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  5. Playoff Tiebreakers

2025-26 NBA playoff tiebreakers

5 ties finished level on record in 2025-26. Each is run through the league's tiebreak procedure — head-to-head first — using every game the clubs have played.
2025-26 final standingsUpdated Sunday, Oct 11, 2026 · 9:43 AM ET
How ties are broken here: The league's published procedure, applied to each club's own schedule. The first 4 criteria are evaluated; a tie still level after them is shown as level rather than placed.
EAST

Eastern Conference ties

EAST · 5th–6thTOR Raptors and ATL Hawks finished level at 46-36, 5th–6th in the Eastern Conference. TOR Raptors takes 5th on head-to-head record.
East tie at 46-36
#TeamH2HDIV LDRDIVCONFNET PTS
5
TOR Raptors		4-0No5-1233-19+232
6
ATL Hawks		0-4Yes9-727-25+198
  1. Head-to-head record: TOR ahead of ATL
EAST · 7th–8thPHI 76ers and ORL Magic finished level at 45-37, 7th–8th in the Eastern Conference. PHI 76ers takes 7th on head-to-head record.
East tie at 45-37
#TeamH2HDIV LDRDIVCONFNET PTS
7
PHI 76ers		2-1No9-727-25−15
8
ORL Magic		1-2No9-826-26+52
  1. Head-to-head record: PHI ahead of ORL
WEST

Western Conference ties

WEST · 8th–9thPOR Trail Blazers and LAC Clippers finished level at 42-40, 8th–9th in the Western Conference. POR Trail Blazers takes 8th on conference record.
West tie at 42-40
#TeamH2HDIV LDRDIVCONFNET PTS
8
POR Trail Blazers		2-2No7-929-23−24
9
LAC Clippers		2-2No10-625-27+93
  1. Conference record: POR ahead of LAC
WEST · 11th–12thNO Pelicans and DAL Mavericks finished level at 26-56, 11th–12th in the Western Conference. NO Pelicans takes 11th on head-to-head record.Nothing about the postseason turns on this order. For the draft, clubs level on record share their lottery odds and their pick order is settled by a random drawing, not by these criteria.
West tie at 26-56
#TeamH2HDIV LDRDIVCONFNET PTS
11
NO Pelicans		3-1No7-917-34−369
12
DAL Mavericks		1-3No4-1214-37−452
  1. Head-to-head record: NOP ahead of DAL
WEST · 14th–15thSAC Kings and UTA Jazz finished level at 22-60, 14th–15th in the Western Conference. SAC Kings takes 14th on conference record.Nothing about the postseason turns on this order. For the draft, clubs level on record share their lottery odds and their pick order is settled by a random drawing, not by these criteria.
West tie at 22-60
#TeamH2HDIV LDRDIVCONFNET PTS
14
SAC Kings		2-2No4-1214-38−820
15
UTA Jazz		2-2No1-1512-40−691
  1. Conference record: SAC ahead of UTA
THE RULES

The league's tiebreak procedure

Applied in order until the tie breaks. The first 4 are evaluated on this page.
Two clubs
  1. Better winning percentage in games against each other.
  2. A division leader wins a tie over a club that does not lead its division.
  3. Better winning percentage against division opponents — only if the clubs are in the same division.
  4. Better winning percentage against conference opponents.
  5. Better winning percentage against playoff-eligible clubs in their own conference. (not applied here)
  6. Better winning percentage against playoff-eligible clubs in the other conference. (not applied here)
  7. Better net points — points scored less points allowed — over the whole season. (not applied here)
Three or more clubs
  1. A division leader wins a tie over clubs that do not lead their division.
  2. Better winning percentage in all games among the tied clubs.
  3. Better winning percentage against division opponents — only if every tied club is in the same division.
  4. Better winning percentage against conference opponents.
  5. Better winning percentage against playoff-eligible clubs in their own conference. (not applied here)
  6. Better net points over the whole season. (not applied here)
METHOD

How this is calculated

Seeding is per conference, so a tie only matters between clubs in the same conference with the same winning percentage. Two clubs level on record go through the two-club procedure; three or more go through the multi-club one, which puts division leaders first. As soon as a criterion separates the group, any clubs still level start the procedure again from the top.

Head-to-head, division and conference records are counted from each club's own schedule — every regular-season game it has played, NBA Cup group games included, since the league counts those as regular-season games. The standings feed publishes the same splits for some clubs and not others; every one it does publish matches the count here.

The league's published ranking does not break ties itself: clubs level on record share a rank. That is why this page exists — the order it gives is the procedure's, not the feed's.

The fifth and sixth criteria compare records against playoff-eligible clubs, and which clubs count as playoff-eligible is the league's call to make, not this page's. So the procedure here stops after four. A tie still level by then is listed without places, and the copy says so.

These are the final 2025-26 records, so every tie here is settled.

FAQ

Questions

How are NBA playoff ties broken?
Between two clubs: head-to-head record, then a division leader over a non-leader, then division record (same division only), conference record, record against playoff-eligible clubs in each conference, and finally net points. Three or more clubs start with division leaders, then record in games among the tied clubs.
Does winning the division guarantee a top-four seed?
No. Since 2015-16 a division title is only a tiebreaker: a division leader wins a tie over a club that does not lead its division, and that is all.
How are ties for draft position broken?
Not with these criteria. Clubs that missed the postseason on the same record share their lottery odds, and the order they pick in is settled by a random drawing.
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Related pages

NBA Eastern Conference standingsNBA Western Conference standingsNBA play-in tournamentNBA playoff pictureNBA draft lottery oddsNBA markets