Playoff Standings: Who Would Thunder Play if Season Ended Today?

The NBA regular season is winding down rapidly. The Oklahoma City Thunder has just six games remaining. With a 52-24 record, the Thunder holds the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, though they're just one game behind the No. 1 seed -- which the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves are tied for.

With the playoffs in mind and the postseason soon to come, watching the standings unfold over the next two weeks will be incredibly intruiging. The Thunder has two more games on their road trip, which has seen them drop two straight games. Given their pace and record all season, one could assume they'll take one -- if not both -- of the remaining games on the trip. Then, they return home for a four-game home stand to end the regular season.

Playing the final four games of the regular season in the Paycom Center gives the Thunder a clear advanatage to get hot and finish the season out strong, which could shake up the standings atop the Western Conference.

Still, with the No. 3 seed in the West, who would the Thunder be facing in the first round of the playoffs if the season ended today? The Phoenix Suns hold the No. 6 seed, though via a tie, which would be the Thunder's first-round matchup.

This could be best-case scenario for the Thunder. Instead of letting the Play-In Tournament dictate their opponent, they would enter the postseason playing a team they swept in the regular season series. They defeated them all three times, with the most recent victory coming at a margin of 25 points. Not only did the Thunder recently blow out the Suns, but they did so with Shai Gilgeous-Alexnader sidelined. Each of the Suns' big three was available and played the full game, too.

The Suns would seemingly be a good pull for the Thunder, who is getting prepared for its first action in the playoffs since the 2019-20 season.

Josh Giddey is hitting his stride, Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are getting healthy and the Thunder's versatility and depth has been on full display. No matter the opponent, the Thunder seems primed to secure a top three seed in the conference, which will see them play a first-round opponent very capable of them beating.

Plenty will change in the standings over the next couple of weeks in the standings, and watching it unfold will be a blend of hectic and intruiging.

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