The OKC Thunder are so far ahead of the rest of the West that even if they lost each of their remaining 17 games of the regular season, they'd still be automatically eligible to participate in the Play-In Tournament.
Of course, considering just how successful they've been throughout the season and how stocked with talent their roster is, such a worst-case downfall is far from a realistic scenario.
That said, it is quite plausible that the Thunder will stamp their postseason ticket well before anyone else in the conference standings, and Wednesday night presents them with a golden opportunity to do exactly that.
Ahead of their matchup against the Boston Celtics, the NBA Communications X account revealed that Oklahoma City has an opportunity to clinch a playoff berth with a win out at TD Garden.
The ball club had an opportunity to do exactly this Monday against the Nuggets, though, unfortunately, they fell short with their 140-127 loss.
As a result, they'll look to lock in their spot for a second-consecutive postseason berth with either a win in game 66 or, according to the league's findings, a Minnesota Timberwolves loss against Denver.
Thunder have opportunity to punch playoff ticket with win over Celtics
Getting to this enviable position has been the result of a full-out team effort.
Though they may be spearheaded by the game's top-scoring weapon (32.7 points per game) and presumed MVP frontrunner in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, as a collective coach Mark Daigneault has this Thunder team playing like a well-oiled machine.
From their league-leading defensive rating (106.1) and net rating (12.4) as a collective to the fact that they have a whopping seven players ranked within the top-20 in plus-minus, Oklahoma City is widely regarded as the best all-around team currently in the NBA.
However, despite these salient points, this is not to say that the team is bound to coast to the 2025 playoffs from here on out.
Still ahead of them are a number of rather difficult stretches on the regular season schedule, one of which intertwines with their upcoming face-off against the reigning champs.
On top of this, they're slated to be playing without All-Star Jalen Williams during Wednesday's potential playoff-clinching contest, as he sustained a hip injury in their latest outing against the Nuggets and it has yet to be classified as a short-term or long-term ailment.
Nevertheless, in their tilt against the Celtics, the Thunder will have the opportunity to join the Cleveland Cavaliers as the only two teams to secure their spot for the 2025 NBA Playoffs.