Furthest Playoff Runs Ever Made by NBA Play-in Teams

The NBA play-in tournament gets underway on Tuesday, April 15, with a pair of No. 7 and No. 8 matchups: the Orlando Magic vs. Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference and the Golden State Warriors vs. the Memphis Grizzlies in the West. The No. 9 Chicago Bulls and No. 10 Miami Heat will face off on Wednesday, followed by the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks.

The NBA first visited the play-in concept at the 2020 bubble in Orlando. It expanded the format the following year, creating the tournament that decides the final two seeds in each conference that exists today. The winner of the No. 7 vs. 8 games reach the playoff as the No. 7 seed, while the losers take on the winner of the No. 9 vs. 10 games for the final seeds in the full bracket.

More often than not, the first round is the end of the road. Since 2021, play-in teams are just 2–14 in their first-round series. The two exceptions, however, made impressive runs—both coming during the 2023 NBA playoffs.

Two years before he spent half of the season feuding with Pat Riley and the Heat, Butler was the centerpiece of one of the most improbable runs to the Finals in NBA history.

At 44–38, Miami finished atop a weak Southeast Division but finished a game behind the Brooklyn Nets for the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. A 116–105 loss to the Hawks in the first play-in game put the Heat on the precipice of elimination. They’d go on to win 13 of their next 19 games to win the Eastern Conference crown.

The run began with a win over the Chicago Bulls in the second play-in game, in which Butler and Max Strus tied for a game-high 31 points. Butler did all of his damage from inside the three-point arc, hitting 11-of-24 shots from the field while converting on 9-of-10 free throws. Strus, meanwhile, was red hot from deep, knocking down 7-of-12 threes in the win.

First Round: Heat defeat Bucks in Five Games

The win set up a first-round date with the No. 1-seed Milwaukee Bucks, a daunting matchup on paper, but one that changed in Game 1 as Giannis Antetokounmpo exited with a back contusion after just over 10 minutes of action. Butler scored 33 points in the matchup, the first big game in a series full of them for the star forward, leading Miami to a 130–117 win.

The Bucks would rebound for a Game 2 victory without Antetokounmpo, but the Heat proved to be too much for Milwaukee with a hobbled Greek Freak.

Butler scored 30 in a 121–99 Game 3 rout with Giannis still sidelined. He’d return to the series, but Butler full took control, scoring 56 points in Game 4 (119–114) and 42 points in Game 5 (118–116) to take the series.

Eastern Conference Semifinals: Heat Take Down Knicks in Six Games

Miami advanced to face the No. 5 seed New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinal, where they had their own injury concerns to overcome. Butler picked up where he left off against Milwaukee, scoring 25 point with 11 rebounds in a 108–101 win at Madison Square Garden to open the series. He’d miss Game 2, however, with a sprained ankle, helping the Knicks even the series with a 111–105 win.

Butler would return for Game 3 in Miami, and the Heat put the clamps down in a 105–86 win, followed by a 109–101 Game 4 win. Butler led the team in scoring in both games, while Bam Adebayo put together a pair of double-doubles, including a 23-point, 13-rebound effort in Game 4.

Jalen Brunson led New York to a Game 5 win at MSG with a 38-point outburst, but ultimately this was the Heat’s series once again. Brunson went off for 41 points in Game 6 in Miami, but no other Knicks player topped 15 points, while the Heat rode a balanced effort to a 96–92 win, secuting the seven game series in a slugfest victory.

Eastern Conference Finals: Heat Avoid Historic Collapse vs. Celtics

Miami advanced to face the East’s No. 2 team, the Boston Celtics, and what looked like a runaway series win turned into near-disaster for the Heat.

Butler once again led the way for Miami in the two opening games in Boston, 123–116 and 111–105 wins that put the Celtics on their back foot. Both Butler and his Celtics counterpart, Jayson Tatum, were held to 16 or fewer points in Game 3 in Miami, but the Heat roleplayers stepped up in a 128–102 win. Gabe Vincent led all scorers with 29 points, knocking down 6-of-9 shots from three, while Duncan Robinson dropped 22 off the bench, hitting 5-of-7 threes.

Boston would not go quietly into the night, however, holding Miami to under 100 points in each of the next two games, 116–99 and 110–97 wins to cut the series lead to 3–2.

Game 6 was a classic, with the Celtics jumping out to an early lead on the road, only to see the Heat claw back to take a lead midway through the fourth quarter. Boston would retake control, but could not put Miami away, and Butler converted on three late free throws to put his team up 103–102 with just three seconds left.

That’s when Derrick White made magic happen.

His tip-in winner forced a Game 7 and put the Celtics one win away from the NBA’s first-ever comeback from down 3–0 in a playoff series. Boston ran out of steam for Game 7, though, managing just 84 points in their anticlimactic loss, shooting 39% from the field and 9-of-42 from three. Butler led all scorers with 28 while Caleb Martin chipped in 26 in a 103–84 win to secure the Eastern Conference title.

NBA Finals: Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets Bring Heat’s Run to an End

They could overcome a hobbled Giannis, surging Brunson and the Celtics a year before their title run. The Heat, could not, however, match the historic play of Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.

The two sides split the first two games in Denver, with Miami taking Game 2 111–108 thanks to a balanced effort in which Butler, Adebayo and Vincent all scored at least 21. The rest of the series was all Jokic and Jamal Murray, as Denver closed it out in five games.

Jokic put together a pair of remarkable triple-doubles, including a 32/21/10 performance in Game 3. He averaged 30.2 points, 14 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game in the Finals. The Nuggets defense held the Heat to 95 or fewer points in all four of their Finals losses, extinguishing one of the most impressive underdog playoff runs in recent memory.

While the Heat were making history in the Eastern Conference, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers vaulted themselves from the play-in tournament all the way to the conference finals in 2023.

Unlike Miami, L.A. made it out of the play-in tournament in their first game, though it wasn’t a cakewalk by any means. James scored 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Anthony Davis went for 24 and 15 to overcome Karl-Anthony Towns and the young Minnesota Timberwolves in overtime, 108–102. That win earned the Lakers the No. 7 seed, and a date with another up-and-coming franchise in the West.

Lakers Beat Ja Morant-Led Grizzlies in First Round

The Grizzlies earned their second consecutive No. 2 seed in 2023, and looked to be a franchise on the rise. A year earlier, they were tripped up in the conference semifinals by the eventual NBA champion Golden State Warriors.

Los Angeles, another veteran-laden team, pulled off a similar upset in the first round a year later.

The Lakers young guns led the way in Game 1, with Austin Reaves scoring 23 points and Rui Hachimura going off for 29 points off the bench in a 128–112 win. Ja Morant suffered a hand injury late in the game, and missed Game 2, but Memphis was able to overcome his absence as Xavier Tillman Sr. scored 22 and added 13 rebounds to even the series.

Morant returned to score 45 points in Game 3, but the Lakers—led by Davis’s 31 points and 17 rebounds—put the clamps on the rest of the Grizzlies, who shot under 38% from the floor as a team in a 111–101 win. L.A. followed it with a second consecutive home win, with James scoring 22 points and adding 20 rebounds to give the Lakers a 3–1 lead with a 117–111 overtime win.

Game 5 was all Memphis, as Morant and Desmond Bane each topped 30 points in a 116–99 win, but Los Angeles responded to close things out at home in Game 6. D’Angelo Russell led the way with 31 points while the Lakers held every Grizzlies player to 16 or fewer points to win 125–88.

Lakers End Warriors’ Championship Repeat Bid in Western Conference Semifinals

It doesn’t get much better than LeBron vs. Stephen Curry, and a year after Golden State kept the dynasty alive with the 2022 NBA title, Los Angeles shut the door on a potential repeat. The six-game series played out the same way that the Grizzlies series did, with the Lakers taking Games 1, 3, 4 and 6 to win it.

It wasn’t easy, though. Golden State nearly flipped the script in Game 1, utilizing a 14–0 run to erase L.A.’s big lead with under six minutes left in the game. Los Angeles would survive the run, however, led by Davis’s 30 points and 23 rebounds, winning 117–112. The Warriors evened the series in Game 2, with Klay Thompson drilling eight threes and leading all scorers with 30 points in a 127–100 blowout.

Game 3 was all Los Angeles, with Davis scoring 25 and adding 13 rebounds in a 127–97 win. It was the Lakers’ turn for a big fourth-quarter comeback in Game 4, as Lonnie Walker IV scored 15 points in the frame, matching Golden State in total field goals in the quarter to overcome a seven point lead and win 104–101.

The Warriors took home Game 5, scoring 70 points in the first half alone in a 121–106 win to cut L.A.’s series lead to 3–2. They couldn’t force a Game 7, however, as James scored 30 points and Reaves chipped in 23, while Curry was one of just two Warriors to score in double digits, leading all players with 32 points. It wasn’t enough to overcome a well-rounded effort by the Lakers, who captured the series with a 122–101 win.

Nuggets End the Lakers’ Run in Western Conference Finals

We know how this story ends, of course. Before ending the Heat’s Cinderella run, Denver swept the Lakers out of the playoffs, rolling in four games in the Western Conference Finals.

The series was closer than a sweep would indicate, with the Nuggets winning three of the four games by single digits and an average of just six points.

Davis got to work in Game 1, leading all scorers with 40 points along with 10 rebounds, but Jokic answered with the first of his three triple-doubles in the series—34 points, 21 rebounds, 14 assists—and Murray added 31 points on 12-of-20 shooting in a 132–126 win.

Murray kept his impressive scoring run going in Game 2, with a game-high 37 points—23 of which came in the fourth quarter—to lead Denver to a 108–103 win after the Nuggets trailed at the half.

The venue changed to Crypto.com Arena for Game 3, but it remained the Murray Show early, as the Denver guard scored 30 of his 37 points in the first half. Los Angeles survived the outburst and used a big second quarter to take a lead late into the fourth when Jokic took over. He scored 15 of his 24 points, leading a late 13–0 run to win the game 119–108.

Game 4 was the tightest contest of the series. Once again, the Lakers went up early, with a 15-point halftime lead. James scored 40 points and added 10 rebounds and nine assists, but Jokic was once again the best player on the court, finishing with 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists, including a pair of clutch buckets to seal a 113–111 win to take the series.

The play-in tournament begins on Tuesday night, and feature a number of notable players and teams. Here is the full schedule

The losers of the No. 7 vs. 8 games will face the winners of the No. 9 vs. 10 games to determine the two eight-seeds on Friday, April 18.

Here is how the Eastern Conference playoff bracket looks ahead of the play-in tournament:

And the Western Conference:

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