Image Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

How Many Games are there in the NBA Play-In Tournament?

The NBA Play-In Tournament determines the final two playoff seeds in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference.

Image Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

After an exciting regular season, the 2025 NBA Play-In Tournament kicked off on Tuesday night. In the opening game, the Orlando Magic outclassed the Atlanta Hawks 120-95 in the East and the Warriors edged out the Grizzlies 121-116 in the West to clinch the No. 7 seed. Atlanta and Memphis are still alive in the race to NBA playoffs.

Here, we find out how many games are there in the NBA Play-In Tournament.

Also Read: How Do the NBA Playoffs Work? Format, Rules, and More Explained

NBA Play-In Tournament Number of Games

Four teams from each conference qualify for the Play-In Tournament and only two teams advance to the NBA playoffs. Teams ranked No. 7 to No. 10 in each conference get a chance to participate in the Play-In competition. There are a total of six games in the Play-In Tournament, three each for Eastern Conference and Western Conference.

The SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament schedule ⬇️

Dates: April 15-18
At stake: Seventh and eighth playoff seeds in each conference
Participants: Teams that finished seventh through 10th in each conference pic.twitter.com/gJFBF8V0cY
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 13, 2025

Here’s the list of all six games in the NBA Play-in Tournament:

Eastern Conference

Game 1: No. 7 vs No. 8 (Magic 120-95 Hawks)
Game 2: No. 9 vs No. 10 (Bulls vs. Heat)
Game 3: Loser of Game 1 (Hawks) vs Winner of Game 3 (Magic/Heat)

Western Conference

Game 1: No. 7 vs No. 8 (Warriors 121-116 Grizzlies)
Game 2: No. 9 vs No. 10 (Kings vs. Mavs)
Game 3: Loser of Game 1 (Grizzlies) vs Winner of Game 3 (Kings/Mavs)

When Was the Play-in Tournament Created?

The NBA Play-In Tournament determines the final two playoff seeds in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference. The idea of Play-In was formed in June 2020 and the league introduced the format in the 2020-21 season. NBA Board of Governors made this format permanent in July 2022.

Also Read: 2025 NBA Play-In Tournament: Schedule, Betting Odds & How It Works

The format is pretty similar to the first two rounds of the Page–McIntyre system for a four-team playoff. The team that finishes 9th in the regular season hosts the No. 10 with the loser being eliminated. The No. 7 hosts the 8th-place team in the double-chance game and the winner qualifies to the playoffs as the 7-seed. The loser of this game will get a chance to clinch the No. 8 seed as the team will host the winner of the 9/10 game.

Is the Play-in Tournament Best of 7?

The Play-In Tournament is different from the original format of the NBA playoffs. During the playoff series, both teams feature in the best-of-7 series and whoever wins at least four games, goes through the next round. But, there is a different format for the Play-In tournament.

During the Play-In, only the No. 7 and No. 8 teams get double chance. They face their opponent only once and if they lose, they will face a different opponent. On the other hand, the No. 9 and No. 10 teams are involved in a single-elimination game. If they win, they will face a new opponent. In the Play-in tournament, teams face their conference rivals only.

Image Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

NBA Play-In Tournament

NBA Playoffs

Play-In Tournament Format

Gulshan Sharma

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A native of Jaipur, Rajasthan, journalist, and a complete soccer and basketball fan, he found the huge interest with basketball by watching videos of Allen Iverson and Tony Parker, but fell head over heels in love with the sport during the Warriors’ championship era (2015-2018). A sports game addict since his late PS1, he’s also passionate about the Eagles, Inter Miami and the Fever. He’s fortunate to have seen all his favorite teams win championships. He also has a special love for cricket and football (soccer), where he is a fan of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Barcelona.