What is the NBA Play-in tournament?

The NBA Play-In Tournament is back for the 2022-23 season. What does it mean for the playoff picture in the Eastern and Western conferences?

After a wild offseason of NBA player movement, including Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert getting shipped out of Utah, the competition for playoff spots in the Eastern and Western Conference figures to be fierce. While some teams will opt to tank for the chance to draft Victor Wembanyama, the majority of teams will be jockeying for playoff positioning throughout the season.

Getting to the postseason isn’t as simple as it used to be, when the top eight teams in each conference automatically advanced to the first round of the playoffs. The addition of the Play-In Tournament back in 2021 added more danger to the bottom of the standings as well as intrigue for teams fighting to stay in the hunt.

What is the NBA Play-In Tournament?

The new structure of the postseason features the top six seeds in each conference automatically securing a playoff spot. The last two postseason berths are determined by the Play-In Tournament, which throws the next four teams in each conference into a two-day tournament with different stakes for each game.

The No. 7 and No. 8 seeds during the regular season will meet in one game, hosted by the No. 7 seed, and whoever wins it will automatically advance to the playoffs. The loser has another opportunity to get into the postseason by winning a home game against the winner of a 9-10 matchup.

That 9-10 matchup will be hosted by the No. 9 seed and is an elimination game where the loser goes home. The winner of the game will be the road team in the second half of the Play-In Tournament and playing for the right to be the No. 8 seed in their conference’s playoff bracket.