As the NBA Summer League marked the start of preseason NBA activities, we were able to see the first images of what could be the future of the league with the arrivals of Scoot Henderson, Brandon Miller, and of course, Victor Wembanyama. But putting the players aside, the league formally announced the new In-Season Tournament to the basketball world. Like the Play-In Tournament, which was added a few years ago, this is another new event set to bring a new wave of excitement to the beginning of the NBA season. But what exactly is the In-Season Tournament, what is its purpose, how does it work, and who’s playing in it? All those questions will be answered very soon.
So, what is the purpose of this new event? Well, the In-Season Tournament was made to spice up the beginning of the NBA season. It gives the fans something to look forward to, and it gives the players more motivation to win in the early stages of the season. Additionally, the idea has been circulating in the league for over 15 years according to NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
Alright, but how does the tournament work, and who’s playing? The tournament itself resembles a normal playoff bracket, but before we get to that we need to discuss Group Play.
Group Play starts on November 3rd and ends on November 28th. Both the Eastern and Western conferences will be split into three different groups, A, B, or C which include five teams each with there being 15 teams in each conference. This means all 30 teams will be playing in the In-Season Tournament. So you will be able to see your favorite player or team play in this event. Before it gets a bit confusing, here’s each group for the tournament.
Eastern Conference
A: 76ers, Cavaliers, Hawks, Pacers, and Pistons
B: Bucks, Knicks, Heat, Wizards, and Hornets
C: Celtics, Nets, Raptors, Bulls, and Magic
Western Conference
A: Grizzlies, Suns, Lakers, Jazz, and Trail Blazers
B: Nuggets, Clippers, Pelicans, Mavericks, and Rockets
C: Kings, Warriors, Timberwolves, Thunder, and Spurs
To qualify for the Knockout Round, each team will have to play against one of the other four teams in their conference group each week, either on Tuesday or Friday. You only play each of the four teams once during Group Play. Each win or loss you accumulate affects your group conference seeding.
After Group Play ends, the best team from each conference group, A, B, and C will be automatically placed into the Knockout Round of the tournament. The Group Play teams only fill in six slots of the available eight. So the remaining slots are given to two “wildcard” teams. This is determined by who was the second-best seeding team from all of the conference groups combined.
The teams who qualified will play in the Knockout Round, which starts on December 4th and ends on December 9th. It will be set as a normal playoff bracket with teams facing teams in the same conference. But what separates the In-Season Tournament from the playoffs is that the In-Season Tournament is made with a one-game elimination format, in contrast to the normal best-of-seven series in the playoffs. The Quarterfinals, on December 4th and 5th, and the Semifinals, on December 7th, lead up to the Championship on December 9th. Also, all teams will have specialized In-Season Tournament courts, and the Semifinals and Championship games take place in Las Vegas.
Finally, winners of the In-Season Tournament will receive $500,000 for charity and the new NBA Cup for winning. In addition to this, there will also be an MVP named for the winning team, and an MVP for the best player of the tournament.
The In-Season Tournament will definitely bring a lot of excitement to the start of the NBA season. You can start watching the In-Season Tournament now, every Tuesday and Friday, on TNT and ESPN. I know I am very excited to see how this event will play out. Let the best team win!