Is the Play-In tournament one game?

Adit Pujari | 11/04/2023
Is the Play-In tournament one game?

The NBA Regular season is officially over after last night’s action-packed schedule. The last day of what has been a memorable year for the league saw teams like the Warriors and Lakers win their games after recent struggles to maintain their win percentage.

But none of that matters now. The Regular season record was only relevant till yesterday, going forward it will only be a decider for the upcoming playoffs scheduling.

The games that we saw last night were also really important in the context of the NBA Play-In Tournament. The play-in bracket is finally clear but some fans still are unclear about how many games will be played by every team in the tournament.

NBA Play-In Format Explained

The Play-In tournament is fairly recent. Therefore, it is easy to understand the confusion still surrounding the format of the mini-tournament that decides playoffs berths for teams seeded 7 through 10.

Play-in was actually introduced in the bubble. But during the 2020-21 season, current rules and format changed to what it looks like today. In light of its success, the league made it a permanent feature before the start of the current season.

The format includes 4 teams from each division part taking in the tournament. The 7th and 8th seeds face each other in the first round while the 9th and 10th seeds compete with each other.

The winner of the contest between the 7th and 8th seeds automatically advances to the playoffs and plays their first round against the 2nd seed of their conference. On the other hand, the winner of the game between the 9th and 10th seeds then faces the loser from the 7th and 8th seed matchup. Whoever wins this contest advances to the playoffs as the 8th seed and faces the top team of their conference.

So, no. The Play-in is not a single-game tournament although the winner of the 7th vs 8th seed and the loser of the 9th vs 10th seed only get to play one game. However, the loser between the 7th vs 8th seed matchup receives two games and therefore two opportunities to progress to the playoffs. This is the reason the Lakers tried their best to finish the season in the top 8 in the West.

Schedule for the Play-in

In the Eastern Conference, Miami Heat is 7th, Hawks are 8th, Raptors are 9th, and the Bulls are 10th. In the Western Conference, on the other hand, the Lakers are 7th, Timberwolves 8th, Pelicans 9th, and OKC 10th.

The 7th and 8th seeds of both conferences will face each other on April 11 and the 9th and 10th seeds will face each other on April 10th. The ones who lose on 11th and the ones who win on 12th will then face each other on April 14th to decide the final team to get into the playoffs.

Post Edited By: Amulya Shekhar
Lakers NBA

About the author

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Adit Pujari

Adit Pujari is an NBA Journalist and Strategist at The SportsRush. He formerly worked as a debate and writing trainer. An avid fan of Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers, Adit began following the league in 2007. With the Lakers and Boston Celtics rivalry ripe, he found himself hooked to the sport immediately. After 15 years of religiously following the league, he decided to use his knowledge base as a sports writer in 2021. Since then, he has worked as an NBA writer, led a team of MLB writers, and has now joined The SportsRush. In his spare time, Adit loves playing pickup games and exploring hidden Himalayan trails.

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