NBA play-in tournament
Professional basketball post-season games
- United States:
- ESPN/ESPN2
- TNT/TruTV
- Canada:
- TSN
- Sportsnet
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 a best-of-two play-in game. If the 8 seed won the game, it would advance to the playoffs. If the 9 seed won, a second game would be played. Only if the 9 seed won the second game would it 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 advanced to 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 advanced to 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]
Western Conference
| Play-in games | No. 8 seed game | Final seeds | |||||||||||
| 7 | LA Lakers | 103 | 7 | LA Lakers | No. 7 seed | ||||||||
| 8 | Golden State | 100 | 9 | Memphis | No. 8 seed | ||||||||
| 8 | Golden State | 112 | |||||||||||
| 9 | Memphis | 117 (OT) | |||||||||||
| 9 | Memphis | 100 | |||||||||||
| 10 | San Antonio | 96 | |||||||||||
Bold Game winner
Italic Team with home-court advantage
Eastern Conference
| Play-in games | No. 8 seed game | Final seeds | |||||||||||
| 7 | Boston | 118 | 7 | Boston | No. 7 seed | ||||||||
| 8 | Washington | 100 | 8 | Washington | No. 8 seed | ||||||||
| 8 | Washington | 142 | |||||||||||
| 9 | Indiana | 115 | |||||||||||
| 9 | Indiana | 144 | |||||||||||
| 10 | Charlotte | 117 | |||||||||||
Bold Game winner
Italic Team with home-court advantage
2022
2022 was the second 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]
Western Conference
| Play-in games | No. 8 seed game | Final seeds | |||||||||||
| 7 | Minnesota | 109 | 7 | Minnesota | No. 7 seed | ||||||||
| 8 | LA Clippers | 104 | 9 | New Orleans | No. 8 seed | ||||||||
| 8 | LA Clippers | 101 | |||||||||||
| 9 | New Orleans | 105 | |||||||||||
| 9 | New Orleans | 113 | |||||||||||
| 10 | San Antonio | 103 | |||||||||||
Bold Game winner
Italic Team with home-court advantage
Eastern Conference
| Play-in games | No. 8 seed game | Final seeds | |||||||||||
| 7 | Brooklyn | 115 | 7 | Brooklyn | No. 7 seed | ||||||||
| 8 | Cleveland | 108 | 9 | Atlanta | No. 8 seed | ||||||||
| 8 | Cleveland | 101 | |||||||||||
| 9 | Atlanta | 107 | |||||||||||
| 9 | Atlanta | 132 | |||||||||||
| 10 | Charlotte | 103 | |||||||||||
Bold Game winner
Italic Team with home-court advantage
2023
2023 was the third 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]
Western Conference
| Play-in games | No. 8 seed game | Final seeds | |||||||||||
| 7 | LA Lakers | 108 (OT) | 7 | LA Lakers | No. 7 seed | ||||||||
| 8 | Minnesota | 102 | 8 | Minnesota | No. 8 seed | ||||||||
| 8 | Minnesota | 120 | |||||||||||
| 10 | Oklahoma City | 95 | |||||||||||
| 9 | New Orleans | 118 | |||||||||||
| 10 | Oklahoma City | 123 | |||||||||||
Bold Game winner
Italic Team with home-court advantage
Eastern Conference
| Play-in games | No. 8 seed game | Final seeds | |||||||||||
| 7 | Miami | 105 | 8 | Atlanta | No. 7 seed | ||||||||
| 8 | Atlanta | 116 | 7 | Miami | No. 8 seed | ||||||||
| 7 | Miami | 102 | |||||||||||
| 10 | Chicago | 91 | |||||||||||
| 9 | Toronto | 105 | |||||||||||
| 10 | Chicago | 109 | |||||||||||
Bold Game winner
Italic Team with home-court advantage
2024
2024 will be the fourth 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]
Western Conference
| Play-in games | No. 8 seed game | Final seeds | |||||||||||
| 7 | New Orleans | 106 | 8 | LA Lakers | No. 7 seed | ||||||||
| 8 | LA Lakers | 110 | No. 8 seed | ||||||||||
| 7 | New Orleans | ||||||||||||
| 9 | Sacramento | ||||||||||||
| 9 | Sacramento | 118 | |||||||||||
| 10 | Golden State | 94 | |||||||||||
Bold Game winner
Italic Team with home-court advantage
Eastern Conference
| Play-in games | No. 8 seed game | Final seeds | |||||||||||
| 7 | Philadelphia | 105 | 7 | Philadelphia | No. 7 seed | ||||||||
| 8 | Miami | 104 | No. 8 seed | ||||||||||
| 8 | Miami | ||||||||||||
| 9 | Chicago | ||||||||||||
| 9 | Chicago | 131 | |||||||||||
| 10 | Atlanta | 116 | |||||||||||
Bold Game winner
Italic Team with home-court advantage
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 | 6–2 | 1–0 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | 2–6 | 2–3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 9 | 6–2 | 3–1 | 3 | 3 | |
| 10 | 2–6 | 0–2 | 0 | 8 | |
Television coverage
In 2020, ABC aired the only play-in game.[6]
In 2021, the tournament rights were split between TNT and ESPN, with TNT airing all Eastern Conference games, and ESPN all Western Conference games, coinciding with which conference finals each network was airing that year. In 2022 and 2023, 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]
In 2024, the was forced to return to the 2021 format due to a schedule conflict at a home team’s arena. ESPN anired all Eastern Conference games, and TNT all Western Conference games. Sister networks ESPN2 and TruTV, respectively, also began to have simulcasts/alternative broadcasts of selected games.[9]
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. broadcasters feed.
References
- ^ a b "Which Team Can Snag the Eighth Seed Before the 2020 NBA Playoffs?". Sports Illustrated. 5 June 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- ^ "NBA Board of Governors Approves Heightened Penalty for Transition Take Foul". Twitter. 2022-07-13. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
- ^ a b c d e "NBA announces structure and format for 2020-21 season". NBA.com. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
- ^ "Everything you need to know about Trail Blazers play-in game". NBC Sports. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- ^ "NBA play in tournament: What is the NBA Play in event in Orlando Bubble?". The SportsRush. 5 August 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- ^ Simmons-Winter, Shakeemah (2020-08-09). "NBA Western Conference Play-in Game to Air on ABC Saturday, Aug. 15". ESPN Press Room U.S. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
- ^ "NBA Play-In Tournament 2021: Rules, dates and TV schedule". NBC Sports. 17 May 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- ^ "NBA Play-In Tournament: How to watch, matchups, schedule". NBC Sports Boston. 2022-04-11. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
- ^ "When are the NBA playoffs? Schedule, how to watch and things to know". NBA.com. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
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