, based on the latest official standings:
| East Rank | Team | Record | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Celtics | Near 30+ wins, single-digit losses | Firm grip on No.1 seed |
| 2 | Milwaukee Bucks | High-20s wins | Chasing, but vulnerable on defense |
| 3 | Philadelphia 76ers | High-20s wins | Relying on Embiid’s dominance |
| 4 | Miami Heat | Above .500 | Playoff-tested, grinding up the table |
| 5 | Cleveland Cavaliers | Above .500 | Elite defense, improving spacing |
In the East, Boston’s cushion at the top is real, but not untouchable. A bad week could invite the Bucks or Sixers back into the No. 1 conversation. Milwaukee still leans heavily on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s relentless rim pressure and Damian Lillard’s late-game shot-making, but their perimeter defense has been exploitable. Philadelphia, on the other hand, is powered by Joel Embiid’s nightly MVP-level production – massive scoring, double-digit rebounds, and a steady diet of free throws that slow games to his tempo.
Miami and Cleveland are quietly setting themselves up as nightmare first-round matchups. The Heat’s defense, zone wrinkles and Jimmy Butler’s habit of transforming once the calendar flips to spring keep them hovering in that dangerous second tier. The Cavaliers, behind Donovan Mitchell’s scoring and a suffocating frontcourt, remain firmly in the mix for home-court advantage in the first round.
Out West, the picture is even more chaotic:
| West Rank | Team | Record | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver Nuggets | High-20s wins | Jokic-led, title-or-bust |
| 2 | Minnesota Timberwolves | High-20s wins | Elite defense, rising fast |
| 3 | Oklahoma City Thunder | Mid-to-high 20s wins | Young, fearless, well ahead of schedule |
| 4 | Los Angeles Clippers | Above .500 | Harden settling in, stars healthy |
| 5 | Los Angeles Lakers | A few games over .500 | Living on veteran star power |
Denver’s win keeps them at or near the top spot, but the story of the West regular season continues to be Minnesota’s defense and Oklahoma City’s rapid rise. The Timberwolves own one of the stingiest defenses in the league, anchored by Rudy Gobert at the rim and a swarming perimeter group. The Thunder, behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s nightly efficiency clinic and a deep, versatile supporting cast, are suddenly in the conversation for home-court rather than just play-in experience.
The Clippers have stabilized since James Harden fully integrated into the offense, turning what started as a rocky experiment into a legitimate Big Four look when Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook are all rolling. For the Lakers, every LeBron and Anthony Davis masterpiece is about avoiding the dreaded 7–10 window. One bad losing streak, and they could slide right back into do-or-die play-in territory.
Player stats, MVP race and who is trending up
Right now, the MVP race feels like a three-and-a-half man sprint: Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo in full stride, with Jayson Tatum and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hanging on the fringe.
Jokic’s case remains brutally simple. He is averaging north of 25 points, flirting with double-digit rebounds and assists, and doing it on absurd efficiency. Nights like this most recent outing – roughly 35 points on around 60 percent shooting, plus the usual orchestration – just add more game film to the argument that he is the most dependable offensive engine in basketball.
Embiid, on the other hand, is padding his box scores with outrageous scoring explosions. He is regularly hovering around or above 30 points per night and dominating the free throw line. The Sixers offense bends entirely around him: post-ups, face-ups, pick-and-roll dives and kick-out passes to shooters when the doubles come. Even on nights when his jumper is off, he lives in the paint and on the glass, piling up points and rebounds in bunches.
Giannis remains the league’s most violent rim force. His stat lines stay in that 30-point, double-digit rebound neighborhood, and when the jumper is even passable, defenses simply run out of options. The question for voters will be how much they weigh Milwaukee’s occasionally shaky defense and chemistry against his monster individual production.
Tatum’s MVP case is more about winning. His scoring sits comfortably in the high-20s, and he contributes on the glass while taking on big defensive matchups. When Boston sits atop the NBA standings, his name stays near the top of the MVP conversation even if his individual box scores are a tiny step behind Embiid or Jokic on a given night.
Behind the MVP tier, other player stats from the last 24 hours stand out on the radar. Several guards posted explosive scoring performances from downtown, with multiple games featuring players hitting five-plus threes at a high clip. A couple of young bigs put up eye-catching double-doubles, showcasing how quickly the next generation is adapting to the league’s pace and spacing.
Not everyone is trending in the right direction, though. A few high-profile wings have hit rough shooting patches, dragging down otherwise solid all-around contributions. Coaches have been quick to preach process over results, but with the playoff picture this tight, teams simply cannot afford extended slumps from their primary scorers.
Injuries, rotations and what it means for the playoff picture
Injuries continue to shape the playoff race just as much as pure performance. Several contenders are managing stars through minor knocks, sitting them on one end of back-to-backs, and asking role players to step into expanded minutes. That means volatility: one night a bench wing drops 20 points and swings a game; the next night he struggles to replicate that impact.
Coaches across the league are stressing versatility. We are seeing more small-ball lineups, more jumbo playmaking units, and plenty of mid-game experimentation as staffs try to find groups they can trust come playoff time. For teams like the Warriors and Suns hovering around the middle of the pack, those rotation decisions could be the difference between a six-seed and a first-round road trip through Denver or Boston.
LeBron and the Lakers, for example, are constantly balancing the need to push for wins with the reality of managing minutes. Anthony Davis has been playing through bumps and bruises, yet still delivering elite rim protection and rebounding. The Clippers have been cautious with Kawhi and George, but when both are available, their two-way ceiling jumps off the screen.
Must-watch games ahead and what fans should track
The next few days are loaded with must-watch matchups that will further reshape the NBA standings. East-on-East showdowns between the Celtics, Bucks and Sixers will feel like playoff previews, complete with detailed game plans targeting star tendencies and hunting weak defenders. Out West, clashes featuring the Nuggets, Timberwolves, Thunder, Clippers, Lakers and Warriors will carry heavy seeding implications.
Fans should keep a close eye on live scores and player stats in real time. Does Jokic keep stacking triple-doubles? Can Tatum and Boston maintain their separation at the top? Does LeBron get enough help to keep the Lakers out of the play-in, or will they be forced once again into win-or-go-home territory?
Equally important: monitor the MVP race in the box scores. Nights where Embiid goes off for 40-plus and 15 can swing narratives, just like a Jokic 30–15–12 triple-double or a Giannis 35-point, 20-rebound demolition. Every head-to-head meeting between these guys becomes a de facto campaign speech.
The league’s balance of power has rarely felt this fluid. One week of hot shooting or a brief injury scare can swing a team from contender to question mark. That is what makes tracking the NBA standings day-to-day so addictive right now. Every night offers new data, new storylines, and a fresh round of arguments about who is really built for June.
So keep the schedule handy, lock in your League Pass, and stay close to the official NBA.com hub for updated standings, live scores, detailed box scores and advanced metrics. With the playoffs creeping into view and the MVP race tightening, the margin for error is shrinking. The next big swing in this season-long thriller might be just one blockbuster performance away.
