What is the NBA In-Season Tournament? It’s a popular question as the tournament play hits the NBA this season. In this post, we’ll cover every aspect of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament, from the start date, how the format works, and what teams receive for winning the trophy.
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The NBA wanted a way to spice up regular season play, both for the fans and for all 30 NBA teams. So they came up with an In-Season Tournament that each team will get to participate in, no matter what.
The tournament has no impact on the playoffs. But the NBA hopes by creating an In-Season Tournament, that they will increase TV viewership while getting more people to take an interest in basketball when other sports such as the NFL and college football begin their playoff push.
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Here are the latest NBA In-Season Tournament standings entering Friday, Nov. 10.
The NBA In-Season Tournament resumes on Tuesday, November 14 with nine different matchups, including two nationally-televised games. There will be more in-season tournament games on Tuesday, Nov. 14.
There are six groups of five teams each, split between the Eastern Conference and Western Conference. The groupings were randomly drawn based on last season’s team records.
Each team gets to play two home games and two road games, facing each group rival one time.
These games will take place on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Three group winners plus the next-best team overall will advance to an eight-team quarterfinals round. Winners of this section advance to the semifinals, and so forth.
Here is how each of the six groups are broken down by conference.
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The 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament tips off Friday, Nov. 3. The four group stage games are played on seven different dates throughout November. These will take place on four Fridays and three Tuesdays.
Quarterfinals are played on Monday, Dec. 4, and Tuesday, Dec. 5.
The semifinals and championship game will take place on Thursday, Dec. 7, and Saturday, Dec. 9, in Las Vegas.
Here is the broadcast schedule for the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament.
Instead of having 82 games on the schedule, each team has just 80 for now. The final two games will be determined based on how the In-Season Tournament plays out. For the 22 teams who don’t qualify for the elimination games, they’ll have their final two matchups come on Dec. 6 and Dec. 8 against other already-eliminated teams.
The two teams who reach the championship will actually be forced to play 83 games instead of the typical 82.
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Aside from the semifinals and championship games, all NBA In-Season Tournament games will take place on the normal home courts of all 30 NBA franchises, although there is a twist. Each team has a unique home court design for their In-Season Tournament games.
Semifinals and championship games will take place in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena.
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The winning team wins the first NBA Cup. Each player from the winning team will take home $500,000 apiece.
Each player of the losing championship team receives $200,000. Losing players of the semifinals receive $100,000 each, and losers of the quarterfinals get $50,000 each.
There will also be a Most Valuable Player award, plus an all-tournament team named based on play from the In-Season Tournament games.
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