Since its introduction, the Play-In Tournament has added late-season drama to the NBA by giving teams just outside the traditional playoff cutoff one more shot at qualifying.
Which Teams Are Involved
The seventh through tenth seeds in each conference qualify for the Play-In Tournament, held over several nights immediately after the regular season concludes.
How the Format Works
- The No. 7 seed hosts the No. 8 seed, with the winner claiming the conference’s 7-seed in the playoffs
- The No. 9 seed hosts the No. 10 seed, with the loser eliminated from postseason contention
- The loser of the 7-vs-8 game then hosts the winner of the 9-vs-10 game, with the winner claiming the conference’s 8-seed
Why It Matters
The format effectively gives four teams per conference a real shot at the playoffs instead of two, adding meaningful late-season stakes to games that might otherwise be irrelevant. It also directly shapes the opening-round matchups covered in our breakdown of how NBA teams qualify for the postseason.
How Seeding Leads Into the Play-In
Regular-season standings, detailed in our conference tables guide, determine which teams land in this bracket versus a guaranteed top-six playoff spot.
The Format’s Impact Since Its Introduction
Since being introduced, the Play-In Tournament has consistently produced its share of surprise qualifiers, with teams that stumbled through parts of the regular season occasionally catching fire at exactly the right time to steal a playoff spot from a higher seed that limped into the format.
Bottom Line
The Play-In Tournament has become one of the most entertaining short stretches of the NBA calendar, turning late-season games between middling teams into genuine playoff-or-bust drama.