Although NBA Play-ins are relatively new, only starting after the pandemic, they are popular and an established part of the NBA calendar. Still, there are many questions, including how the whole thing will work and who will be participating in 2024.
Let's break it all down.
What is a play-in?
A few years ago, at the end of the last decade, the focus of many team's fans as the season neared its end was in the tank, whether the team had fielded a roster that could drop enough games to get a higher draft pick. How about it? choose. NBA commissioner Adam Silver hated the idea of fans rooting for their team to lose and wanted to change the narrative and create drama and crisis for a team at the tail end of the playoff chase. .
The NBA did that with the play-ins. The No. 7 and No. 8 seeds will automatically be ineligible for the playoffs, while the No. 9 and No. 10 seeds will qualify.
How do play-ins work?
This is a super easy way to fill out the final two seeds for the NBA Playoffs.
• Regular season seeds No. 7 and No. 8 will play one game, and the winner of that game will advance directly to the playoffs as the No. 7 seed (against the No. 2 seed).
• Regular season seeds No. 9 and No. 10 will play a single-elimination game, with the loser being eliminated and going home.
• The winner of the 9/10 match and the loser of the 7/8 match will play a single-elimination game to advance to the playoffs as the 8th seed (against the 1st seed). The loser of this final play-in game ends the season.
This means they have an incentive to win enough games to be a top-six seed and avoid the play-ins, or at least win enough games to be a 7/8 seed in the regular season. You only need to win one of the two. A game with a place in the playoffs at stake. Still, the 9/10 seeded team has a chance and the team will push to earn that spot. It all worked to create the drama Silver wanted, and it (and the changes to his NBA Draft Lottery odds) changed the narrative around tanking.
Has any team made it to the NBA Finals from the play-ins?
Yes, just last season, the Miami Heat were a No. 7 seed, lost to Atlanta in the first play-in game, and had to come back and beat Chicago in the final play-in game to advance as the No. 8 seed. Once in the playoffs, Miami defeated Milwaukee, New York, and Boston to advance to the NBA Finals.
Last season, the seventh-seeded Lakers advanced from the play-in to the Western Conference Finals, but lost in a sweep to eventual champion Denver.
Which teams will compete in the 2024 NBA Play-In Tournament?
This year, some of the biggest brands and stars from the sports world will be playing in. They include LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, New Orleans' Zion Williamson, and Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers. .
Let's take a look at the schedule by conference.
Eastern Conference game schedule, where to watch
Wednesday, April 17th
• 7/8 Game: Miami vs. Philadelphia (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
• 9/10 Game: Atlanta vs. Chicago (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Friday, April 19th
• Winner 9/10, Loser 7/8 (TBD, ESPN)
Western Conference game schedule, where to watch
Tuesday, April 16th
• 7/8 Game: Los Angeles Lakers vs. New Orleans (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT)
• 9/10 Game: Golden State at Sacramento (10 p.m. ET, TNT)
Friday, April 19th
• Winner 9/10, Loser 7/8 (TBD, TNT)
