NBA play-in tournament

NBA play-in tournament
Tournament information
Sport	Basketball
Established	2020 (current format)
Format	Page playoff system
Teams	8 total; 4 per conference
Broadcast	United States:; ESPN/ESPN2 ; TNT/TruTV ; Canada:; TSN ; Sportsnet ;

Last updated November 20, 2024

The NBA play-in tournament is the preliminary National Basketball Association (NBA) postseason tournament. It determines the final two playoff seeds in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference and is played immediately prior to the NBA Playoffs, which is the main tournament of the postseason and regarded by the league as separate from the play-in tournament. Teams finishing the regular season in positions 7 through 10 in the standings for each conference compete to determine the number 7 and 8 seeds in each conference's bracket tournament.

Format

Original format

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]

Current format

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 7-seed. The loser of the 7/8 game hosts the winner of the 9/10 game, with the winner receiving the 8-seed. The NBA's regular playoff format then proceeds as normal.^[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

Results

2020

2020 was the only season to use the original play-in game structure. The teams finishing 8th and 9th in each conference competed for the final playoff seed in their conference, but only if they finished within four games of each other,^[1] in which case the lower-ranked team could advance to their conference playoffs only by defeating the higher-ranked team twice.

Western Conference

Because ninth-place Memphis (34–39) finished the season one-half game behind eighth-place Portland (35–39), a play-in was required to determine the 8th seed in the conference.^[4]

9th place team	Result	8th place team	Seeding result
Memphis	122–126	Portland	Because the higher ranked team won the game, a second game was not needed. Portland advances to the playoffs as the 8th seed in their conference.

Eastern Conference

Because ninth-place Washington (25–47) finished 7+1⁄2 games behind eighth-place Orlando (33–40), no play-in was contested.^[5]

9th place team	Result	8th place team	Seeding result
Washington	N/A	Orlando	Orlando automatically advances to the playoffs as the 8th seed in their conference.

2021

2021 was the first season to use the Page–McIntyre system. Teams finishing in positions 7 through 10 in each conference qualified for play-in games to determine the final two playoff seeds for each conference.^[3]