April 08, 2026
Colleen Claggett/For PhillyVoice
Tyrese Maxey's sixth NBA season has been a major success. Will it include a playoff run?
Welcome to our tracker of the Sixers' standing and seeding odds in what has become an extremely tight playoff race in the Eastern Conference.
The Sixers have spent weeks entrenched in a battle with the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and Toronto Raptors. It is a race finally nearing what could be its chaotic end.
Every morning until the Sixers' seed has been locked in, this will be updated to reflect the most recent standings, remaining schedules, odds and tiebreaker scenarios.
Can the Sixers earn a surefire playoff bid by earning a top-six seed, or will they be forced to fight for their lives in the Play-In Tournament for their second consecutive postseason appearance?
Last updated: After games played on Thursday, April 9, before games played on Friday, April 10.
In all likelihood, the Sixers' chances of notching a top-six seed died on Thursday night.
The Sixers lost to the Houston Rockets right after the Raptors beat the Miami, giving the Raptors a two-game lead over the Sixers in the standings – and the inside track on the No. 5 seed, which would kick the Hawks down to No. 6. Any scenario in which the Sixers get a surefire playoff bid would include them winning out and Toronto losing out. Given the Raptors end their season against the lowly Brooklyn Nets, that feels awfully unlikely.
Here is how the standings look as the Sixers, Hawks, Raptors, Hornets, Magic and Heat jostle for seeding, plus an updated look at each team's remaining schedule, with strength of schedule numbers courtesy of Tankathon. Matchups listed in italics are parts of back-to-backs:
| Seed | Team | Record | Games back | Remaining opponents | SOS |
| 5 | Toronto Raptors | 45-35 | 13.0 | @ NYK (52-28) vs. BKN (20-60) | .450 |
| 6 | Atlanta Hawks | 45-35 | 13.0 | vs. CLE (51-29) @ MIA (41-39) | .575 |
| 7 | Orlando Magic | 44-36 | 14.0 | @ CHI (31-49) @ BOS (54-26) | .531 |
| 8 | Sixers | 43-37 | 15.0 | @ IND (19-61) vs. MIL (31-49) | .312 |
| 9 | Charlotte Hornets | 43-37 | 15.0 | vs. DET (58-22) @ NYK (52-28) | .688 |
| 10 | Miami Heat (pi) | 41-39 | 17.0 | @ WAS (17-63) vs. ATL (45-35) | .388 |
The Sixers could still very well end up as part of a three-way tie (a four-way tie is still in play, too, though it would require Atlanta or Toronto to unexpectedly lose out, among other things). But first, here is a reminder of the Sixers' two-way tiebreaker outlook:
• The Sixers lost their season series against Atlanta, 0-4, and would lose a two-way tiebreaker.
• The Sixers split their season series against Toronto, 2-2, but would win a two-way tiebreaker due to their superior division record.
• The Sixers won their season series against Orlando, 2-1, and would win a two-way tiebreaker.
• The Sixers won their season series against Charlotte, 2-1, and would win a two-way tiebreaker.
• The Sixers lost their season series against Miami, 1-2, and would lose a two-way tiebreaker.
At this point, the Sixers' only two-way ties that appear to be particularly plausible are with Charlotte and Orlando.
But what if there is a tie between more than two teams?
Against both Charlotte and Orlando, the Sixers shape up as well as possible. Their win over Charlotte on March 28 looms large; it did not just give them the individual tiebreaker advantage over the Hornets, but also a leg up in multiple larger tiebreaker scenarios.
Given the two-game advantage held over the Sixers by both Atlanta and Toronto, it is difficult to fathom the Hawks or Raptors ending up in one of these ties. There is one potential three-team tiebreaker scenario that feels much more likely than any other at this juncture. If the Sixers and Hornets finish the season 2-0 and Orlando goes 1-1, putting all three teams at 45 wins and in a tie for the No. 7 seed, this is how it would shake out:
| Tied teams | Post-tiebreaker order |
| CHA, PHI, ORL | 1. PHI, 2. CHA, 3. ORL |
Barring an unexpected late plummet from Atlanta – after losing that season series 0-4, the Sixers would not win any three-team tiebreakers involving the Hawks – the Sixers should welcome these complicated ties for the No. 7 seed.
Assuming a 2-0 Sixers finish is in the cards – neither of their opponents should have interest in winning – they have a floor at the No. 8 seed. That is critical, as it gives them two chances to win one game to get into a playoff series, as opposed to having to win back-to-back elimination games to get in if they are the No. 9 or the No. 10 seed.
The Sixers' primary rooting interest at this point – outside of their own victories, of course – is Orlando dropping a game. Even if the Hornets beat two of the Eastern Conference's best to finish out their season, the Sixers beating two of its worst teams will keep them above Charlotte via their tiebreaker advantage. Orlando losing to Chicago or Boston would give the Sixers home-court advantage in the Play-In Tournament.
This table assumes the Raptors and Hawks will each win at least one of their final two games – and, for the sake of simplicity, that Sixers victories over Indiana and Milwaukee, plus an Orlando win over Chicago, are all inevitable:
| Sixers finish... | Magic finish... | Hornets finish... | No. 7 | No. 8 | No. 9 |
| 2-0 | 2-0 | 2-0 | ORL | PHI | CHA |
| 2-0 | 1-1 | 2-0 | PHI | CHA | ORL |
| 2-0 | 1-1 | 1-1 | PHI | ORL | CHA |
| 2-0 | 1-1 | 0-2 | PHI | ORL | CHA or MIA |
With their reality now being that a trip to the Play-In Tournament is overwhelmingly likely, the Sixers are at least in a favorable spot to be in the top eight. That is the most important thing, as the difference between being seeded eighth and ninth is more significant than any other within the range of No. 7 to No. 10 because of the extra chance to grab a playoff spot that it comes with.
Each day, we will end by looking at specific end-of-season seeding odds from two trusted sources, which update after every slate of games.
First, take a look at the odds from basketball-reference:
| Team | No. 5 | No. 6 | No. 7 | No. 8 | No. 9 | No. 10 |
| Raptors | 36.9% | 58.0% | 4.6% | 0.5% | 0.0% | n/a |
| Hawks | 59.5% | 32.1% | 7.9% | 0.6% | 0.0% | n/a |
| Magic | 3.1% | 2.4% | 35.1% | 36.9% | 22.5% | 0.0% |
| Sixers | n/a | 3.5% | 44.6% | 37.8% | 11.2% | 2.9% |
| Hornets | 0.5% | 4.1% | 7.8% | 22.8% | 50.2% | 14.7% |
| Heat | n/a | n/a | 0.0% | 1.5% | 16.1% | 82.5% |
Then, from Dunks & Threes:
| Team | No. 5 | No. 6 | No. 7 | No. 8 | No. 9 | No. 10 |
| Raptors | 68.5% | 27.9% | 2.0% | 1.0% | 0.7% | n/a |
| Hawks | 31.1% | 62.4% | 3.6% | 1.6% | 1.3% | n/a |
| Magic | 0.2% | 3.7% | 36.1% | 25.3% | 30.8% | 3.8% |
| Sixers | n/a | 2.4% | 41.1% | 24.7% | 27.3% | 4.5% |
| Hornets | 0.2% | 3.6% | 16.9% | 29.5% | 32.7% | 17.2% |
| Heat | n/a | n/a | 0.4% | 17.9% | 7.2% | 74.5% |
Both models give the Sixers a better chance than Orlando of being the No. 7 seed, essentially a statement that the Magic are more likely than not to lose to Boston in their regular-season finale on Sunday. What these models likely do not take into account is that Orlando will be playing with the No. 7 seed in mind, while the Celtics will have already been locked into their playoff seed by that point. The game will have no meaning for Boston; they very well could sit Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and others, and if those players are on the floor they would not be pushed for heavy minutes.
With one more brutal, unexpected loss before the end of the season, the Sixers could suddenly find themselves in a situation in which they have to win two games – at least one of those games would be on the road – just to get into the playoffs. But as long as they handle their business against the Pacers and Bucks, they should have two opportunities to win their way into a seven-game series.
