The 2026 SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament is scheduled to take place from Tuesday, April 14, through Friday, April 17. Specifically, this tournament determines the final two playoff seeds in each conference, with eight teams competing for four available spots. The NBA Play-In Tournament is a preliminary postseason competition that determines the final two playoff seeds (No. 7 and No. 8) in both the Eastern and Western Conferences. It involves the teams that finished the regular season ranked 7th through 10th in each conference.
Specifically, the tournament uses a three-game format for each conference to decide which two teams advance to the standard best-of-seven playoff bracket:
First, the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds play a single game, with the winner immediately securing the No. 7 seed in the playoffs. And then the NBA betting odds loser of this game does not go home, but instead gets a “second chance” to earn a spot later in the week.
Next, the No. 9 and No. 10 seeds play an elimination game. The winner advances to the tournament’s final stage, while the loser is immediately eliminated and enters the NBA Draft lottery.
2025-26 NBA Play-In Tournament
In sum, the Western Conference field is set with the Phoenix Suns (No. 7) hosting the Portland Trail Blazers (No. 8) on Tuesday at 10:00 PM ET. The winner of this matchup will secure the No. 7 seed and face the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs.
On Wednesday at 10:00 PM ET, the Los Angeles Clippers (No. 9) will host the Golden State Warriors (No. 10) in an elimination game. The loser of that contest will be eliminated. While the winner will travel to face the loser of the Suns-Blazers game on Friday for the final No. 8 seed and a first-round date with the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.
Meanwhile, in the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers (No. 7) will host the Orlando Magic (No. 8) on Wednesday at 7:30 PM ET. The winner earns the No. 7 seed and a matchup against the Boston Celtics. The Tuesday night Eastern Conference game at 7:30 PM ET features the Charlotte Hornets (No. 9) hosting the Miami Heat (No. 10). Similar to the West, the loser of the Hornets-Heat game is immediately eliminated, while the winner will play the loser of the 76ers-Magic game on Friday to determine the No. 8 seed. Finally, that final Eastern seed will advance to face the No. 1 Detroit Pistons.
The Western Conference field is set with the Phoenix Suns (No. 7) hosting the Portland Trail Blazers (No. 8) on Tuesday at 10:00 PM ET. Correlate that the winner of this matchup will secure the No. 7 seed and face the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs.
On Wednesday at 10:00 PM ET, the Los Angeles Clippers (No. 9) will host the Golden State Warriors (No. 10) in an elimination game. The online wagering loser of that contest will be eliminated, while the winner will travel to face the loser of the Suns-Blazers game on Friday for the final No. 8 seed and a first-round date with the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.
In the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers (No. 7) will host the Orlando Magic (No. 8) on Wednesday at 7:30 PM ET. In turn, the NBA odds
winner earns the No. 7 seed and a matchup against the Boston Celtics.
To conclude, the Tuesday night Eastern Conference game at 7:30 PM ET features the Charlotte Hornets (No. 9) hosting the Miami Heat (No. 10). In a similar way to the West, the loser of the Hornets-Heat game is immediately eliminated. While the winner will play the loser of the 76ers-Magic game on Friday to determine the No. 8 seed. That final Eastern seed will advance to face the No. 1 Detroit Pistons