First-Ever NBA In-Season Tournament!
Die-hard basketball fans! The NBA is about to launch an all-new event this season, the NBA In-Season Tournament. This thrill-a-minute competition will kick off on November 3 and keep you glued to your seats until the championship on December 9.
Fresh Tournament, Fresh Rules
The NBA In-Season Tournament is a fresh addition to the annual NBA calendar. We’ll see all 30 teams battling it out in a unique competition format that’s making its debut in the 2023-24 season. Let’s break it down.
The Basics
This sizzling new NBA In-Season Tournament will begin on November 3, and we’re going to see sparks flying right up until the Championship on December 9. The Semifinals on December 7 and the Championship match will heat up the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
There are two main stages to this tournament – Group Play and the Knockout Rounds. Let’s dive in!
Group Play
Each team has been placed into groups of five within their basketball conference. They were picked randomly based on their wins and losses from last NBA season. From November 3 to November 28, each team will play four group games. These “Tournament Nights” will see each team go against every other team in their group, splitting the games evenly between home and away.
Knockout Rounds
This is where things get intense! Only eight teams will make it to the NBA Knockout Rounds – the top team from each group and two “wild cards”. These NBA wild cards are the teams that came in second in their group, but still rocked the best records.
The Knockout Rounds are all about survival – one loss and you’re out. This single-elimination stage includes the Quarterfinals on December 4 and 5, the Semifinals, and finally, the Championship. The teams that qualify will be battling it out for a brand-new trophy, the NBA Cup, and a pool of prize money.
Remember, every single NBA matchup counts, except the Championship. These games will add to the regular-season NBA standings. Teams will still play their usual 82 regular-season games, including these tournament games.
NBA In-Season Tournament Details
Setting up the Groups
The NBA is heating up with the groupings for the upcoming in-season tournament just announced. Each team’s rivals in the Group Play games have been decided by a random draw!
For the setup, 15 NBA teams from each conference were sorted into three groups, each holding five teams. These groups were chosen through a special process. Basketball Teams were initially sorted into pots according to their NBA records from the previous regular season (2022-23). Each pot contained teams with similar records, from the top three best records (Pot 1) all the way down to the teams with the 13th to 15th best records (Pot 5). A team from each pot was then randomly chosen to form a group in each conference.
Group Play
Each basketball team will go head-to-head against the four other teams in their group in a fierce NBA Group Play game. The team’s performance in these nba in-season tournament will decide whether they move on to the Knockout Rounds or not. And here’s the exciting bit – if two or more teams tie within a group, we’ve got several tiebreakers in place! They start from head-to-head record in the NBA Group Stage, all the way to a random drawing in the unlikely event that teams are still tied after all the other tiebreakers.
Knockout Drama Ahead!
A total of eight teams will advance to the Knockout Rounds: the top team from each of the six groups and a wildcard team from each conference. This wildcard will be the team from each conference that finished second in its group with the best NBA Group Play games record.
We’ve got eight top-notch teams primed for the Knockout Rounds, having earned their spots with grit and glory in the Group Play phase. Brace yourself for the Quarterfinals showdown set to roll on December 4 and 5!
Victory will catapult the winners straight into the hotly anticipated Semifinals slated for December 7. And the cherry on the cake? The high-octane Championship match, the ultimate battle for glory on December 9!
Here’s an interesting twist – the first and second Knockout Rounds, that’s the Quarterfinals and Semifinals for you, folks, will count towards the Regular Season games. That means every goal scored, every pass made, every save counts!
But remember, the nba in-season tournament Championship match is an entity unto itself, and won’t feed into the Regular Season stats.
Home Field Advantage
In every conference, the Quarter Finals matches for this nba in-season tournament will take place on the turf of the two teams that showcased stellar performances in the Group Play. If ties threaten to play spoilsport for the higher seeds, we’ve got tiebreaker protocols ready to roll!
No Rest for the Brave That Didn’t Make the Cut!
Even as the Knockout Rounds progress, on days without NBA In-Season Tournament matches (i.e., December 6 and 8), the 22 teams that didn’t make the cut for the Knockouts will still be in the thick of things. They’ll play two regular-season games apiece, so no rest for the brave!
Last Ditch Action!
There’s a silver lining for the four teams that get knocked out in the Quarterfinals. They’ll play a regular-season game on Friday, December 8, against a rival from their conference. So, every team gets a chance to shine!
Prizes and Whatnot
For the upcoming 2023-24 season, the In-Season Tournament prize pool will be awarded to the players that participate in the Knockout Rounds; these allocations increase depending on how far a team makes it in the tourney.
At the end, the NBA will name the Most Valuable Player of the contest and of the All-Tournament Team. Selection shall be awarded based on the players’ performance in both the Group Play and the Knockout Rounds.
Broadcasting Schedule
Fourteen of the Group Play games (that’s two each Tournament Night) and all seven Knockout Round games will be on TV. The full broadcast schedule for the tournament will be out in August. The Competition Begins
Mark your calendars for some basketball excitement, folks! The Tournament Nights are scheduled every Tuesday and Friday starting from Nov. 3 to Nov. 28. Do note that Election Day, Nov. 7, is an exception, so no games will be played that day.
That’s the quick and dirty rundown! Stay tuned with Godds for more updates as the NBA In-Season Tournament draws closer. Lift your sports betting proficiency to extraordinary heights by engaging with us on social media. Learn from the expert advice shared by Godds.
