Jason Burgos
Tuesday night was a perfect showcase of what NBA commissioner Adam Silver dreamed of when he pushed to create the NBA Play-In Tournament. The games between the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat, and the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns, delivered exciting basketball, maximum effort, and matchups that came down to the final seconds.
While basketball fans won on the first night of the NBA Play-In, not everyone went home happy. With that in mind, let’s look at the biggest winners and losers from the Hornets win over the Heat and the Trail Blazers playoff-clinching victory against the Suns.
Winner & Loser: LaMelo Ball, Hornets
On Tuesday night, LaMelo Ball showed the basketball world why the Hornets did not follow through with the rumors of trading him in the offseason. With the right pieces around him, Ball can lead a team to the playoffs, and Charlotte doesn’t live to play another day without the 24-year-old posting 30 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds, and scoring a final-seconds layup in overtime of a do-or-die game.
However, while he is a hero in Charlotte today, he is a true villain in Miami. In the first quarter, he blatantly tripped the Heat’s top star, Bam Adebayo, in a way that led to an injury and knocked him out for the rest of the game. Considering that the Hornets won by 1 point, Heat fans will have to wonder all summer what could have been if Ball had not injured their best player. The playoffs now have a new villain.
Loser: Bam Adebayo, Heat
Over nine seasons with the Heat, Bam Adebayo has grown into a role as the heart of this current iteration of the franchise. Furthermore, earlier this season, he forever cemented his place in Heat and NBA history when he had his historic 83-point night.
However, this was the fourth straight year that the team had to play its way into the postseason. That is frustrating enough, but making matters worse was Ball’s dirty play that knocked the three-time All-Star out for most of the game. Now, he and his teammates will have to deal with the fact that they didn’t reach the playoffs for the first time since 2019 because of very questionable play early in the game.
Winner: Miles Bridges, Hornets
After being a first-round pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Miles Bridges has had an up-and-down tenure in Charlotte. He slowly developed into the team’s top star, and when he was set to cash in with his first big contract in the summer of 2022, he missed an entire season after serious domestic violence allegations.
Yet, the Hornets did not give up on him and gave him the chance to rebuild his reputation. That loyalty was rewarded on Tuesday when the eight-year veteran scored 28 points, had five threes, and got a game-winning block in the last seconds of the franchise’s biggest game in years. Bridges being part of the Hornets’ resurgence is a feel-good story in Charlotte.
Loser: Erik Spoelstra, Heat
This had to be a frustrating season for legendary Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra. Despite being far better on offense than many assumed after trading Jimmy Butler last year, Miami regressed in a major way on defense this season. This year’s Heat was a very un-Spoelstra-like group. We got further evidence of that when they could not seal the deal in the fourth quarter to play another day.
Now Miami will miss the playoffs for the first time in seven years and have to figure out how they get back to classic Heat ball this summer.
Winner: Deni Avdija, Trail Blazers
If you were a casual basketball fan and didn’t know much about Deni Avdija, you do now after Night 1 of the NBA Play-In. The former lottery pick for the Washington Wizards has finally been coming on over the last few seasons, but took a big leap forward in 2025-26 as he became Portland’s new face and earned All-Star honors for the first time.
In the franchise’s biggest game in five years, the 25-year-old looked like a superstar as he posted a near triple-double (41 points, 7 rebounds, and 12 assists) in his first postseason game. The Trail Blazers have a legit star for the first time since Damian Lillard.
Loser: Devin Booker, Suns
Devin Booker is one of the elite scorers in the game and has been for quite some time. But he is a five-time All-Star because he has the ability to dominate on offense and make his teammates better. The Suns needed that on Tuesday, but their top star was unable to elevate his game in the biggest game of the year.
This was a far better season than many expected in the desert. However, Booker and his teammates are kicking themselves for blowing a 10-point lead late in the fourth.
Winner: Tiago Splitter, Trail Blazers
Trail Blazers head coach Tiago Splitter deserves a ton of credit. The seven-year NBA veteran was thrust into the top job after Chauncy Billups found himself embroiled in an ugly gambling scandal right when the season started. Despite the messy situation, Splitter guided Portland to its first winning season and playoff birth since 2020-21. It is getting hard to say he hasn’t earned holding on to the job next season.
Winner: Jrue Holiday, Trail Blazers
Many scoffed at Portland trading for aging star Jrue Holiday and his hefty contract. Yet, the 35-year-old has played very well in his first season with the Trail Blazers. But more importantly, he once again showed why he is such an impactful player in the most important games by scoring 21 in the team’s playoff-clinching win.
Holiday is making too much money, but for a team that has been playoff starved he has been worth it in 2026.
