The introduction of the NBA play-in tournament hasn’t exactly been met with universal acceptance. Some fans believe that it devalues the regular season (which is, in fact, not the truth, as more teams have fancied their chances of making the playoffs, creating more drama in the final weeks of the campaign) and that it gives other teams an unearned chance to extend their season. But the viewership for the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat’s 7/8 matchup on Wednesday night shows otherwise.
According to Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch, the 76ers-Heat matchup “topped Wednesday’s slate with a combined 3.40 million across ESPN (3.31M) and ESPN2 (98K)”. Lewis added that this game brought in the sixth-biggest audience in the history of the play-in tournament, with this particular matchup being the most-viewed game that did not involve LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers or Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors.
Fans may have differing opinions regarding the competitive value of the league’s decision of the play-in tournament’s introduction. But no one can argue that a single-game format with huge playoff stakes is a recipe to deliver major entertainment, and the numbers show it. It helps that the 76ers have a very active fanbase and the Heat do so as well, and having star players such as Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler will always contribute to excellent viewership.
LeBron James, not a fan
In 2021, the second-year of the play-in tournament, LeBron James made his displeasure over the newest addition to the playoff format clear. The Lakers, after James missed time due to injury, fell to the seventh spot in the Western Conference standings, which, under usual circumstances, would have already guaranteed a playoff spot. Instead, they had to win the 7/8 matchup against the Golden State Warriors, requiring them to go through more hoops.
“Whoever came up with that s**t needs to be fired,” James said back in May 2021, per Bill Oram of The Oregonian.
Some fans have brought up James’ comments regarding the play-in and made fun of him, saying that the Lakers, in 2021, 2023, and 2024, have needed the play-in tournament just so they could make the playoffs. But for all of those seasons, they finished seventh in the West.
Credit must go where credit is due. The Lakers, despite the additional wrinkle added by the league, have taken care of business. Now, what stands in front of them is another tough first-round matchup. In 2021, they faced a Phoenix Suns team that would eventually make the NBA Finals. Three years later, they’ll be tasked to overcome the reigning champion Denver Nuggets — a tall order for any team.
A brief history of the NBA play-in tournament
In 2020, the league decided to spice up the playoff picture in the bubble, as it was a guarantee that teams won’t be finishing the regular season having played an identical number of games. Thus, the league decided to introduce the play-in tournament, with the eight-seed having to play the nine-seed if the latter was within four games of the former in the win-loss column.
However, the catch was that the eight-seed needed to win just one game, while the nine-seed needed to beat the eight-seed twice to make the playoffs. That was an interesting wrinkle that made sense, giving advantage to the team that finished above.
In the first year of the play-in, only the Western Conference needed the extra games after the East’s eight-seed, Orlando Magic, held a 7.5-game advantage over the nine-seed Washington Wizards. In the inaugural play-in game, the Portland Trail Blazers clinched a playoff spot, holding off the hard-charging Memphis Grizzlies in a hard-fought battle.
Since then, the play-in tournament has evolved into what it is nowadays. The winner of the 7/8 matchup makes the playoffs as the seven-seed, while the loser takes on the winner of the 9/10 matchup to decide which team gets the final playoff spot.
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