NBA standings determine the ranking of the 30 teams based on their winning percentage, with the division and conference records breaking ties, and the top six seeds in each conference advancing directly to the playoffs. Live 2026-27 standings start filling in as games are played with the first game being the preseason match on 5th October 2026. Here's what the system is — word for word from the official rules on NBA.com — until then.
Standings will begin after Preseason and Regular Season Games. It's confirmed that the game starts on October 5, 2026, with the Memphis Grizzlies against the Atlanta Hawks in the first game of the regular season. Regular season standings — the numbers used to determine playoff seeding — start to be counted at the time of the regular season itself tips off later in October.
The teams are ranked in their conference, not by the number of wins, but by the winning percentage. This is important for comparing the teams from different conferences that have played a different number of games early in the season. When win percentages are close, the second criteria used for sorting are division record and conference record.
The NBA has seven tie-breaker rules that are used in order for a tie between two teams:
| Order | Tie-Break Criterion |
| 1 | Better winning percentage in head-to-head games |
| 2 | Division winner status (applies even if the tied teams aren't in the same division) |
| 3 | Better winning percentage within their own division |
| 4 | Better winning percentage within their own conference |
| 5 | Better winning percentage against conference postseason-eligible teams |
| 6 | Better winning percentage against opposite-conference postseason-eligible teams |
| 7 | Better overall point differential |
If the teams are in a tie that includes three or more teams, the process is carried out in stages: first division winner status, then head-to-head status of just the tied teams, then division status, then conference status, then point differential (applied one step at a time until it is completely resolved).
The playoffs consist of 16 teams, with a playoff round consisting of 8 teams in each Conference. The top six of each conference play automatically. Seeds 7-10 compete in the Play-In Tournament with the top two teams in each conference taking the remaining playoff spots (7 and 8).
This page will be a live tracker of the rules instead of an explainer, beginning in October. After games have started, you will see:
See our NBA 2026-27 Season Overview for complete season schedule, trades and matchup previews. Please refer to NBA Games Today for the game slate for this game and to NBA Scores for live updates.
Standing position has a significant impact on the playoff eligibility of teams, but it also dictates the home-court advantage teams might have over the course of the postseason and over a period of time, home-court advantage has been proven to translate to higher win rates in the NBA. Standings context is also a big factor for bettors and fantasy players, as some games have playoff-race implications while others are "less motivated" later in the season, which will need to be considered in addition to our NBA Picks when the schedule begins. Having the standings as a basis for the entire postseason path is straightforward once the Play-In and Playoffs bracket is drawn.
The movement of standings directly influences the betting market during the season — be it futures odds, playoff seeding wagers or game-level spreads, the movement of teams up or down during the season has a significant impact on the betting market. Sports OKBet is a top-notch sports betting platform in the Philippines to follow by NBA fans:
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Standings will be populated after pre-season and regular-season games resume, which is scheduled to be Oct. 5, 2026, at the first game. Regular-season win/loss records begin later in the month once the regular season begins.
The two-team tie is decided in order by head-to-head record, division winner status, division record, conference record, record against teams elimination in the postseason and finally by point differential, per the official rules of the NBA. The process for ties among three or more teams is similar.
The top six in each conference advance to the tournament, with the remaining two conference spots filled through a Play-In Tournament between seeds 7-10 from each conference. That's 16 playoff teams, total, from both conferences.
For context throughout the season, we are referring to the NBA's official standings archive, available since 1970-71. It's the source of definitive comparisons of the races this season with previous seasons.
Seeding is based on winning percentage, NOT absolute wins — which is important in the early part of the year when teams have not played the same number of games because of schedule variance, postponements or tournaments during the season.
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