The NBA is set to reveal the schedule for the first in-season tournament on Tuesday afternoon. Before the revelation, The Athletic have you covered everything we know about the tournament so far.
What is the NBA in-season tournament?
The NBA in-season tournament is an annual competition starting this coming season that will feature all 30 teams competing for the NBA Cup.
The format is similar to the famous international soccer tournaments and is the league’s way of introducing a new title that is expected to gain import among all its constituents.
How is the tournament organized?
The tournament will be played in two stages, first a group game involving each franchise and then a knockout stage when the field is whittled down to just eight teams. The group stage games will be held on Tuesdays and Fridays in November as the NBA divides the teams into six groups of five teams each divided by conference. The winners of each group, along with the second-place team with the best record in each conference, will advance.
The quarterfinals games will be Dec. 4 and 5 in one team’s home arena, before the semifinals on Dec. 7 and the final on Dec. 9 will be held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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The details of the NBA in-season tournament have been revealed
How does the in-season tournament work throughout the season?
Each team will still play an 82-game regular season, with all in-season tournament games counting toward the regular-season standings except for the Dec. 9 championship.
Each team currently has two games marked as TBD on their 2023-24 regular-season schedule to account for games during the week of Dec. 4. The 22 teams that did not qualify for the knockout stage will play two regular-season games during the tournament nights that week (Dec. 6 and 8). The losing quarterfinalists will also play on December 8.
How are the groups selected?
The league divides the 15 teams in each conference into three groups, chosen by random drawing. The teams with the three best conference records during the 2022-23 season are placed in one pot, the next three best teams in another and so on, and one team per pot the end of each group.
Western Group A: Grizzlies, Suns, Lakers, Jazz, Blazers
Western Group B: Nuggets, Clippers, Pelicans, Mavericks, Rockets
Western Group C: Kings, Warriors, Timberwolves, Thunder, Spurs
East Group A: 76ers, Cavaliers, Hawks, Pacers, Pistons
East Group B: Bucks, Knicks, Heat, Wizards, Hornets
Eastern Group C: Celtics, Nets, Raptors, Bulls, Magic
When will the schedule be released?
The 2023-24 NBA in-season tournament schedule will be revealed Tuesday at 3 pm ET on ESPN.
Where is the in-season tournament played?
Group stage play and quarterfinals games will be played at a team’s home arena, while the semifinals and final will be held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Each team will play four games in the group stage — one game against each team in their group — with two at home and two on the road. The quarterfinals matches will be played by the two teams with the best record in group play.
What do you get for winning the tournament?
The team that wins the tournament will be crowned with the NBA Cup. Each player on the winning team will take home $500,000; the players on the second place team will receive $200,000 each; losing players on semifinals teams will receive $100,000 each; and the losing quarterfinalists will receive $50,000 per player.
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(Photo: Nic Antaya / Getty Images)