The Portland Trail Blazers earned the 8th spot in the NBA’s Western Conference standings on Sunday by virtue of their season-ending victory over the Sacramento Kings. The win gave Portland a 42-40 record and a shot at making the 2026 NBA Playoffs.
How good of a shot? That remains to be seen. The Blazers still have to beat at least one of the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers, or Golden State Warriors in the NBA Play-In Tournament just to get seeded into the postseason bracket. After that, a stiff test against the first-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder or second-seeded San Antonio Spurs awaits.
Obviously if Portland got past that first round, possibilities open up for them, at least until the Conference Finals, when they’d have to face the conference titan they didn’t vanquish in the first round. But that would be a pleasant problem to have.
How likely is it? Fanduel Sportsbook is ranking the Blazers at the bottom of the list among all contenders. On the upside, that’s also the best payoff. The odds are +75000, meaning the Blazers are large underdogs. For every dollar you put on Portland to win it all, you’d get $750 should it pay off. 750-1 odds is pretty much the definition of, “So you’re saying there’s a chance?” But at least there’s a chance.
Final 2025-2026 NBA Standings
Here are the final standings for each conference, with the play-in ultimately set to decide who will face the top two seeds in each. The No. 2 seed in each conference will play the winner of the 7-8 game, while the No. 1 seed will play the winner of the next game, between the loser of the 7-8 game and winner of the 9-10 game.