Play‑In all on Prime
The NBA Play‑In Tournament begins this week to decide the final four playoff spots, with the 7–10 seeds competing under the familiar play‑in format. (sports.yahoo.com) For the first time, every 2026 Play‑In game will stream exclusively on Prime Video under the league’s new rights deal, and the full first-round playoffs start April 18. (nbcsportsphiladelphia.com) (cbssports.com)
The National Basketball Association Play-In Tournament starts Tuesday, April 14, and every game this year streams only on Prime Video. (nba.com) The six-game event runs through Friday, April 17, and fills the final two playoff spots in each conference before the first round opens Saturday, April 18. (nba.com) (cbssports.com) The format stays the same: the No. 7 and No. 8 teams play for the seventh seed, the No. 9 and No. 10 teams play an elimination game, and the last eighth seed goes to the winner of those survivors. (nba.com) (sports.yahoo.com) In the East, the Miami Heat visit the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday and the Orlando Magic visit the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday. In the West, the Portland Trail Blazers visit the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday and the Golden State Warriors visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday. (nba.com) Friday’s two games decide the No. 8 seeds after the Tuesday and Wednesday results are in, with the losers of the 7-versus-8 games hosting the winners of the 9-versus-10 games. (nba.com) The television change comes from the league’s 11-year media deals with The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal and Amazon that began with the 2025-26 season. Under that package, Prime Video got exclusive rights to the entire Play-In Tournament. (nba.com) (press.amazonmgmstudios.com) That is a break from recent postseasons, when the Play-In aired on cable outlets including TNT and ESPN. This week is the first test of the new setup for fans who usually found these games on traditional television. (sports.yahoo.com) (nba.com) The first-round bracket begins to lock in as soon as the seventh seeds are decided, but some series and tipoff times still depend on the final Play-In results. CBS Sports said the opening-weekend game times are already set, with the rest of the first-round schedule to follow. (cbssports.com) By Saturday, the streaming experiment ends and the full 16-team playoff field begins its run to the National Basketball Association Finals, which are scheduled to open June 3. (nba.com) (sports.yahoo.com)
