The NBA Play-In tournament was first introduced at the end of the shortened 2019-20 season while teams were competing in the Orlando bubble. This new format would give more teams an opportunity to compete for the last playoffs spots for each conference.
The original format involved the eight and ninth seeds of each conference playing a best-of-two series. The eighth seed would need to win only the first game and the ninth seed would need to win both games to take the final playoff spot - the eighth seed in each conference.
The Play-In tournament is still in use for the 2023-24 season, but the format changed slightly in 2021. While some basketball analysts seemed to have trouble explaining the rules, it's quite simple:
- In each conference, the seventh seed hosts the eighth for one game. The winners take the seventh seeds in the playoffs.
- The ninth seed hosts the tenth, for a chance to play the loser of the game between the seventh and eighth seeds. The winners of those games take the last seeds (eighth) in the playoff.
Note: The seventh and eighth seeds only need to win one out of two games to retain a spot in the playoffs. The ninth and tenth seeds need to win two games in a row in order to reach the playoffs. The rest of the postseason proceeds as normal.
Below are the results from the 2020 inaugural Play-In tournament:
- Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies to take the eighth seed in the West
- Orlando Magic took the eighth seed in the East with no contest, as they had a greater than seven game advantage over the the ninth seed Washington Wizards
Below are the results from the first Play-In tournament under the new format (2021):
- Boston Celtics defeated the Washington Wizards to take the 7th seed in the East
- Washington Wizards defeated the Indiana Pacers to take the 8th seed in the East
- Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors to take the 7th seed in the West
- Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Golden State Warriors to take the 8th seed in the West
