Josh Giddey’s Thunder make NBA history … but face tough a match-up as the playoffs locked in

The NBA playoffs are officially locked as plenty of chaos on the final day led to a number of teams sliding in and out of the play-in tournament.

Max Laughton and Andrew Jackson

4 min read

April 15, 2024 - 4:11PM

Josh Giddey all smiles at Oklahoma City Thunder. Picture: Joshua Gateley/Getty Images

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The NBA playoffs are officially set in stone after final day drama led to a shake-up in who will play who in the battle for the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

Going into the final day, the 20 postseason teams were known but almost every seed was still up for grabs.

Here’s how the Eastern and Western Conference playoff brackets look after the results from the final day!

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EASTERN CONFERENCE

Final day results

Wizards 122-132 Celtics

Hornets 120-110 Cavaliers

Hawks 115-157 Pacers

Raptors 103-118 Heat

Bulls 119-120 Knicks

Bucks 88-113 Magic

Nets 86-107 76ers

SEEDS

1. Celtics (64-18)

2. Knicks (50-32)

3. Bucks (49-33)

4. Cavaliers (48-34)

5. Magic (47-35)

6. Pacers (47-35)

7. 76ers (47-35)

8. Heat (46-36)

9. Bulls (39-43)

10. Hawks (36-46)

The Celtics are No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference heading into the playoffs. Picture: Brian Fluharty/Getty Images

The important races … and how they played out

No. 2 seed, and avoiding the Celtics

Milwaukee coughed up its lead for the No. 2 spot but thankfully avoided falling all the way into fourth, where they would’ve been in line for a horror semi finals clash with Boston.

The Bucks were unable to hold on to the No. 2 seed after a loss to the Magic, as the Knicks’ overtime win over Chicago catapulted them into second.

Damian Lillard takes a free throw for the Bucks against the Orlando Magic. Picture: Gary Bassing/NBAE via Getty Images

The reward though is a potential first-round match-up with reigning MVP Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Thankfully for Milwaukee, Cleveland could not beat the Hornets meaning the Bucks would not fall into fourth place.

The absurd No. 5 and No. 6 fight

Going into the final day, the prospect of things getting really crazy loomed if you look at the four teams split by just one win in the middle of the pack – Orlando (vs. Milwaukee), Indiana (vs. Atlanta), Philadelphia (vs. Brooklyn) or Miami (vs. Toronto).

Ultimately it was the Magic who sealed fifth spot thanks to a victory over the Bucks while the Pacers secured sixth thanks to a monster 42-point win against the Hawks.

Those two results condemned the Sixers to a spot in the play-in tournament despite a win over the Nets.

The Heat needed the Magic, Pacers and Philly to all lose if they were to somehow surge into fifth, but that never eventuated as they ended the regular season in eighth.

EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF BRACKET

Play-in tournament

No. 8 Heat at No. 7 76ers (April 17)

No. 10 Hawks at No. 9 Bulls (April 18)

Winner 9/10 at loser 7/8 (April 20)

First round

No. 1 Celtics vs. No. 8 seed (76ers/Heat/Bulls/Hawks)

No. 2 Knicks vs. No. 7 seed (76ers/Heat)

No. 3 Bucks vs. No. 6 Pacers

No. 4 Cavaliers vs. No. 5 Magic

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Final day results

Nuggets 126-111 Grizzlies

Suns 125-106 Timberwolves

Lakers 124-108 Pelicans

Mavericks 86-135 Thunder

Pistons 95-123 Spurs

Jazz 116-123 Warriors

Rockets 116-105 Clippers

Trail Blazers 82-121 Kings

Standings

1. Thunder (57-25)

2. Nuggets (57-25)

3. Timberwolves (56-26)

4. Clippers (51-31)

5. Mavericks (50-32)

6. Suns (50-32)

7. Pelicans (48-34)

8. Lakers (47-35)

9. Kings (46-36)

10. Warriors (46-36)

Josh Giddey’s Oklahoma City Thunder have finished top of the Western Conference. Picture: Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images

The important races … and how they played out

No. 1 seed

The Thunder, Timberwolves and Nuggets were all tied at 56-25 – the first time in NBA history three teams are tied for the No. 1 seed heading into the final day.

All Oklahoma City had to do was beat the Mavericks to lock in the No. 1 seed and they obliged with a 49-point thrashing as Dallas rested its stars.

With it, the Thunder became the youngest team in NBA history to secure top spot in the Conference, although it means OKC could face a tough challenge in the first round of the playoffs.

Should the Pelicans defeat the Lakers and L.A. win against either Sacramento or Golden State, the Thunder would take on LeBron James and co., who have a significant size advantage.

The Phoenix Suns have avoided the NBA play-in tournament. Picture: David Berding/Getty Images

Elsewhere, Denver sealed the No. 2 seed with a win over the Grizzlies as they leapfrogged the Timberwolves who will go into the playoffs as the No. 3 seed after defeat to the Suns.

No. 6 seed

The race for the last non-play-in spot was between New Orleans and Phoenix, with the Suns needing a win over Minnesota plus a Pelicans loss to the Lakers to flip the order.

Perhaps the Suns’ stars might need to send some presents over to the Lakers as Los Angeles’ win over the Pelicans coupled with Phoenix’s win over the Timberwolves ensured the standings going into the final day would be flipped.

The Suns can now kick back and enjoy the play-in tournament from the comfort of their own homes, but New Orleans will have to do things the hard way.

The play-in

The Lakers needed a win over New Orleans to avoid dropping all the way to 10th, and that’s exactly what transpired as they sealed the No. 8 seed.

The Kings needed to beat the Trail Blazers as well as a loss from Los Angeles if they were to avoid the 9-10 game, but the Lakers’ win meant they could not move up into the No. 8 seed.

The Warriors needed a lot to go in their favour if they were to steer clear of the 9-10 game too and despite a final day win over the Jazz, they will go into the play-in tournament as the No. 10 seed.