The Western Conference playoff and play-in bracket for the 2022 NBA season has been finalized following a surprising last day of the regular season. The Los Angeles Clippers secured the No. 5 seed and will face off against the Phoenix Suns in the first round after defeating their conference rivals this weekend.
Western Conference Playoffs and NBA Play-In Schedule
- No. 3 Sacramento Kings vs. No. 6 Golden State Warriors
- No. 4 Phoenix Suns vs. No. 5 Los Angeles Clippers
- No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 8 Minnesota Timberwolves (NBA Play-In – West – 7th Place vs. 8th Place)
- No. 9 New Orleans Pelicans vs. No. 10 Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA Play-In – West – 9th Place vs. 10th Place)
Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors clinched the No. 6 seed and an automatic playoff berth with a season-high score of 157-101 against Portland. The Warriors will face the Sacramento Kings in the first round.
The Los Angeles Lakers, led by LeBron James, secured the No. 7 seed and will have two chances to make it to the playoffs. They will play a play-in game against No. 8 Minnesota.
If they lose, they will have another opportunity to make it to the playoffs by facing the winner of Wednesday’s game between No. 9 New Orleans and No. 10 Oklahoma City on Friday.
The winner of the Lakers vs Timberwolves play-in matchup will then play against the No. 2-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in the first round.
In the meantime, the winner of the West play-in game on Friday will start the playoffs against No. 1 Denver next Sunday. The Lakers have had a great record since the All-Star break, going 16-7 down the stretch. Minnesota secured the No. 8 seed and two playoff chances by defeating New Orleans 113-108.
Steph Curry of Golden State was the standout performer in the Western Conference, leading the league in scoring with a career-high 32.0 points per game. He also broke the NBA record for the most 3-pointers made in a month, hitting 96 3-pointers in April.
In the Warriors’ final game of the season against Portland, Curry scored 29 points in just 26 minutes. Andrew Wiggins also had a fantastic season, averaging 18.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game.
LeBron James was the top performer for the Los Angeles Lakers, averaging 25.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 7.8 assists per game.
Despite missing half of the Lakers’ games due to injury, James led the team to the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference. Anthony Davis was also a key contributor, averaging 21.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game.
Karl-Anthony Towns was the top performer for the Minnesota Timberwolves, averaging 24.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game.
He was named the Western Conference Player of the Week twice this season. Rookie Anthony Edwards also had a great season, averaging 19.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game.
