Of course, the additional games were first tested out in the Disney World bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic ... and after a pretty successful run, the league brought 'em back for the 2021 season.

The tourney widens the number of postseason teams from 16 to 20 by featuring the 7th through 10th seeds of each conference, instead of the top 8 seeds automatically moving on to the playoffs.

While fans may have been in favor of the extra games, the King wasn't too pleased ... previously saying back in May, "Whoever came up with that s*** needs to be fired."

Some folks believe LeBron's comments might have been more about his own team's position than the actual tourney -- thanks to the league’s new changes, the Lakers’ post-season chances required a few extra games.

The 2020 play-in brought some of the most memorable matchups of the playoffs. LeBron’s series went through his rival Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors ... and who doesn't wanna see that???

This year’s play-in tournament is scheduled from April 12-15 of 2022.