SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, July 8, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — An NBA team will hoist a championship trophy in Las Vegas next season.
And it will happen in early December.
Commissioner Adam Silver on Saturday unveiled plans for the NBA In-Season Tournament, a new competition involving all 30 teams that will culminate with a winner hoisting the NBA Cup on Dec. 9.
Teams will begin group play Nov. 3 with an opportunity to advance to the eight-team, single-elimination knockout rounds — including the semifinal and championship games in Las Vegas.
“This is a concept that has been rumbling around the league office for around 15 years,” Silver said Saturday on ESPN’s “NBA Today,” calling the in-season event “a perfect fit for our game.”
“New traditions take time,” he said. “But all throughout sports we are seeing new innovations, and now is the time for this NBA In-Season Tournament.”
League officials say the November-December tournament will offer players a financially incentivized competition to win in the hopes of engaging fans in a new way and boosting interest early in the NBA season.
In addition to the opportunity to win the NBA Cup, players on teams advancing to the knockout rounds will earn prize money depending on how far they progress.
Here’s how it works:
Group play
NBA teams were divided into six five-team groups — three from each conference — based on their regular-season records from 2022-23, league officials said.
Group play games will be played on “Tournament Nights” on Tuesdays and Fridays throughout November (with the exception of Election Day on Nov. 7), and teams with the best record from each group will advance to the knockout round.
Teams will play four designated group play games (two at home and two on the road), facing each opponent in their group once. Results from the group draw for the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament were announced Saturday:
- West Group A — Utah Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, L.A. Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers
- West Group B — Denver Nuggets, L.A. Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets
- West Group C — Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs
- 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.
The Jazz will play road games at Memphis and the L.A. Lakers, with home dates against Phoenix and Portland. Dates, times and broadcast schedule for group play will be announced in August, according to the NBA.
Knockout round
Two wild-card teams — one from each conference — will round out the eight-team tournament field, based on their record in group play.
The knockout round will feature single-elimination games, with the quarterfinals set for Dec. 4-5 at various NBA sites. The semifinals (Dec. 7) and finals (Dec. 9) will be played at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Players on the NBA Cup-winning team will earn $500,000 each, with players losing in the championship game earning $200,000. Players on teams that lose in the semifinals each will earn $100,000, while those losing in the quarterfinals take home $50,000.
All 67 games in group play and the knockout rounds will count toward the regular-season standings except for the championship game, league officials said.
Each team will continue to play 82 regular-season games in the 2023-24 season. The 22 teams that do not advance to the knockout rounds each will play two regular-season games on Dec. 6 and Dec. 8 when no tournament games are scheduled.
The four teams that lose in the quarterfinals will play a regular-season game Dec. 8 against the opponent from their same conference.
The NBA In-Season Tournament also will feature a Most Valuable Player and All-Tournament Team.
