Report: NBA to keep play-in games through 2021-22
The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association have agreed to keep the play-in tournament through the 2021-22 season, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The decision is expected to be formally approved by the NBA's board of governors in the near future.
The 2020-21 campaign marked the first official inclusion of play-in games, though a version of the format was deployed during the pandemic-altered 2019-20 season.
Under the current format, the Nos. 7 and 8 teams in each conference square off for the seventh playoff berth. The loser faces the winner of a single-elimination game between the Nos. 9 and 10 seeds for the final postseason spot.
The games were a big success among television viewers; 5.6 million people watched the No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers take on the No. 8 Golden State Warriors, resulting in the top-viewed game on ESPN since 2019, according to The Athletic.