Game 82: The end of the line for some in the NBA, decision day for others
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
Game 82 for every team in the NBA has arrived. For 10 clubs, it's the end of the season. For 13 others, it's one last game before the postseason.
And for seven teams in the Western Conference, Game 82 might feel like Game 7.
The NBA regular season ends on Sunday, with seven postseason-bound West teams entering the final day wondering where they'll land in the standings. And it all could be decided around the same time; each of the games that will affect those unclaimed West spots start a little after 3:30 p.m. Eastern.
All 30 teams will be in action. Some just want to get things over with. Some want answers — and will get them.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
“I don't want to be too dramatic,” Golden State guard Stephen Curry said. “It should be like a Game 7-kind of vibe. You win, and you control your destiny on a guaranteed playoff series. You lose, and you roll the dice. Good teams find a way to win big games like that, and that's what we're aiming to be.”
There are four West teams — Golden State, Denver, the Los Angeles Clippers and Minnesota — vying for three guaranteed playoff spots, and one of them will even get home-court in Round 1. The odd team out of that mix is headed to a play-in game on Tuesday.
For those four teams, it's very simple: Win and you're in.
Golden State plays the Clippers, so the loser of that game likely — but not definitely — goes to the play-in. If Utah knocks off Minnesota, the Timberwolves are play-in bound regardless of other outcomes.
Entering Sunday, Minnesota would be the odd team out in the race for those last three West guaranteed spots. Denver enters the final day in the No. 4 spot, with the Clippers fifth and Golden State sixth. The Timberwolves close at home against Utah, the team with the worst record in the West.
“Win the game and then whatever happens after that happens,” Minnesota’s Julius Randle said. “We win the game, we’re where we want to be. So, focus on us and I always say control what we can control. And after that, we’ll figure it out.”
Also undecided: where Memphis, Sacramento and Dallas will end up. Memphis will be seventh or eighth in the West and in a play-in game on Tuesday, while Sacramento and Dallas will be ninth and 10th — in some order — with No. 9 hosting No. 10 in an elimination game Wednesday.
“It's good that we know who we're playing,” Mavericks forward Anthony Davis said. “So, we'll start prepping.”
The Eastern Conference order is set going into Sunday: Cleveland is No. 1, Boston is No. 2, New York is No. 3 (and will play No. 6 Detroit) and Indiana is No. 4 (and will play No. 5 Milwaukee). No. 7 Orlando hosts No. 8 Atlanta on Tuesday in a play-in game, and No. 9 Chicago hosts No. 10 Miami on Wednesday in an elimination game.
The West spots that are set: Oklahoma City is No. 1, Houston is No. 2 and the Los Angeles Lakers are No. 3. Next weekend's openers will mark the first time that the Lakers host a Game 1 in Los Angeles since 2012; the Lakers were the home team for all four Game 1s they played on their way to the NBA title in the bubble in 2020, but those games were in Florida.
“I’m just incredibly proud of our team,” Lakers first-year coach JJ Redick said. “It’s an accomplishment to win 50 games in the regular season in any year. I think particularly this year, in this Western Conference, it is, and it’s a credit to our players. ... We want to go win one more game, and we’ll figure out Sunday who we play in the first round.”
Playing in all 82
There are 11 players entering Sunday with a chance of appearing in all 82 games, and six with a chance to start all 82.
New York’s Mikal Bridges is in line to play all 82 -- again. He’s appeared in all 555 possible regular-season games of his career, 39 more in the playoffs and all 116 of Villanova’s games when he was in college. His last game missed: one game because of illness in his junior year of high school.
San Antonio’s Chris Paul could become the second-oldest player, behind John Stockton, to start all 82 games. Stockton did it in the season where he turned 40; Paul won’t turn 40 until May 6. Paul could become the first player to do so in Year 20 of a career or later; Stockton played 19 seasons.
The others who could start 82: Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen, San Antonio’s Harrison Barnes, Houston’s Jalen Green and Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels.
In addition to Bridges, Paul, Allen, Barnes, Green and McDaniels, San Antonio’s Julian Champagnie, Golden State’s Buddy Hield, Detroit’s Malik Beasley, Washington’s Bub Carrington and Minnesota’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker could play in their 82nd games of the season on Sunday.
50-win teams
Oklahoma City, Cleveland, Boston, Houston, the Lakers and New York have already reached the 50-win mark this season.
Indiana, Denver and the Clippers could all get there on Sunday. If they all do, it’ll be the first time the NBA has seen nine teams win 50 games in the same season since 10 clubs did it in 2014-15.
The Thunder, Cavaliers and Celtics will all finish with at least 60 wins. That’s the most in the NBA since three teams did it in 2008-09 — and Boston has won 60 for a 15th time, extending its NBA mark for the most such seasons.
