NBA play‑in set
The NBA’s 2026 Play‑In Tournament opens Tuesday, April 14 with the No. 7 vs No. 8 games in each conference, followed by No. 9 vs No. 10 on Wednesday, April 15 and final play‑in games on Friday, April 17 to determine the No. 8 seeds. (si.com)
The National Basketball Association’s play-in tournament starts Tuesday, April 14, with six single-game matchups deciding the last four playoff spots. (nba.com) Teams that finish seventh through 10th in each conference go into the bracket, while teams ranked first through sixth go straight to the playoffs. The winners of the No. 7 versus No. 8 games claim the No. 7 seeds, and the losers get one more chance on Friday. (nba.com) The No. 9 team hosts the No. 10 team on Wednesday, April 15, and those losers are out immediately. On Friday, April 17, each conference’s No. 7-No. 8 loser hosts the No. 9-No. 10 winner for the No. 8 seed. (nba.com) That format turns the end of the regular season into a race for two different targets: sixth place to avoid the play-in, and seventh place to get two chances instead of one. The first round of the playoffs begins Saturday, April 18, one day after the play-in ends. (nba.com) As of Saturday, April 11, the Western Conference play-in picture is partly set: the Phoenix Suns are seventh, the Portland Trail Blazers are eighth, the Los Angeles Clippers are ninth, and the Golden State Warriors are 10th. Phoenix is locked into the Tuesday game, while Portland and Los Angeles are still listed around the No. 8 and No. 9 line. (nba.com) In the Eastern Conference, the Orlando Magic are seventh, the Philadelphia 76ers are eighth, the Charlotte Hornets are ninth, and the Miami Heat are 10th in the current bracket. Detroit, Boston, New York and Cleveland have already filled the top four seeds in the East bracket shown on the league standings page. (nba.com) The league adopted the current play-in format in 2021, replacing the temporary version used in the 2020 restart. Since then, the event has expanded the postseason field from six protected spots per conference to 10 teams with a path into April. (nba.com) All six play-in games will stream exclusively on Prime Video, according to the league’s schedule page. By Friday night, the bracket will be complete and the full 16-team playoff field will be set. (nba.com)
