What Is the NBA Play-In Tournament?
The short version
- Clubs finishing between 7th and 10th place in either conference compete for that conference's 7 and 8 playoff seeds.
- The winner of the 7-versus-8 game takes the 7 seed, the 9-versus-10 loser is out, and the 7-versus-8 loser then hosts the 9-versus-10 winner for the 8 seed.
- The four-team format arrived for the 2020–21 season and was locked in permanently on July 22, 2022.
- The 2020 original matched Memphis against Portland in the West, with no Eastern game because the gap between Washington and Orlando exceeded four games.
- The team coming out of the last play-in game starts the playoffs on the second day so it gets a minimum of one day off.
What is the NBA play-in tournament?
Each year, the NBA settles the last openings in its playoff field with a preliminary postseason event known as the play-in tournament. It runs just before the main playoff bracket tips off and decides the 7 and 8 seeds in both the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. The league regards the playoffs as the centerpiece of the postseason and keeps the play-in separate from them.
Rather than handing the 7th and 8th seeds straight to the clubs that finish the regular season in those spots, the NBA makes those berths get decided on the court. Four teams from each conference enter with a chance, and only two per conference come out with a playoff place, one as the 7 seed and one as the 8 seed.
The timing sits in a fixed spot on the league calendar. Games unfold after the regular season wraps and before the playoffs open, so the event works as the bridge between the two, and every matchup in the main bracket is set once the final play-in game ends. Fans can treat it as the opening act of the postseason even though the league files it as its own competition.
Which seeds take part
Qualification comes down to regular-season finish alone. A club ending the year in 7th, 8th, 9th or 10th place in its conference standings gets a spot, which adds up to four teams from the East and four from the West. Nothing below 10th place carries a play-in invitation.
Standing matters once play starts. The 7th-place club holds the strongest position, since one win over the 8th-place club locks up the 7 seed, while the 10th-place club faces the longest road. For the loser of the 9-versus-10 meeting, the season ends immediately.
How the games decide the final seeds
The bracket mirrors the opening two rounds of the Page–McIntyre system, a structure built for a four-team field, and the higher finisher plays at home in every matchup. In the top half, the 7th-place club faces the 8th-place club, and that winner steps directly into the playoffs as the 7 seed.
The bottom half carries no safety net. The 9th-place team hosts the 10th-place team, and a loss in that game eliminates the defeated club outright.
One more game then settles the 8 seed. The club beaten in the 7-versus-8 matchup gets a second life at home against the team that survived the 9-versus-10 matchup, and that contest's winner claims the remaining opening in its conference bracket. From there, the NBA's ordinary playoff format takes over.
One scheduling courtesy is built in for the club coming off that last game. It opens the playoffs on the second day, a setup that guarantees the team a minimum of one day off.
How the play-in tournament came about
The idea was born amid the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 4, 2020, the NBA's Board of Governors authorized one play-in game to close the 2019–20 season, a step tied to the league's bubble plan for bringing basketball back.
That original version came with a trigger. A conference staged a game only when its 8th and 9th seeds ended the season no more than four games apart, and the pair could then meet in as many as two contests. An 8-seed victory in the opener sealed a playoff spot, while a 9-seed victory forced one more game, with that second contest's winner moving on.
A far wider version won approval on November 19, 2020, when the Board of Governors brought every club ranked 7th, 8th, 9th or 10th in its conference into the event for the 2020–21 season. The governors voted on July 22, 2022 to keep that structure in place permanently, and the league has run it this way since 2021.
The first play-in game in 2020
The 2020 trial produced exactly one game, and it came out of the Western Conference. Memphis, ninth in the West at 34–39, met Portland, which sat eighth at 35–39 after finishing a half game clear of Memphis.
Nothing took place in the East. Washington, ninth there at 25–47, sat 7 1/2 games behind Orlando, eighth at 33–40, a gap far too wide under the four-game rule, so no Eastern game was required.
That single meeting was the full extent of the 2020 edition, a limited trial that preceded the expanded four-team event adopted months later.
Frequently asked questions
When does the NBA play-in tournament happen?
It takes place each year in the days between the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs, right before the main bracket begins.
Can the 10th seed make the playoffs?
Yes. The 10th-place club has to win on the road twice: first against the 9th-place team, then against the loser of the 7-versus-8 game, with the 8 seed going to the winner of that final game.
Is the play-in tournament part of the NBA playoffs?
No. The league files the play-in as its own preliminary competition and treats the playoffs as the postseason's main event.
When did the play-in become a permanent NBA event?
The Board of Governors made it permanent on July 22, 2022. The four-team-per-conference field had first been approved on November 19, 2020 for the 2020–21 season.
Why was there no play-in game in the East in 2020?
Washington, the East's ninth-place team at 25–47, finished 7 1/2 games behind eighth-place Orlando at 33–40, and the 2020 rules only applied when the 8th and 9th seeds ended no more than four games apart.
