2025 SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament Dates Announced

NEW YORK, April 5, 2025 — The 2025 SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament is set to take place from April 15 to April 18, just before the start of the NBA Playoffs on April 19. This tournament includes eight teams—four from each conference—competing for the last two playoff spots.

The NBA Board of Governors officially adopted the Play-In Tournament format as a permanent fixture in July 2022. This year, the tournament will feature teams ranked seventh to tenth based on their regular-season winning percentages in the Eastern and Western Conferences.

The Play-In Tournament begins on April 15, with the No. 7 and 8 seeds from both conferences facing off. Those games will be aired on TNT. The next day, April 16, the No. 9 and 10 seeds will compete, with the action streaming on ESPN. The tournament concludes on April 18, with the losers of the initial matchups facing the winners of the 9-10 games to determine the final playoff spots.

The stakes are high, as the winners of the 7-8 games will advance to the playoffs as the No. 7 seeds, while the loser will have one more chance to qualify against the victor of the 9-10 matchups.

“The Play-In Tournament has added an exciting layer of competition to the postseason,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stated. “It gives more teams the opportunity to fight for playoff seeding, enhancing the overall excitement of the league.”

As of now, the Chicago Bulls are the only team confirmed to be in the Play-In Tournament, positioned at the No. 10 spot in the Eastern Conference with a record of 34-42. With only two and a half games separating them from the seventh-place Orlando Magic, the Bulls are looking to capitalize on their recent strong performance.

Head Coach Billy Donovan expressed optimism regarding his team’s momentum, stating, “We’ve been playing some of our best basketball toward the end of the season, and I believe we have what it takes to secure a spot in the playoffs.”

Looking ahead, the other Play-In Tournament contenders are still firmly in the hunt, especially in the Western Conference, where 7th through 10th places are tightly contested. Playoff seeds for the West are still up for grabs, with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, and Sacramento Kings all vying for a place in the postseason.

Televised coverage of all six games will be provided by TNT and ESPN, with exact game times to be revealed at a later date. Fans can expect thrilling matchups and high stakes as teams battle for their playoff lives.

In summary, the 2025 SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament promises to be an electrifying precursor to the playoffs, featuring intense matchups as teams fight for one of the final two playoff seeds from each conference.