The 2024-25 NBA regular season came to a close Sunday, and the 2025 NBA playoff bracket is set. The Clippers clinched a playoff spot and sent the Warriors to the Play-In Tournament with a thrilling 124-119 overtime win on Sunday. Seeds 4-10 in the West were all determined on Sunday as the Nuggets and Timberwolves joined the Clippers as teams to clinch playoff spots.
Here’s what was determined on Sunday:
- The Nuggets clinched the No. 4 seed with a win over the Rockets.
- The Clippers clinched the No. 5 seed with a win over the Warriors.
- The Timberwolves clinched the No. 6 seed with a win over the Jazz.
- The Kings clinched the No. 9 seed with a win over the Suns.
2025 NBA playoff bracket: Postseason picture, matchups, schedule as Clippers clinch spot vs. Warriors
Brad Botkin
It was a wild day in the association, so let’s take a look at some winners and losers from the NBA’s regular-season finale.
Winner: Clippers as title contenders
Those of you who haven’t been paying attention to the Clippers for the past two months got a glimpse of what’s in store in the playoffs. Kawhi Leonard and James Harden combined for 72 points, 17 assists and 13 rebounds on 26-for-42 (62%) shooting, including 9 of 16 from 3-point range in Sunday’s 124-119 overtime win over the Warriors. Harden came up clutch in overtime, hitting back-to-back clutch 3s to start things off.
Meanwhile, Ivica Zubac punished the small-ball Warriors, going for 22 points and 17 rebounds on 11-of-16 shooting as the Clippers improved to 18-3 since March 5 and enter the postseason as one of the hottest teams in the NBA. Their “Big Three” of Leonard, Harden and Zubac is supplemented by perfectly-suited role players like Norm Powell, Kris Dunn, Derrick Jones Jr. and midseason acquisition Bogdan Bogdanovic.
Leonard is healthy and dominant, Harden is resurgent, and the Clippers are absolutely terrifying.
Loser: Warriors’ postseason path
The intensity during Sunday’s loss to the Clippers showed just how much the Warriors wanted to earn the No. 6 seed and avoid the Play-In Tournament. Alas, it wasn’t in the cards, and they will face the Memphis Grizzlies at home on Tuesday for a shot to earn the No. 7 seed. If they lose that, they will play the winner of the No. 9 Dallas vs. No. 10 Sacramento matchup for the No. 8 spot, with the loser being eliminated from the postseason.
The Warriors’ stated goal for the second half of the season was to avoid the Play-In Tournament, so this one stings. That being said, if they are able to earn the No. 7 seed, one could argue that a first-round matchup with the upstart Houston Rockets is more favorable than going toe-to-toe with the savvy playoff acumen of the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James and Luka Dončić. We’ll have to see how things shake out, but there’s a chance that the Warriors and Lakers could now meet in the second round instead of the first, which would be one of the most-anticipated series of the postseason.
Winner: Luka and the Lakers
Yes, the Minnesota Timberwolves went to the Western Conference finals last season, but you’d have to imagine that the Lakers would rather face them than Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and the Golden State Warriors in the opening round. So they were likely celebrating internally as the Wolves’ win and the Warriors’ loss meant that Minnesota landed in the No. 6 spot and will face the No. 3 Lakers starting next weekend.
The Lakers split with the Wolves this season, but only played them once after acquiring Dončić — a 111-102 win in late February. Lest we forget, the last time Dončić played Minnesota in the playoffs, he delivered one of the most iconic shots in NBA postseason history, followed by an emphatic “you can’t f—ing guard me” directed toward Wolves center Rudy Gobert.
With Dončić, James and Austin Reaves, the Lakers have three excellent perimeter scorers and playmakers capable of exploiting matchups with Gobert and Minnesota forward Julius Randle, which is more than they could say against the Warriors, for sure.
Loser: Mikal Bridges’ shady streak
Look, we’re not here to disparage a guy who suits up for every game in the load management era, but something feels a bit slimy about the way New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges extended his NBA-best games played streak to 556 straight on Sunday. With the Knicks having locked up the No. 3 seed in the East, there was no need for Bridges or any of the regulars to risk injury in a meaningless game against the Nets. So, while every other starter was inactive, Bridges got into his uniform, took the court for the opening tip and … immediately fouled someone to get out of the game.
I mean … congratulations?
Bridges’ streak now ranks 14th all-time, but he’d have to more than double it in order to catch leader A.C. Green’s incredible 1,192 straight games played from 1986-2001. This isn’t the first time that Bridges has pulled this move either — he checked out after four seconds in the 2023 finale for the Brooklyn Nets, which was actually his 83rd game of the season due to his midseason trade from the Phoenix Suns.
Bridges, who hasn’t missed a single game since his junior year of high school, deserves all the credit in the world for his durability. But if he’s going to suit up for the sole purpose of extending his streak, how about he plays just the first half? That seems like a reasonable compromise.
Winner: Ant accepts the challenge
It’s probably not a great idea to test Anthony Edwards, and Detroit Pistons sharpshooter Malik Beasley found that out the hard way on Sunday. Edwards entered the finale with a one 3-pointer lead over Beasley for the most in the NBA this season, and Beasley went out and knocked down seven more in Detroit’s 140-133 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Doing some quick math, Beasley took to social media to lay down the gauntlet for Edwards, whose game tipped off just as Beasley’s was ending.
Why don’t you venture a wild guess at how many 3s Edwards made in the Timberwolves’ 116-105 win over the Utah Jazz? That’s right, seven on the dot.
That shot gave Edwards the regular-season 3-point crown, edging Beasley 320 to 319. Both deserve to take a bow for a phenomenal year, as they land seventh and eighth, respectively, on the all-time single-season 3-point list. Stephen Curry holds five of the six totals ahead of them, including the No. 1 mark of 402 3-pointers in 2015-16.
Beasley must also hold a bit of a gripe with the league office, who rescinded what would have been Edwards’ 18th technical foul, which he picked up on Friday and would have led to his automatic suspension for Sunday’s game.
Loser: Southeast Division
There’s a reason they call it the SouthLeast. The Orlando Magic’s loss on Sunday gave them a final record of 41-41, but that was enough to win the NBA’s Southeast Division (yes, they still have divisions). According to Dan Feldman, it’s the first time since the NBA/ABA merger that a team has won its division without a winning record.
The other teams in the division are the Atlanta Hawks (40-42), Miami Heat (37-45), Charlotte Hornets (19-63) and Washington Wizards (18-64).
It must also be an odd feeling to win the division and then have to take the floor for a play-in game to determine your postseason fate. Strange year for the Magic.
Winner: Everything Bagleys
It’s always cool to see brothers doing stuff in the NBA, and Sunday provided us with the Bagleys — Marvin and Marcus — putting on a bit of a show. Marcus played 43 minutes in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 122-202 loss to the Chicago Bulls, logging 10 points, 15 rebounds and four steals. Meanwhile, Marvin Bagley III went off for 25 points and 12 rebounds for the Memphis Grizzlies in their 132-97 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
Marvin has struggled to live up to his No. 2 draft pick status over the course of his seven-year NBA career, but has consistently been able to put up numbers when he gets playing time, averaging 19 points and 10.5 rebounds per 36 minutes in 288 games. On the other hand, Marcus’ 10-game run with the 76ers was his first NBA action after going undrafted in 2023 out of Arizona State. He averaged seven points and seven rebounds with Philadelphia, and may have made enough of an impression to earn him a chance to extend his NBA career next season.
Winner: Wild stat lines
The last day of the NBA season is always full of surprises — statistically speaking, at least. We knew we were in for a treat when the entire Eastern Conference postseason was etched in stone before games even began, meaning we’d see a lot of lower-usage players get a chance to cook. That was certainly the case, and here’s a look at some of the craziness that ensued:
- Pat Connaughton, Milwaukee Bucks: 43 points, 11 rebounds, five assists
- Jaime Jaquez Jr., Miami Heat: 41 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists
- Jaylon Tyson, Cleveland Cavaliers: 31 points, seven rebounds, four assists
- Lamar Stevens, Memphis Grizzlies: 31 points, six rebounds, three assists
- Tristan Vukcevic, Washington Wizards: 28 points, 11 rebounds, five assists
- Branden Carlson, Oklahoma City Thunder: 26 points, 10 rebounds
- Emoni Bates, Cleveland Cavaliers: 25 points, six rebounds, two assists
- Jamison Battle, Toronto Raptors: 25 points, nine rebounds, three asssists
- Nae’Qwan Tomlin, Cleveland Cavaliers: 24 points, 12 rebounds, two assists
- Cam Spencer, Memphis Grizzlies: 23 points, two rebounds, seven assists
Sometimes you forget just how good NBA players are, and then you see guys who don’t even normally sniff the floor go out and drop 30-plus. It’s a reminder of the incredible skill level throughout the league, and some of these performances might even carry over into next season for a select few.
