The 2025-26 regular season has officially come to a close, which means postseason action can now begin. Before the playoffs start, we'll have the 2026 NBA Play-In Tournament, where four teams from both the East and West will compete for the seventh and eighth seeds in their respective conferences. Let's predict who will be the final four teams qualifying for the 2026 NBA Playoffs.

Formatting

Since the 2022-23 season, the NBA Play-In Tournament has utilized a four-team playoff system for both conferences.

There will be two preliminary games:

• Seventh seed vs. Eighth seed

• Ninth seed vs. Tenth seed

The winner of the seventh vs. eighth-seeded game will automatically qualify for the playoffs as the seventh seed in their respective conference. After that, there will be one final game between the loser of the seventh vs. eighth-seeded game and the winner of the ninth vs. tenth-seeded game. Whoever wins that matchup will be awarded the eighth seed in their respective conference.

Eastern Conference

Round One

#7 Philadelphia 76ers vs. #8 Orlando Magic

After 76ers superstar center Joel Embiid had to undergo an appendectomy last Thursday, it's unclear if Philly will have its best player available for the Play-In. Without Embiid on the court, Philly averages just 112.9 points per game, which would be tied with the Washington Wizards for 25th in the NBA this season. Considering the Magic are tenth in the league in defensive rating since the 2026 All-Star Break, they should be able to handle a Philly squad that is 21-23 in games that Joel Embiid has missed. It also helps that Orlando has health working in its favor since they currently don't have a single player with an injury designation.

#9 Charlotte Hornets vs. #10 Miami Heat

Since the beginning of March, the Hornets have undoubtedly been a better team than the Heat. Charlotte has the seventh-best record in the league since then (14-7), while Miami is 16th in the NBA during that stretch (11-10). Though Miami has been the second-best offensive team in the league since March 1st (123.9 points per game), they have also allowed the sixth-most points per game in the NBA during this period (123.1). The Heat will not be able to score at will against a Charlotte squad that has allowed the fewest points per game since the beginning of March (105.8). Plus, Charlotte and its third-ranked three-point offense will overwhelm the Heat, who are 28th in the league in three-point defense since March 1st, allowing opponents to hit 38.8% of their three-pointers.

#8 Seed Game

#9 Charlotte Hornets vs. #7 Philadelphia 76ers

Even before Joel Embiid's injury, the 76ers were not lighting the world on fire offensively. In fact, they're 24th in the NBA in scoring since March 1st (113.8 points per game) and 23rd since April began (113.7 points per game). Philly may be 2-1 against Charlotte this season, but the one game Joel Embiid didn't play was a 130-93 thrashing by the Hornets. When Embiid faced Charlotte, Philly barely won those two games, with an average margin of victory of four points per contest. Without Joel Embiid, it feels like the 76ers will not be able to keep up with Charlotte offensively.

Final Results

#7 seed: Orlando Magic

#8 seed: Charlotte Hornets

Western Conference

Round One

#7 Phoenix Suns vs. #8 Portland Trail Blazers

By most metrics, the Suns are a dreadful offensive team. Phoenix is 24th in scoring since March 1st (113.9 points per game) and 29th since the beginning of April (108.7 points per game). Unfortunately for the Trail Blazers, this matchup is being played in Arizona, where the Suns have the fifth-best home defense in the NBA (108.4 points per game allowed). Not to mention, Phoenix has the 13th-best win percentage at home (.610), and Portland is 18-23 in road games this season. After sitting out the last five days, Devin Booker will take over this game. However, I don't have the same level of faith in Deni Avdija, Portland's leading scorer, who will be starting his first postseason game.

#9 LA Clippers vs. #10 Golden State Warriors

It's a shame that this is the 9-10 matchup because both teams are worthy of a spot in the playoffs. The Clippers have still been significantly better than the Warriors since the All-Star Break, going 16-12 during that stretch. Meanwhile, Golden State is 8-19 since All-Star Weekend. Kawhi Leonard will be excellent as usual, which means number-two scorer Darius Garland won't have to be perfect. After all, the 15 points he scored on 35.3% shooting were good enough to help LA beat Golden State when these teams squared off just two days ago. More importantly, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said that Stephen Curry, Kristaps Porzingis, and Al Horford will all be on minutes restrictions. With Curry and Porzingis, Golden State's two best players, being limited, the Clippers should come out on top in this contest.

#8 Seed Game

#8 Portland Trail Blazers vs. #9 LA Clippers

This is arguably the most even matchup of the 2026 Play-In Tournament. Since March 1st, LA is sixth in scoring (118.8 points per game), while Portland is fifth in defense (109.1 points per game allowed ). The interesting part is that these teams have played multiple times recently, with the Trail Blazers winning the last two matchups by an average of 14.5 points per game. Los Angeles fell the last two times it faced Portland because it lost the battle on the boards by 14.5 rebounds per game. Considering LA is 21st in rebounding (40.2 per game) since March 1st, while the Blazers are fourth in that category (46.8 rebounds per game), Portland will probably control the glass and earn the last spot in the Western Conference Playoffs.

Final Results

#7 seed: Phoenix Suns

#8 seed: Portland Trail Blazers