April 11, 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 Friday, April 10, before games played on Sunday, April 12 (no games on Saturday, April 11).
As expected, Thursday's full NBA slate very much simplified what the Sixers should be looking at and rooting for when all 30 teams are back in action on Sunday to finish off the season.
As the Sixers handled the Indiana Pacers, the Orlando Magic took care of business against the Chicago Bulls to stay a game ahead of the Sixers while the Charlotte Hornets lost to the Detroit Pistons to fall a full game back of the Sixers. The Atlanta Hawks clinched a top-six seed by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors failed to do so when they lost to the New York Knicks.
Charlotte and Miami are officially locked into the unfavorable half of the Play-In Tournament. If Charlotte loses to New York and Miami beats Atlanta on Sunday, that No. 9 vs. No. 10 game would be played in Miami. Otherwise, it would be in Charlotte. This means the Sixers have officially clinched a top-eight seed.
An updated look at the standings after 81 games:
| Seed | Team | Record | Games back | Remaining opponents |
| 5 | Atlanta Hawks (y) | 46-35 | 13.0 | @ MIA (42-39) |
| 6 | Toronto Raptors | 45-36 | 14.0 | vs. BKN (20-61) |
| 7 | Orlando Magic | 45-36 | 14.0 | @ BOS (55-26) |
| 8 | Sixers | 44-37 | 15.0 | vs. MIL (32-49) |
| 9 | Charlotte Hornets (pi) | 43-38 | 16.0 | @ NYK (53-28) |
| 10 | Miami Heat (pi) | 42-39 | 17.0 | vs. ATL (46-35) |
The Sixers could still end up as part of a three-way tie with Orlando and Toronto, though the Raptors fumbling a playoff spot by losing at home to the lowly Brooklyn Nets does not feel likely at all. Orlando is an underdog against Boston on paper, but the Magic will be playing for home-court advantage in the No. 7 vs. No. 8 game and Boston, already locked in as the No. 2 seed, will have nothing to play for.
Here is a reminder of the Sixers' two-way tiebreaker outlook:
• 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.
But what if there is a tie between more than two teams?
There is one potential three-team tiebreaker scenario that remains possible, which would gift the Sixers the No. 6 seed and the right to face New York, the No. 3 seed, in the first round. It would require a Sixers win against Milwaukee on Sunday, plus losses by Orlando against Boston and Toronto against Brooklyn:
| Tied teams | Post-tiebreaker order |
| PHI, ORL, TOR | 1. PHI, 2. TOR, 3. ORL |
The Sixers' floor now being at No. 8 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. Their primary rooting interest on Sunday – outside of finishing their own season with a win, of course – is Orlando or Toronto losing. Charlotte is irrelevant to the Sixers for now.
If the Sixers lose to the Bucks on Sunday, they will be the No. 8 seed no matter what else happens. But if they win, they could land anywhere from No. 6 – and shockingly out of the Play-In Tournament – to No. 8. But they will need some help even to get up to No. 7, which feels rather unlikely:
| MIL vs. PHI winner | BKN @ TOR winner | ORL @ BOS winner | No. 6 | No. 7 | No. 8 |
| PHI | TOR | ORL | TOR | ORL | PHI |
| PHI | TOR | BOS | TOR | PHI | ORL |
| PHI | BKN | ORL | ORL | PHI | TOR |
| PHI | BKN | BOS | PHI | TOR | ORL |
The only difference between being seeded seventh and eighth in this format is hosting the first game of the Play-In Tournament. Unless Toronto has a catastrophic loss, the Sixers and Magic are on a collision course for the No. 7 vs. No. 8 game, with a right to face Boston in a seven-game series on the line. But if Orlando loses on Sunday, they would cough up the right to be the home team for that game.
Perhaps the most simple way to lay it out:
Charlotte-Miami will be the Eastern Conference's 9-10 game.
— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) April 11, 2026
Sixers possibilities:
No. 6 seed: Sixers win vs MIL, Raptors lose vs BKN, Magic lose @ BOS
No. 7 seed: Sixers win, one of Raptors/Magic win, one of Raptors/Magic lose
No. 8 seed: Sixers lose or both Raptors/Magic win
