The NBA play-in is a new way for the NBA to determine the teams for the first two rounds of the NBA playoffs. The play-in consists of the 8 worst teams in the league and the 8 teams with the best record from the conference that didn’t make the playoffs. The teams that failed to make the playoffs will play each other in a series of best-of-5 games to determine which team will be the 8th team in the first round. The team with the best record will be the 1st seed and will play the 8th seed in the first round. The team with the 8th seed will be the 8th seed and will play the 1st seed in the first round.
2. History of the NBA Play-In
The NBA Play-In is a preliminary round of the NBA Playoffs, featuring the 16 teams that did not qualify for the playoffs. The games are held on the second Saturday of the NBA regular season, and the winner of the Play-In moves on to the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The first-round series are played in a best-of-five format, but if the winner of the Play-In series is in the same conference as the team it would face in the first round, the series is played in a best-of-three format. The NBA Play-In was introduced following the 2002-03 NBA season. The idea was proposed by then-NBA Commissioner David Stern. The first game was held on April 26, 2003, and the Boston Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in that game.
