The 2025 NBA Play-In Tournament is set, and eight teams will be competing to earn the final two spots in the playoff bracket in each conference. That includes the Golden State Warriors, who fell to the Clippers in overtime on Sunday and lost their chance at a top-six seed in the West. The Warriors will face the Memphis Grizzlies for the No. 7 seed on Tuesday with the loser of that game facing either the Sacramento Kings or Dallas Mavericks for the West’s No. 8 seed on Friday.
In the Eastern Conference, the Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat all clinched spots for the play-in round. The Magic and Hawks will face off for the No. 7 seed, while the Bulls and Heat will face off in Chicago in the 9/10 game on Wednesday.
The East’s No. 7 seed will play the No. 2 Boston Celtics in the first round, while the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers await the No. 8 seed. In the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder are the No. 1 seed, and the Houston Rockets will face the winner of Warriors vs. Grizzlies in the first round. Here’s a look at the complete Play-In Tournament schedule.
2025 NBA Play-In Tournament schedule
Tuesday, April 15
Wednesday, April 16
Friday, April 18
- East TBD vs. East TBD, Time TBD, ESPN/fubo
- West TBD vs. West TBD, Time TBD, TNT
The Heat have by far been the most successful team to come out of the play-in round since its inception. They’ve made it to the NBA Finals back in 2023 after having to get through the play-in round first. This time will be different, as Jimmy Butler is no longer on the team, and they’ll face a Bulls team that has seemingly been peaking at the right time this season.
Butler, meanwhile, will try to help lead Stephen Curry and the Warriors to a similar fate in 2025. Golden State saw its season turn around when Butler arrived at the trade deadline, but they fell one win shy of a top-six seed.
For the Hawks, they’ve established an impressive core around All-Star Trae Young, featuring Defensive Player of the Year candidate Dyson Daniels, rookie Zaccharie Risacher and the now injured Jalen Johnson. But they’ll be facing a Magic team that employs the No. 2 defense in the league.
Dallas has fallen far after making the NBA Finals just last season, but inexplicably trading superstar Luka Doncic will do that to you. Any hope at a postseason run will first start with a play-in game against the Kings, who have similarly struggled since trading De’Aaron Fox back in February.
The Grizzlies have had a disjointed season, highlighted by the firing of head coach Taylor Jenkins just several weeks ago. Memphis has slid down the standings, but are hoping that a change in head coach can jumpstart a surprise run in the postseason. They’ll have to get through the Warriors first.
Play-In Tournament format
The Play-In Tournament features the teams seeded 7-10 in each conference battling for the last two playoff spots (the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds). The teams that finished seventh and eighth in the standings face off first for the No. 7 seed. The teams that finished ninth and 10th go head-to-head the next night. The winner of that game faces the loser of the 7/8 game on Friday with the No. 8 seed on the line. The losers of the 9/10 game on Wednesday and the losers of the 8-seed game on Friday night are eliminated and their seasons are over.
The NBA began using this Play-In Tournament format in 2021.
