With more teams playing competitive games late into the 20-21 regular season and good ratings for extra telecasts, the NBA's Play-In Tournament has widely been considered a success.
"League sources say the play-in is likely here to stay," write Kevin Arnovitz and Brian Windhorst at ESPN.
Wednesday's game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors had ESPN's highest rating for any telecast since the 2019 Western Conference Finals.
The NBA is in the process of negotiating extensions with their broadcast partners and these games provide another valuable product to sell to them.