NBA In-Season Tournament 2023: Schedule, Format & Groups Revealed

The NBA is introducing an In-Season Tournament, taking a cue from European soccer.

Details of the next tournament, which will take place next season, were revealed by the NBA on Saturday. The league hopes to gain as much attention and acclaim for its games as soccer’s FA Cup in England and Copa del Rey in Spain have. The NBA wants to establish “another competition to win, engage fans in a new way, and drive additional interest in the early portion of the regular-season schedule.”

The NBA Cup will be awarded to the winner.

The first stage is to get support from players, teams, and fans.

The league held the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament Launch on Saturday, during which they made more announcements about the competition’s specifics.

All 30 NBA clubs will participate in the competition, with eight of them moving on to the knockout rounds to fight for the NBA Cup. Teams will be grouped into six groups, three each conference, for the Group Play stage of the competition. Division will not be a factor in group selection. Beginning on November 3, the Group Stage will take held in November.

NBA In-Season Tournament teams, groups

East Group A

  • Philadelphia 76ers
  • Cleveland Cavaliers
  • Atlanta Hawks
  • Indiana Pacers
  • Detroit Pistons

East Group B

  • Milwaukee Bucks
  • New York Knicks
  • Miami Heat
  • Washington Wizards
  • Charlotte Hornets

East Group C

  • Boston Celtics
  • Brooklyn Nets
  • Toronto Raptors
  • Chicago Bulls
  • Orlando Magic

West Group A

  • Memphis Grizzlies
  • Phoenix Suns
  • Los Angeles Lakers
  • Utah Jazz
  • Portland Trail Blazers

West Group B

  • Denver Nuggets
  • Los Angeles Clippers
  • New Orleans Pelicans
  • Dallas Mavericks
  • Houston Rockets

West Group C

  • Sacramento Kings
  • Golden State Warriors
  • Minnesota Timberwolves
  • Oklahoma City Thunder
  • San Antonio Spurs

NBA In-Season Tournament schedule

  • Start date: Nov. 3, 2023
  • End date: Dec. 9, 2023

According to the collective bargaining agreement, games will be played during the first two months of the regular season even if the NBA has not yet issued the entire schedule for the In-Season Tournament.

NBA In-Season Tournament Format

The Group Play and Knockout Rounds are the two phases of the In-Season Tournament.

A. Group Play

Based on their won-loss records from the 2022–23 regular season, all 30 clubs were arbitrarily assigned to five-team groups within their respective conferences. Each club will play four scheduled Group Play games on “Tournament Nights” starting on Nov. 3 and running through Nov. 28 – one game against each opponent in its group, with two games at home and two on the road.

B. Knockout Rounds

Two “wild cards” (the team from each conference with the best record in Group Play games that placed second in its group) and the team with the best standing in Group Play games in each of the six groups total eight teams who will move on to the Knockout Rounds. The Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Championship will all be single-elimination games in NBA franchise markets on Monday, December 4, and Tuesday, December 5. The qualifying clubs will compete for a prize fund and the NBA Cup, the new trophy for the In-Season Tournament.

With the exception of the championship, all 67 games from the In-Season Tournament’s two halves will count toward the standings for the regular season. In the 2023–24 season, each team will continue to play 82 regular-season games n the 2023-24 season, including those games that are part of Group Play and the Knockout Rounds.

All seven Knockout Round games as well as fourteen Group Play games (two on each Tournament Night) will be shown on national television. The in-Season Tournament game and broadcast schedule will be revealed in August.

NBA In-Season Tournament prize money

Players will earn prize money based on how far their teams advance in the In-Season Tournament, per the collective bargaining agreement.

  • Win championship: $500,000 per player
  • Reach final game: $200,000 per player
  • Reach semifinal game: $100,000 per player
  • Reach quarterfinal game: $50,000 per player

Players will also be eligible to win the In-Season Tournament MVP award and make the All-Tournament Team.

Prizing and League Honors

The In-Season event prize fund will be distributed to the players on the teams who compete in the Knockout Rounds for the 2023–24 season, with distributions rising according on how far a team advances in the event.

The NBA will announce the Most Valuable Player and All-Tournament Team following the end of the In-Season Tournament. Players will be chosen depending on how well they did in both Group Play and the Knockout Rounds.

 

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