On June 4, 2020, the NBA Board of Governors approved the first ever play-in game for the 2019–20 season. The game was part of the NBA's plans for a bubble as part of its return to play during the COVID-19 pandemic. If the 8 and 9 seeds in either conference were within four games of each other, the two seeds would play each other in up to two play-in games. If the 8 seed won the first game, it would advance to the playoffs. If the 9 seed won the first game, a second game would be played. The winner of the second game would advance to the playoffs. [1]
On November 19, 2020, the NBA Board of Governors approved a format for the 2020–21 season to have a playoff play-in tournament involving the teams that ranked 7th through 10th in each conference. On July 22, 2022, the NBA Board of Governors made this format permanent. [2]
The format is similar to the first two rounds of the Page–McIntyre system for a four-team playoff. The 9th-place team hosts the 10th-place team, with the loser being eliminated. The 7th place team hosts the 8th place team in the double-chance game, with the winner advancing as the new 7-seed. The loser of the 7/8 game hosts the winner of the 9/10 game, with the winner receiving the new 8-seed. The NBA's regular playoff format then proceeds as normal. Furthermore, the winner of the match between the loser of the 7/8 game and the winner of the 9/10 game always plays on day 2 of the NBA playoffs to allow that team at least a day of rest. [3]
The current bracket structure in each conference is as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Play-in games | | | No. 8 seed game | | | Final seeds |
|
| | | |
|
| 7th | place team | Home | | 7/8 | Winner of 7/8 game | No. 7 seed |
| | | | |
| 8th | place team | Away | | | | | | 7/8/9/10 | Winner of No. 8 seed game | No. 8 seed |
| | |
| | 7/8 | Loser of 7/8 game | Home | |
| | | | | |
| | | 9/10 | Winner of 9/10 game | Away | | | |
| | | | | |
| 9th | place team | Home | | |
| | |
| 10th | place team | Away | | | |
| | |
| | | | | | |
Statistics
Atlanta and Miami have played six play-in games, the most games played by a team in the play-in tournament, while Miami has the most wins, with four.
Due to the current structure of the NBA playoff system, one division winner is no longer guaranteed a playoff spot, let alone a top-four placing. To date, only two teams have qualified for the play-in tournament as division champions: the 2022–23 Miami Heat and the 2024–25 Orlando Magic, both from the Southeast Division. Both teams eventually qualified for the playoffs via the play-in tournament.
The 2022–23 Miami Heat had the best performance by any play-in team in the playoffs after reaching the 2023 NBA Finals.
Jayson Tatum set the record for most points in a single play-in tournament game by scoring 50 points against Washington on May 18, 2021. [4]
Since the inception of the 7–10 seed Page–McIntyre play-in format in 2021, the 7 seed has always made it out of the play-in and into the playoffs, while the 10th seed has only done so once: the Miami Heat in 2025 after defeating Chicago and Atlanta. [5]
Results by position
The below table shows teams' results per their conference position entering the play-in tournament, since the NBA adopted the current format in 2021.
| Regular season position | Record by game | Resulting playoff seed |
|---|
| Play-in game | No. 8 seed game | 7th seed | 8th seed | Did not advance |
|---|
| 7 | 8–2 | 2–0 | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | 2–8 | 4–4 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| 9 | 6–4 | 3–3 | | 3 | 7 |
| 10 | 4–6 | 1–3 | | 1 | 9 |
In 2020, ABC aired the only play-in game. [6]
From 2021 to 2025, the tournament rights were split between TNT and ESPN. In 2021 and 2024, televised games were determined by which conference finals each network was airing. In 2022, 2023 and 2025, TNT aired both 7–8 games, and ESPN aired both 9–10 games, but the rights for the final seed game was still determined by which conference finals each network was airing. [7] [8] [9]
As part of the new 11-year media deals that will begin in the 2025–26 season, Amazon Prime Video will acquire the rights to broadcast all NBA play-in tournament games beginning in 2026. [10]
In Canada, the home market of the Toronto Raptors, coverage is split approximately equally between the Sportsnet and TSN. Under their rights, the two broadcasters are allowed to produce their own feeds of Raptors games, otherwise they generally simulcast the U.S. broadcaster's feed.
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