When does the 2023 NBA play-in tournament start? Dates, schedule, teams, and more
The NBA first created the play-in tournament in 2020 as a way to extend the playoff pool and give more teams reasons to compete with the season winding down.
During the first year, the NBA play-in tournament began with just the eighth and ninth seeds competing for the final playoff spot. This was expanded the following year and has been the case for the past two seasons in which the 7 vs 8 seeds and 9 vs 10 seeds face off to decide which teams will be the seventh and eighth seeds in the official playoff bracket.
This will take place immediately following the regular season with game one scheduled for Tuesday, April 11. The final game will be between the loser of the 7 vs 8 seeds and the winner of the 9 vs 10 seeds, which will be finalized on Friday, April 14.
What teams will participate in the 2023 NBA play-in tournament?
With about three games remaining for each team, the playoff seeding is inching closer to being finalized. The Eastern Conference is much closer to this being the case with the top five seeds each having officially clinched a playoff berth and two of the play-in spots being decided.
The Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors have each clinched a play-in spot and are currently in the ninth and tenth seeds. The seventh and eighth seeds are still up for grabs as the Brooklyn Nets sit in the sixth seed, the Miami Heat as the seventh seed, and the Atlanta Hawks as the eighth seed.
The Nets hold a one-game lead at the sixth seed and will face off against the Philadelphia 76ers in the opening round if this remains. This would lead to the matchup being between the Heat and Hawls for the top play-in spot.
The Western Conference, on the other hand, is wider open. The fifth seed and 12th seed are separated by just 5.5 games. If the regular season ended today, the Lakers are the seventh seed, and the Pelicans are the eighth seed.Meanwhile, the Timberwolves are ninth, and Thunder are 10th in the conference.
Western Conference Tiebreaker Status, 4/4: https://t.co/yBYv908ioK
There is just a half-game difference between the Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks at the 11th seed. The Warriors are also just a half-game ahead of the Lakers and sit in the fifth seed while the Clippers have the same record but hold the tiebreaker as the sixth seed.
The next few NBA games will play a major role in deciding things. Regardless, there will be some exciting teams and noteworthy NBA franchises set to be involved. The play-in tournament has been successful in years past and will kick off the playoffs in a major way.