- The NBA play-in tournament features six games to decide final seeding.
- The NBA installed the new postseason element ahead of the 2020-21 season.
- Play-in winners have a first-round series record of 2-14 since 2021.
The NBA playoffs are always an exciting time for basketball fans and NBA bettors. However, the road to the NBA playoff bracket has become much more complicated in recent years.
Whether you’re a new fan looking for an explanation of what all the play-in fuss is about, or a seasoned vets who just need a little refresher on how all this works, I’ve got you covered.
What Is the NBA Play-In Tournament?
The NBA play-in tournament is an eight-team mini-playoff that decides the final two seeds in both the East and West.
The play-in draw is considered separate from the official NBA playoffs. That’s important for some NBA odds bettors who have futures tickets from the NBA playoff odds market.
NBA Play-In Tournament Format: How Do the Play-In Games Work?
The NBA play-in tournament format involves three games in each conference, all of which are played following the regular season but prior to the start of the playoffs.
- Game 1: No. 7 vs. No. 8
- Game 2: No. 9 vs. No. 10
- Game 3: Loser of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2
The winner of Game 1 becomes the No. 7 seed for the playoffs, while the winner of Game 3 becomes the No. 8 seed.
The losers of Game 2 and Game 3 are eliminated from postseason contention and begin their offseason.
When Did the NBA Play-In Tournament Begin?
The first official NBA play-in tournament was installed for the 2020-21 season.
During the COVID season of 2020, the NBA scrapped its simple eight-team bracket in favor of a more forgiving playoff format that offered middling teams outside of the top 16 a chance to play their way into the field.
The league thought this was a fair change since the NBA wouldn’t finish its 82-game schedule in the Orlando bubble.
The NBA league office realized it liked the extra drama produced by the play-in format, so it officially adopted it as a regular postseason element for the following 2020-21 season.
Has an NBA Play-In Team Ever Won a First-Round Series?
Yes – both the No. 7 Lakers (in the West) and No. 8 Heat (in the East) won their opening playoff series and advanced beyond the first round of the NBA playoffs.
That was a particularly strange year for playoff results. The Lakers made it all the way to the Western Conference finals as a play-in team, while the Heat won the East and played Denver for the championship in the NBA Finals.
It was the first time a No. 8 seed made the Finals in nearly 25 years.
Generally speaking, NBA play-in teams have been eliminated in the first round by vastly superior teams. Those series are often over after five games.
2025 NBA Play-In Games
This season’s play-in games are still being determined, with some matchups – particularly the No. 7 vs. No. 8 game in the West – likely to come down to Game 82 on Apr. 13.
In the meantime, you can check out my NBA playoff picture blog post to see what the bracket would look like if the postseason started today.
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