NBA preseason: results do not count in the standings

NBA preseason results do not count toward the regular-season standings. Wins, losses and point differentials from these exhibition games remain separate from the record used to determine positions, tiebreakers and postseason qualification. Scores can help observers assess team experiments, but they provide no advantage when official competition begins.

Why the score does not enter the standings

The league’s own website lists “Preseason” and “Regular Season” as separate game types on the official NBA schedule. The official standings, meanwhile, explicitly identify the table as regular-season standings.

That distinction answers the practical question: a team may finish its preparation with more wins than losses and still begin the regular season without a record carried over. Likewise, a poor preseason run does not create a deficit in the official table.

What the games can reveal

The preseason provides context for watching player combinations, minute distribution and possible team adjustments. It may also indicate which players are receiving opportunities before the group that will continue into the competition is finalized.

Those signals require caution. Lineups, workloads and objectives can vary from one game to another. A wide margin does not prove that a team will dominate, just as one loss does not, by itself, show that it will have a poor campaign. The result describes that particular game; it is not a reliable season forecast.

What actually determines the standings

The official table is organized by regular-season results. When two teams finish with identical records, the NBA publishes an ordered set of tiebreaking criteria. They include winning percentage in head-to-head games, division-winner status and, where applicable, winning percentage within the division or conference.

Point differential appears later in that sequence. This does not turn a preseason winning margin into a future advantage: the procedures on the standings page apply to ties between regular-season records.

How to check upcoming games

On the NBA schedule, fans can select the season type, month and team. It is the safest way to distinguish preseason, regular-season, NBA Cup, All-Star and playoff games.

Because dates, matchups and displayed options may change, confirm the details directly on that page before making plans to follow a game. The reviewed source does not provide enough territory-specific information to promise broadcast availability in Brazil, the United States, Spain or France.

How to follow roster changes

Preseason results should be considered alongside the available roster. The player transactions page lets readers filter records by team, month and transaction type, including signings, trades, waivers and waiver claims.

For announcements and further context, the official NBA news section gathers league content and links to key dates and transactions. Even so, a player’s absence from a game should not automatically be treated as an injury, release or permanent change: a specific confirmation is necessary.

A useful reading without rushed conclusions

When assessing the preseason, it helps to separate three questions. What happened on the scoreboard? Which experiments were visible in that game? Was there an official roster move? The first is answered by the game; the second requires comparisons across games; the third calls for checking league records.

This separation prevents both overvaluing wins and overlooking relevant information. The preseason can support hypotheses about rotations and adaptation, while the standings begin to carry meaning only through regular-season results.