How Warriors, Kings can claim West No. 8 seed entering final game

How Warriors, Kings can claim West No. 8 seed entering final game originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

They don’t call it the “wild, wild West” for nothing.

Even heading into the final day of the 2023-24 NBA regular season, and after both teams lost Friday night, the Warriors (45-36) and Kings (45-36) still are fighting for postseason positioning

If the season ended today, both teams would battle it out in a win-or-go-home matchup between the No. 9 and 10 seeds on Tuesday, April 16 at Golden 1 Center. The Kings hold the tiebreaker over the Warriors and would claim the higher seed due to their better Pacific Division record.

However, fortunately for both teams, they are not locked into either of the bottom two seeds and still have a chance to leapfrog the No. 8 seed Los Angeles Lakers and avoid the possible one-and-done matchup. Here’s how:

If the Lakers beat the New Orleans Pelicans (49-32) on Sunday, the Warriors and Kings will be locked into the No. 9 and 10 seed matchup, with Sacramento still holding the tiebreaker and higher seed even if both teams win their final games on Sunday.

If the Lakers lose to the Pelicans, the Kings will be the No. 8 seed with a win over the Portland Trail Blazers (21-60) on Sunday at Golden 1 Center. Finally, if the Lakers and Kings both lose, the Warriors will be the No. 8 seed with a win over the Utah Jazz (31-50) on Sunday at Chase Center.

Simply put, the Kings are rooting for a Sacramento win and a Lakers loss. While the Warriors are rooting for a Golden State win and losses from the Kings and Lakers.

According to a press release sent out by the NBA on Saturday, the West’s 7-8 matchup and the 9-10 matchups will be on Tuesday only if the Philadelphia 76ers are the Eastern Conference’s No. 7 seed, likely due to the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers playing a home game at Wells Fargo Center, which they share with the 76ers, on Tuesday.

If the 76ers are not the East’s seventh seed, the West’s 7-8 game will be played on Tuesday, with the 9-10 game played on Wednesday, April 17.

There still is a lot of moving parts, but we’re just about to the finish line.

How will the Western Conference shake out? And where will the Warriors and Kings finish? Tune in to NBC Sports Bay Area and NBC Sports California’s coverage of Sunday’s regular-season finales, with Warriors Pregame Live beginning at 11:30 a.m. and Kings Pregame Live beginning at 12:00 p.m.