How does the NBA Play-In Tournament 2022 work, explained

The NBA Play-In tournament is still a fresh new facet of the playoffs for fans, but that also means some confusion about how it works.

For the 2021 postseason, the league introduced a new format that resonated immediately with fans because it added an entirely new wrinkle: the NBA Play-In Tournament.

The idea was to give more teams a chance to make the NBA playoffs, and hopefully keep some teams — particularly the Nos. 9 and 10 of each conference — from getting upset about being so close to the postseason , but didn’t get her shot. And hey, a few extra games for TV ratings won’t upset the league either.

However, since the tournament is so new, some fans are still trying to figure out how it all works. Don’t worry, we’re here for you.

How does the NBA Play-In Tournament 2022 work?

The 2022 NBA Play-In Tournament consists of the #7-10 seeds in each conference. In Eastern Conference order, these are the Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, and Charlotte Hornets. From the Western Conference these are the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Los Angeles Clippers, the New Orleans Pelicans and the San Antonio Spurs.

In the opening games of the tournament on Tuesday April 12, numbers 7 and 8 will play against each other. The winner of that game advances to the NBA Playoffs as the #7.

On Wednesday April 13th, numbers 9 and 10 from each conference will go head-to-head. The loser of these games is eliminated from the NBA Play-In tournament. Then the winners of those games meet the loser of the 7-8 matchups on Friday, April 15th. The winners of the last games on Friday will move into the playoffs as number 8.