NBA Standings shake-up: LeBron’s Lakers climb, Tatum’s Celtics steady while Curry keeps Warriors in the hunt
05.02.2026 - 11:00:19
The NBA standings tightened once again after a wild slate of games, with LeBron James pushing the Los Angeles Lakers closer to the upper half of the West, Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics steadying their grip on the East, and Stephen Curry keeping the Golden State Warriors firmly in the postseason hunt. In a league where one hot week can flip the playoff picture, last night felt like another mini-Playoff preview.
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LeBron turns up the pressure as Lakers tighten the West race
LeBron James is clearly in postseason mode already. In the latest Lakers win, he controlled the tempo from tip-off, punishing mismatches in the post and orchestrating the half-court offense like a quarterback at the line of scrimmage. Every time the game drifted toward chaos, LeBron slowed it down, called his own number, or created a clean look for a shooter in the corner.
The Lakers offense hummed when LeBron pushed in transition, and Anthony Davis backed him with a classic two-way performance, owning the glass and anchoring the rim protection. The box score told the story: high-20s in points for LeBron with strong assist numbers, Davis piling up a Double-Double in points and rebounds, and timely threes from the role players. The win nudged the Lakers closer to the top six in the Western Conference, trimming the gap to a razor-thin margin and adding real urgency to every remaining regular-season game.
Postgame, the locker-room tone was serious, not celebratory. The message from the veterans was simple: this is the standard. The Lakers know that every possession now feels like a coin flip between home-court advantage and a brutal Play-In path.
Celtics stay calm at the top while everyone else scrambles
While the West keeps oscillating, the Boston Celtics once again played like the one team in the league that is completely unbothered by the nightly chaos. Jayson Tatum set the tone offensively, mixing drives, step-back jumpers, and catch-and-shoot looks from downtown. He attacked single coverage without hesitation and punished switches by getting to his spots early in the shot clock.
Jaylen Brown provided the physical edge, turning defense into instant offense with strips, run-outs, and straight-line drives. Boston’s defensive versatility shined again: they switched, they shrunk the floor in the paint, and they dared opponents to beat them over the top across 48 minutes. Even in the tougher stretches, it never felt like panic time for the Celtics. It felt like a playoff atmosphere, and they looked ready for it.
The latest win keeps Boston ahead of the pack in the Eastern Conference, reinforcing why so many analysts still see them as the title favorites. Their net rating, clutch-time composure, and balance between star firepower and role-player reliability all keep them sitting comfortably near the top of the NBA standings.
Curry’s shotmaking keeps Warriors relevant in the Playoff picture
Stephen Curry once again reminded everyone why no lead is safe when he is on the floor. Golden State’s veteran core needed a statement performance, and Curry delivered with another scoring burst that flipped the momentum almost single-handedly. He rained threes from well beyond the arc, stretched the defense until it snapped, and opened up clean driving lanes for his teammates.
Every time the opponent threatened to break the game open, Curry answered from downtown. His Player Stats line jumped off the page: high-scoring output on efficient shooting, plus enough playmaking to keep the Warriors’ offense in rhythm. The Warriors may not be sitting at the top of the standings, but this win keeps them squarely in the Western Play-In and gives them a realistic shot to climb further if they string together a few more solid nights.
Golden State’s coaching staff has leaned into smaller, quicker lineups that maximize spacing around Curry. The result is an attack that can go from cold to red-hot in a couple of possessions, the kind of swing that can decide an entire series once we get into the real Playoff grind.
How the current NBA standings look at the top
The top of both conferences is starting to crystallize, even as the middle remains a dogfight. The NBA standings at the moment show a clear group of contenders that have separated in the win column, but seeding inside that elite group is still fluid. A single bad week could drop a team from a top-two spot into a far less comfortable matchup.
Here is a compact look at some of the key positions in each conference based on the latest results:
| East Rank | Team | Record | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Celtics | Top record in East | Holding steady, elite on both ends |
| 2 | Milwaukee Bucks | Chasing Celtics | Defense improving, offense still dangerous |
| 3 | New York Knicks | Firmly in top four | Physical defense, rising confidence |
| 7 | Miami Heat | Playoff mix | On the bubble for top-six safety |
| 9 | Chicago Bulls | Play-In zone | Fighting to avoid slipping out |
| West Rank | Team | Record | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver Nuggets | Near top of West | Championship composure, Jokic leading |
| 2 | Oklahoma City Thunder | Within striking distance | Young, fearless, climbing fast |
| 5 | Los Angeles Clippers | Top-six security | Star-driven, but health is key |
| 8 | Los Angeles Lakers | Just outside top six | Surging behind LeBron and AD |
| 10 | Golden State Warriors | Play-In slot | Curry keeping them dangerous |
Those records shift nightly, but the broader picture is clear: Denver and Boston are the pace-setters, while teams like the Lakers and Warriors are trying to avoid must-win Play-In scenarios. The Playoff Picture is crowded enough that a two-game win or losing streak can mean home court or a sudden-death road trip.
Top performers and box-score stars from the latest action
Beyond the team narratives, a handful of individual performances rewrote the storylines from the last 24 hours. LeBron controlled the tempo and bullied his way to the rim in crunch time. Tatum’s shot-making and decision-making under pressure stabilized Boston’s offense. Curry’s gravity and shooting from deep cracked open what looked like a tight, low-scoring grind.
On other courts, big men dominated the paint. Nikola Jokic stuffed another box score with his signature all-around brilliance: points, rebounds, assists, all coming in the flow of the offense without forcing the issue. His near Triple-Double-level output is now so routine that it barely shocks anymore, but it still breaks opponents’ game plans. Guards who tried to dig down on his post touches were punished with laser-like skip passes to open shooters.
There were also quieter but crucial efforts from role players: defensive specialists who chased shooters off the line, backup guards who steadied second units, and stretch bigs who spaced the floor just enough to open driving lanes. These are the types of Game Highlights that do not always lead the broadcast, but they are the reason coaches trust certain lineups when the game shrinks in the fourth quarter.
MVP race: Jokic, Tatum, and a late push from LeBron
The MVP Race remains tight, with advanced metrics, team success, and sheer eye test all tugging in slightly different directions. Jokic continues to sit at or near the top of most models, thanks to his monstrous Player Stats: efficient scoring in the high 20s, double-digit rebounds, and close to double-digit assists on many nights. His on/off impact still feels unmatched.
Tatum, meanwhile, has the narrative juice of leading the best team in the East. His two-way presence, combined with Boston’s dominance in clutch situations, keeps him firmly in the conversation. He is not just piling up points; he is guarding multiple positions, closing defensive possessions with rebounds, and making the right reads when defenses load up on him.
LeBron’s case is less about raw volume and more about defying the clock. Even in his 21st season, he is putting up elite numbers and driving winning in a brutally competitive conference. If the Lakers keep climbing and escape the Play-In, the noise around his MVP candidacy will only grow louder, especially with marquee Game Highlights in national TV windows.
Curry may not have the team record to match some of the top seeds, but every time he drops another 30-plus on efficient splits, he strengthens the argument that value is not just about standings; it is about how completely a single player can warp a defense.
Injury updates, rotations, and how they reshape the race
The last couple of days also brought key injury notes that directly affect the stretch run. Several teams continue to manage star players on cautious timelines, knowing that one setback now could shatter an entire postseason plan. Coaches have leaned into deeper rotations, tapping bench units to soak up regular-season minutes while trying to keep their top options fresh for May and June.
For squads like the Clippers and Bucks, minor injuries to key starters have forced lineup tweaks: more small-ball looks, different primary ball-handlers, and an increased reliance on shooters who can thrive off catch-and-shoot opportunities. It all feeds back into the standings: a short-handed back-to-back can easily be the difference between finishing third or sliding to fifth.
Every update on a sore ankle or tight hamstring matters now. A single star missing a week could swing home-court advantage, and for teams clinging to the Play-In line, even one bad stretch could be fatal.
What’s next: must-watch matchups and shifting Playoff picture
The coming days load up the schedule with potential Playoff previews. The Lakers and Warriors both face opponents that sit right around them in the West, making those head-to-heads effectively worth two games in the standings. A win keeps you moving up; a loss hands a rival the tiebreaker and momentum.
In the East, the Celtics and Bucks have statement opportunities of their own. For Boston, it is about maintaining distance and protecting that top seed. For Milwaukee, it is about tightening up the defense and proving their new look can hold up against elite competition. Every national TV showdown now carries seeding implications and MVP subplots.
Expect more Playoff-level intensity well before the actual bracket is set. Coaches are shortening rotations in key fourth quarters, star players are openly talking about seeding, and crowds are reacting to every whistle like it is late April.
Fans who want to track every twist in the NBA standings, from Live Scores to box scores, should keep one eye on the scoreboard and the other on the injury reports. The margins are too thin to ignore anything now. Stay locked in as the league sprints toward the finish line and the weekend clashes stack up with real postseason weight.
