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Lakers officially clinch 2nd consecutive Pacific Division title

April 1, 2026

LOS ANGELES — The Lakers didn’t have to wait to play Tuesday to earn their spot in the playoffs.

When the Phoenix Suns (42-34) lost to the Orlando Magic, 113-111, about 40 minutes before tipoff at Crypto.com Arena, the Lakers officially clinched a playoff spot and the Pacific Division title. Either the Suns had to lose or the Lakers had to win on Tuesday to end a division race that hasn’t been much of the Lakers’ focus during their recent run.

The Lakers have now won back-to-back division titles for the first time since they won five in a row from 2008-2012. Postseason basketball was already a lock for the Lakers, but the division title keeps the franchise outside of the perilous Play-In Tournament (seeds 7-10) and will allow for a five- to six-day rest period before a best-of-seven first-round series begins on either April 18 or 19.

The Lakers took the court Tuesday night in third place in the Western Conference and would face the sixth-place Houston Rockets in the opening round if the playoffs started today. The Rockets, the fourth-place Denver Nuggets and the fifth-place Minnesota Timberwolves are all within 1½ games of each other, though, so the seeds are far from settled with six to seven games left in the regular season for each team.

The Lakers swept the Timberwolves 3-0 this season and recently beat the Rockets twice on the road during their nine-game win streak to win the season series 2-1. They won two of three from the Nuggets as well.

“I think for our players, they’ve done a really good job both seasons with a lot of challenges, most of them unforeseen, of just staying the course and not letting go of the rope,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said when asked about being on the brink of another 50-win season. “And I think for our staff, the 82-game season is going to present a lot of different challenges and problems, and just continuing to work to solve those problems, that’s what it says.

“It’s hard to win 50 games. I think – I was fortunate, I think outside of the shortened seasons I was part of, I think 10 of the 12 years I was part of 50-win teams. I know what it looks like to win in the regular season. So our group, this year in particular, I think, has just done a good job of of weathering all the different challenges.”

HONOR ROLL

Lakers guard Marcus Smart is one of 12 finalists for the NBA’s 2025-26 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award. The NBA says the award “recognizes the player deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.”

Lakers center Deandre Ayton, whose locker is next to Smart’s, has credited the veteran throughout the season with being a standup teammate. Redick has pointed to Smart setting the tone for the team defensively, a role Jake LaRavia has been filling during Smart’s recent injury absence (he missed his fourth straight game Tuesday).

“I think there’s a built-in level of respect and, in some ways, acceptance with Marcus because of how hard he competes and how much he gives every single time that he steps on the floor,” Redick said. “That’s an easy way to build trust with your teammates is to play as hard as you possibly can every single night and do it with a competitive gusto. And that’s what Smart does.”

South Bay Lakers coach Zach Guthrie was named the NBA G League Coach of the Month on Tuesday, after the Lakers’ developmental squad went 10-2 in March. Top-seeded South Bay begins the G League Playoffs on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in El Segundo against the eighth-seeded San Diego Clippers.

Orange County Register

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Lakers officially clinch 2nd consecutive Pacific Division title

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