As the 2025-26 NBA season is coming to a close, the race to get into the playoffs is starting to heat up. The last day of the regular season is on Apr. 12, and then it’s straight into play-ins and the playoffs.

Bubble Teams

There are always a couple of teams that go back and forth, being in the playoffs and then being out. This year, there are a lot of teams with similar records fighting for the same couple of spots.

In the Western Conference, four teams are all going for a 3-seed in the playoffs. The Lakers,  Nuggets, Timberwolves, and Rockets are within reach of each other, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Whoever can come out on top of that group will have the 3-seed, while the team that comes out last will get the 6-seed.

For the Eastern Conference, it’s an even closer race. Six teams, the Raptors, Hawks, 76ers, Magic, Hornets and Heat are all currently seeded 5-10, all within a couple of games of each other. Four of those teams will have to be in the play-in tournament, while the other two are automatically in.

Timberwolves’ playoff outlook

The Minnesota Timberwolves, led by the young superstar Anthony Edwards, have made the Western Conference Finals two years in a row and are in a similar position to the last two years in terms of playoff standing. Similar to the last couple of years, the team to beat in the West is OKC, which has been the 1-seed in both of the Timberwolves’ runs.

Two of the Timberwolves’ best players right now, Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels, have been dealing with minor injuries and are currently day-to-day on whether they’ll play or not. This could heavily impact the seed that the Timberwolves get heading into the playoffs.

Looking forward to the last few games, the Wolves broke a 3-game losing streak against the Pacers to cushion their lead against the Suns for the 6-seed and look to potentially move up in the last three games of the season.