While the Oklahoma City Thunder have secured the top spot in the West, everything else is still up in there with just a few weeks of games left.

The Lakers are part of a four-team log jam fighting for the No. 2 seed, with four and a half games separating the teams. There is also still some time for the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers and Minnesota Timberwolves to enter the mix.

With the standings so tight in the West, we may even end up with some identical records after all 82 games are played.

If that happens, we will have to use the tiebreaker to decide who will get the higher seed. Here is the tiebreak procedure for two-way ties via NBA.com.

TIEBREAKER BASIS FOR TWO-WAY TIES:

(-) Tie breaker not needed (better overall winning percentage)

(1) Head-to-head won-lost percentage

(2) Division leader wins tie from team not leading a division

(3) Division won-lost percentage for teams in the same division

(4) Conference won-lost percentage

(5) W-L Percentage vs. Playoff teams, own conference

(6) W-L Percentage vs. Playoff teams, other conference

(7) Net Points, all games

Below is the current tiebreaker situation between the Lakers and all the contending teams.

Houston Rockets

The tiebreak advantage is still up in the air between the Rockets and the Lakers. They’ve only played each other once and have two games left. The good news for Los Angeles is both games will be at home.

Denver Nuggets

With Los Angeles winning the last matchup between the Nuggets, the season series ends even at 2-2. So, if they end up with the same record, we have to go to the second tiebreaker to determine the higher seed.

That goes to the division winner, and the Nuggets can’t win theirs since the Thunder have already clinched it. The Lakers are currently winning the Pacific Division, so they have the tiebreaker as long as they win their division.

If they lose the Pacific, we will have to use the third tiebreaker, which goes to the team with the higher win percentage within the conference.

If that happens, the Lakers will still have the edge over the Nuggets. L.A. is currently 45-29 in the conference and Denver is 47-28.

Memphis Grizzlies

The Lakers won the season series against the Grizzlies 3-1, so they own the tiebreaker outright.

Currently, the Lakers are a full game ahead of the Grizzlies in the West and, with nine games left, should stay in front of Memphis if they take care of business.

Golden State Warriors

Los Angeles owned Golden State this year and have won all three games against their inner-state rival. With only one game left, they have the tiebreaker in hand.

Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers and the Lakers have played all their regular-season games, and the purple and gold won the series 3-1. If the standings are even, the Lakers will be the higher seed over their little brother.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Lakers-Timberwolves ended the season series even at 2-2, but Minnesota has already lost the division to OKC, so the Lakers will own the tiebreaker if they stay on top of the Pacific. Even if they lose the Pacific, they are in a great spot since they’re well ahead conference record wise sitting at 45-29 while the Wolves are 43-32.

The Lakers are in a position to win virtually every tiebreaker in the Western Conference. They own it outright over the Warriors, Clippers and Grizzlies and can have it against the Rockets if they beat them on the last day of March.

Considering how well LA has played in the Western Conference, they’ll likely have the advantage over the Nuggets and Wolves.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.