How do NBA tiebreakers work? Looking at its rules and types in NBA
NBA tiebreakers were put in place for the rare occasion when two teams finish with the same record to end the regular season. In that event, the league has set up a list of rules to determine playoff seeding.
As far as NBA tiebreakers go, they are fairly straightforward. If two teams are tied at the end of the regular season, the league goes off their head-to-head record to decide who gets the higher seed. If that is also a tie, then it goes to division record to pick a winner.
If the two tied teams are in the same division, the tiebreaker is better division record. For teams in different divisions, the winner is picked if one team wins its division or has a higher winning percentage.
Along with two team ties, the NBA also has tiebreakers in place if there are multiple teams with the same record. In the event that multiple teams have the same regular season record, the top seed goes to the squad with the highest winning percentage.
Will there be any NBA tiebreakers used this season?
As the regular season comes to a close, it looks like some NBA tiebreakers could be used. There are multiple teams in both conferences that could end up with the same record.
The conference that will most likely need tiebreakers is the West. With roughly 10 games to go, there are a handful of teams that are neck-and-neck in the standings.
Right now, the fourth-place Phoenix Suns (40-35) and the 10th-place OKC Thunder (37-38) are within three games of each other. There are also two ties currently. The LA Lakers and Thunder both sit at 37-38 and the Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors are both 39-37.
The Eastern Conference isn't as tight as the West, but there is still a chance for some ties. Coming down the stretch, the Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets each are 40-35. A little further down the standings, the Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors are tied at 37-38.
With just two weeks to go in the regular season, the playoff picture is far from set in stone. Countless teams in both conferences are still jockeying for position. Seeing as how airtight things are, a tiebreak could come down to deciding the postseason fate of an array of teams.