The 2026 NBA Play-In Tournament is here.
The Nos. 7-10 seeds in each conference will compete for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference, starting Tuesday night.
The Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets, Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers are the four teams alive in the East; the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns are competing in the West.
The winner of the 7/8 game in the East will play the 2-seed Boston Celtics; in the West, the 2-seed San Antonio Spurs await the 7/8 winner.
The winner of the final play-in game in each conference will face the 1-seed Detroit Pistons in the East and 1-seed Oklahoma City Thunder, the defending NBA champions, in the West.
Watch play-in tournament on Prime Video
Here’s everything to know about the NBA Play-In Tournament schedule, format and the 2026 playoff bracket:
Play in tournament schedule, 2026 bracket
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
How does the NBA Play In Tournament work?
How does the NBA Play-In Tournament work? It features eight teams, four from each conference.
The tournament, first instituted in 2020 with its current version starting in 2021, involves the Nos. 7-10 teams in each conference battling for the seventh and eighth playoff seeds.
Tuesday, April 14
Wednesday, April 15
Friday, April 17
Winners in each conference earn the No. 8 seed in the NBA playoffs. In the East, the 8-seed will play the Pistons in a best-of-seven series that begins Sunday evening; in the West, the 8-seed will play the Thunder with Game 1 on Sunday afternoon. Losing teams are eliminated.
NBA Play-In Tournament predictions
Here are Detroit Free Press NBA expert Omari Sankofa II’s predictions:
Read the why behind each pick.
[ The team most likely to upset Pistons in first round of NBA playoffs ]
How to watch play in tournament NBA
Prime Video will broadcast all six games of the play-in tournament.
NBA playoffs bracket 2026
Here are the playoff matchups for the first round:
Eastern Conference bracket
Western Conference bracket
The NBA does not re-seed after the first round, meaning the 1/8 winners will battle the 4/5 winners, and the 2/7 winners will play the 3/6 winners.
NBA playoff schedule Game 1
All times Eastern.
NBA playoff schedule 2026
How to watch NBA playoffs 2026
Fubo offers a free trial for new subscribers and has packages carrying ESPN, ABC and NBC games. You can also stream NBC games on Peacock.
Amazon Prime Video will carry the six play-in tournament games and some of the first-round games.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: What channel is NBA Play In Tournament? TV, streaming, start time, games
Reporting by Marlowe Alter, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
