NBA

Report: NBA is expected to make the play-in tournament permanent

Published by
Peter Dewey

The NBA adopted a new playoff format this season with a play-in tournament for the final two playoff seeds in each conference.

The tournament breaks down as follows:

Game 1: No. 7 vs. No. 8, winner receives the No. 7 seed
Game 2: No. 9 vs. No. 10, winner advances to play loser of Game 1
Game 3: Loser of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 for the No. 8 seed

According to the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball strategy and analytics Evan Wasch, the tournament is expected to become permanent, as 24 teams are still in playoff contention this season.

“Twenty-four is the highest we’ve ever had, in the history of the league, with a month left,” Wasch said.

The new format allows 10 teams from each conference to have a chance to find themselves into the eight playoff spots at the end of the season, which gives more teams hope as the season reaches its final weeks.

“The future of the play-in tournament, which was adopted on a one-year trial basis, is a huge key,” Sports Illustrated’s Howard Beck wrote. “But given the impact it’s already made, league sources expect easy approval to make it permanent.”

According to Wasch, the league is pleased with the amount of teams in contention and the lack of tanking this season.

“Based on what we’ve seen in terms of team behavior the last few years—the competitiveness on the court and the competitiveness in the standings—we’re pleased with the early results of both the lottery change and the play-in tournament,” Wasch said.

While the play-in tournament certainly incentivizes getting a top-six seed to avoid having to play-in for a spot, it appears the league is ready to adopt it as the normal playoff format for future seasons.

Peter Dewey

Peter is a graduate of Quinnipiac University where he covered the MAAC and college basketball for three years. He has worked for NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering basketball, football and other major sports. Follow him on Twitter @peterdewey2.

Published by
Peter Dewey

Recent Posts

‘Wtf’: Trae Young reacts to Rashad McCants saying he could score 81 points like Kobe Bryant

Back in January of 2006, former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant put on one…

3 hours ago

Rashad McCants says he could’ve won ROTY but had a coach who was ‘shaking in the motherf——g huddle’

Former NBA guard Rashad McCants was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the last lottery…

3 hours ago

Chandler Parsons says Jaylen Brown would be best player on over half of NBA teams, including some playoff teams

The Boston Celtics were without maybe their top player for Wednesday's Game 2 versus the…

3 hours ago

‘Spo gonna Spo’: Cavs player gives Erik Spoelstra his flowers after Heat’s near-upset in Game 2

The odds were stacked against the Miami Heat to pick up a win in Game…

3 hours ago

Report: Will Campbell landing with Patriots may depend on whether team gets ‘fair deal’ to trade down

As a consolation prize for a woeful 2024 season that was marred by losing, the…

3 hours ago

Report: ‘Most of the league’ has been contacted about Jalen Ramsey, including Rams, Lions and Eagles

Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey is one of the more notable players in the league…

3 hours ago