When is the NBA Play-In Tournament? Rules, teams, location & how to watch

The NBA Playoffs will be here soon, but not before the Play-In Tournament to determine who earns seeds seven and eight in both conferences.

The Play-In Tournament was added towards the end of the 2019-20 season during the NBA bubble. Since then, it has been a part of the NBA's regular playoff structure.

16 teams reach the postseason, but the Play-In Tournament adds a little bit of extra drama to the playoff chase and gives more teams a chance to get in and compete for an NBA title.

In this piece, we will break down everything you need to know about the Play-In Tournament.

Everything to know about the Play-In Tournament

With the new format, seeds 1-6 in each conference are guaranteed spots in the playoffs. Seeds 7-10 compete to determine the final two spots.

Seed No. 7 plays host to Seed No. 8 to determine the official No. 7 spot. The winner goes on to play the No. 2 seed in the first round. The loser has one more chance to secure a spot in the playoffs.

Seeds 9 and 10 face off against one another as well, except in this game, the loser is officially eliminated, while the winner plays the loser of the 7-8 matchup. The winner of the following matchup gets seed No. 8 while the loser is eliminated.

The Play-In Tournament will kick off on Tuesday April 16. The seventh and eighth seeds will play their games on that day. The following day will feature the 9-10 matchups.

The final Play-In games will take place on Friday, April 19. After the tournament reaches its conclusion, the 16-team playoffs get underway.

The games will all be televised by TNT and ESPN, but the game and broadcast schedule won't be announced until everything is finalized.

As things currently stand, the Indiana Pacers would host the Miami Heat in the 7-8 matchup for the Eastern Conference, while the Chicago Bulls would host the Atlanta Hawks in the 9-10 matchup.

In the Western Conference, the Sacramento Kings would play host to the Dallas Mavericks to determine seed No. 7. The Los Angeles Lakers would host the Golden State Warriors in the 9-10 matchup.