The 2023–24 NBA regular season is almost at its end, with the league gearing up for the Play-In Tournament, which marks the beginning of the postseason.
The Play-In Tournament, which started in the 2019–20 season, is a preliminary postseason competition involving the teams that finished the regular season in positions seven to ten in both the Eastern and Western Conferences, with the aim of discovering the last two playoff spots in both conferences.
When is the 2023-24 Play-In Tournament?
The 2023-24 season Play-In Tournament will kick off on Tuesday, April 16 and end on Friday, April 19, two days after the end of the regular season and a day before the commencement of the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Why is the Play-In Tournament important?
The Play-In Tournament helps determine the two teams that will eventually occupy the seventh and eighth spots in both the Eastern and Western Conferences ahead of the playoff.
How does the Play-In Tournament work?
The Play-In is a mini-four-team tournament played between teams that finished in positions seventh to tenth in both conferences.
The 7th and 8th-placed teams in each conference will play each other, with the game held at the ground of the seventh-placed team. The winner of the tie secures the seventh spot and will face the second-ranked team in their conference in the first round of the playoffs.
Likewise, the 9th and 10th-placed teams in each conference will play each other, with the game held at the ground of the ninth-placed team. The loser of this tie is eliminated from the postseason, while the winner will face the loser of the encounter between the 7th and 8th teams. The winner of that clash will claim the eighth spot and face the No. 1-ranked team in their conference in the playoffs first round.
TEAMS CURRENTLY IN PLAY-IN SPOT
EAST WEST
7 Philadelphia 76ers New Orleans Pelicans
8 Miami Heat Sacramento Kings
9 Chicago Bulls Los Angeles Lakers
10 Atlanta Hawks Golden State Warriors
