NBA Play-In Tournament Rules & Format Explained

The play-in tournament has become an NBA postseason staple since it was adopted at the bubble in 2020.

Bulls guard Coby White drives on Heat guard Tyler Herro. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The 2020 NBA playoffs were unlike any that we've seen before, as COVID-19 forced the entire league into a bubble in Orlando to complete the season. The Los Angeles Lakers, led by LeBron James, made it through that bizarre postseason to win the NBA Finals.

While the bubble is a thing of the past, the league has kept one holdover from 2020: the play-in tournament. The NBA playoffs remain at 16 teams, but the final two seeds of each conference are determined by a pair of four-team brackets.

The system was adjusted for the 2020–21 season, with the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds and the No. 9 and No. 10 seeds facing off to begin the event. The winner of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 game earns the No. 7 seed in the playoff. The loser of that game faces the winner of the No. 9 vs. No. 10 matchup, with the winner of that game earning the eighth and final seed.

Current NBA Standings (As of Wednesday, April 9)

NBA teams have played 79 of 82 regular season games so far. The regular season wraps up this Sunday, April 13. The top six teams in each conference will be locked into playoff spots, while the seventh through 10th seeds will participate in the play-in tournament.

Eastern Conference Standings

Seed	Team	Record
1	Cavaliers	63–16
2	Celtics	59–20
3	Knicks	50–29
4	Pacers	48–31
5	Bucks	45–34
6	Pistons	43–36
7	Magic	39–40
8	Hawks	37–42
9	Bulls	36–43
10	Heat	36–43
11	Raptors	29–50
12	Nets	26–53
13	76ers	23–56
14	Hornets	19–60
15	Wizards	17–62

Western Conference Standings

Seed	Team	Record
1	Thunder	65–14
2	Rockets	52–27
3	Lakers	48–31
4	Clippers	47–32
5	Nuggets	47–32
6	Warriors	47–32
7	Grizzlies	47–32
8	Timberwolves	46–33
9	Kings	39–40
10	Mavericks	38–41
11	Suns	35–44
12	Trail Blazers	35–44
13	Spurs	32–47
14	Pelicans	21–58
15	Jazz	16–63

2025 Play-in Tournament Schedule

This year's play-in tournament runs from Tuesday, April 15 through Friday, April 18.

TNT will broadcast both matchups of No. 7 and No. 8 seeds, on April 15, while ESPN has the No. 9 and No. 10 games the following night. TNT will broadcast the final Eastern Conference play-in game on April 18, followed by ESPN with the final Western Conference game.

How Play-in Tournament Teams Have Fared Through the Years

2020 NBA Playoffs

The league launched the play-in concept at the Orlando bubble for any ninth-seed that finished the season within four games of the eighth-seed. That was the case in the Western Conference, with the No. 9 Memphis Grizzlies (34–39) finishing a half-game behind the No. 8 Portland Trail Blazers. The two faced off in the play-in game, with the Blazers winning 126–122.

Portland would lose to the eventual NBA champion Lakers in the opening series, 4–1.

2021 NBA Playoffs

The modern play-in format took over the following season, with the defending champion Lakers among the big-name franchises participating.

• No. 7 Celtics 118, No. 8 Wizards 100
• No. 9 Pacers 144, No. 10 Hornets 117
• No. 8 Wizards 142, No. 9 Pacers 115

• No. 7 Lakers 103, No. 8 Warriors 100
• No. 9 Grizzlies 100, No. 10 Spurs 96
• No. 9 Grizzlies 117, No. 8 Warriors 112

In the Eastern Conference, Boston and Washington both fell in five games to Brooklyn and Philadelphia respectively. Memphis fell to Utah 4–1, while L.A. managed to win two games but fell to Phoenix in six.

2022 NBA Playoffs

• No. 7 Nets 115, No. 8 Cavaliers 108
• No. 9 Hawks 132, No. 10 Hornets 103
• No. 9 Hawks 107, No. 8 Cavaliers 101

• No. 7 Timberwolves 109, No. 8 Clippers 104
• No. 9 Pelicans 113, No. 10 Spurs 103
• No. 9 Pelicans 105, No. 8 Clippers 101

The Nets were swept by the Celtics and the Hawks lost in five games to the Heat. The Pelicans and Timberwolves both won two games in their series, falling to the Suns and Grizzlies.

2023 NBA Playoffs

• No. 8 Hawks 116, No. 7 Heat 105
• No. 10 Bulls 109, No. 9 Raptors 105
• No. 7 Heat 102, No. 10 Bulls 91

• No. 7 Lakers 108, No. 8 Timberwolves 102
• No. 10 Thunder 123, No. 9 Pelicans 118
• No. 8 Timberwolves 120, No. 10 Thunder 95

The Heat, becoming the eight seed after losing their first play-in game, knocked off the No. 1 Bucks 4–1, and would make an incredible run to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Western Conference one-seed Nuggets 4–1. The Hawks fell in their opening series to the Celtics, 4–2. In the West, the Timberwolves fell to the Nuggets 4–1, but the Lakers managed to win a pair of series, taking down the Grizzlies and Warriors, both in six games.

2024 NBA Playoffs

• No. 7 76ers 105, No. 8 Heat 104
• No. 9 Bulls 131, No. 10 Hawks 116
• No. 8 Heat 112, No. 9 Bulls 91

• No. 8 Lakers 110, No. 7 Pelicans 106
• No. 9 Kings 118, No. 10 Warriors 94
• No. 7 Pelicans 105, No. 9 Kings 98

The Heat fell to the Celtics 4–1, and the 76ers dropped their series with the Knicks 4–2. The Pelicans were swept by the Thunder and the Lakers fell in five games to the Nuggets.

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