2024 NBA Playoffs seeding tie-breakers: Exploring Western Conference 6-10th seed scenarios

As the NBA regular season comes to a close, the standings are air-tight in the Western Conference. With a few games to go, there are five teams fighting to avoid the play-in tournament.

While most have focused on the race at the top of the standings, things have been more interesting at the bottom. Seed six through 10 are within three games of one another.

At the moment, the New Orleans Pelicans are sixth with a 47-32 record. Just behind them are the Phoenix Suns (46-33), Sacramento Kings (45-34), LA Lakers (45-35) and the Golden State Warriors (44-35).

With these teams being so close in wins, there's a chance that the NBA could see a rare five-way tie in the standings. Here's how the seeding would unfold in that event:

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NBA playoff tiebreakers for Western Conference 6-10 race

Per the NBA rules, the first tiebreaker is if any team is a division winner. As these teams are towards the bottom of the standings, that's not applicable here.

The next NBA tiebreaker is the best winning percentage among games with all the tied teams. In the case of the five aforementioned teams, the New Orleans Pelicans would secure the sixth seed. They posted a 7-5 record against the four other teams, giving them a .583 winning percentage.

This tiebreaker would be used again for the four remaining teams. With the Pelicans out of the mix, the Phoenix Suns would be awarded the seventh seed. They had a slightly less winning percentage (.563) with a 9-7 record.

For the three remaining teams, a new tiebreaker would be needed. The Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors have a .500 winning percentage. In this scenario, division record will be the tiebreaker. With a 10-6 record, the Kings would land the eighth seed.

With just the Warriors and LA Lakers left, head-to-head record will be the main tiebreaker for the NBA. Between these teams, the Warriors won the season series with a 3-1 record.

The Warriors and Lakers just played their final matchup of the year on Tuesday night. Despite it being a key game, LA was without LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Led by strong outings from Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, the Warriors took down the Lakers 134-120.

Once all the tiebreakers are applied, the Pelicans are the team that gets to avoid the play-in tournament. The Suns and Kings would face off, with the winner getting the seventh seed. The loser of that matchup would play the winner of Lakers-Warriors for the final spot in the postseason.