The NBA In-Season Tournament: A Comprehensive Guide to Format, Functionality, and Viewing Options
Don't wait until the NBA Finals! The 2023-24 NBA season introduces an exciting In-Season Tournament, offering teams an early shot at glory No need to wait until June to lift silverware
The 2023-24 NBA season recently began, and teams now have the opportunity to compete for a trophy before the NBA Finals in June. This season, the NBA has introduced an exciting In-Season Tournament. The tournament will involve a group stage followed by a knockout round, including the semifinals and the final held in Las Vegas.
The winner will lift the NBA Cup - but how will it work exactly? Weve included everything youll need to know in our guide below.
How to watch
In the US, 14 group games and all seven knockout-round games will be nationally televised on ESPN or TNT, while international viewers will be able to watch on NBA League Pass.
Format
The In-Season Tournament commences on November 3 and concludes with the championship game on December 7. Every game, except for the title game, will contribute towards the regular season standings.
Following the finishing positions from the previous season, all 30 teams throughout the league were sorted into pots. Then, the 15 teams in each conference were randomly assigned to three groups of five.
Western Conference
Group A: The teams in Group A of the Western Conference are the Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, LA Lakers, Utah Jazz, and Portland Trail Blazers.
Group B: The teams in Group B consist of the Denver Nuggets, LA Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, and Houston Rockets.
Group C: In Group C, we have the Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, and San Antonio Spurs.
Eastern Conference
Group A: The teams in Group A of the Eastern Conference include the Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, and Detroit Pistons.
Group B: The teams in Group B of the Eastern Conference consist of the Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Miami Heat, Washington Wizards, and Charlotte Hornets.
Group C: The teams in Group C of the Eastern Conference are the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, and Orlando Magic.
Each team will face the other four teams in their group once, playing two games at home and two games on the road. All group stage matches will take place on designated Tournament Nights every Tuesday and Friday between November 3 and 28, except for November 7 which coincides with US Election Day.
The winners of the six groups will progress to the knockout rounds. They will be accompanied by one wild card from each conference, awarded to the second-placed teams with the strongest records.
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In the knockout games, each match will be a single elimination event. The quarterfinals are scheduled for December 4 and 5, and will be held at the home arena of the top-ranked teams from the group stage in each conference. The team with the best record in each conference will have the privilege of hosting the wild card team.
The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas will host the semifinals and final of the competition.
Only the teams that make it to the knockout stages will receive a share of the prize pool. Additionally, the portion of the prize pool allocated to a team's players will increase as they advance further in the tournament.
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The tournament will also include the recognition of an MVP and the selection of an All-Tournament team.
The NBA has long been searching for ways to increase the significance of the full 82-game season for viewers, aiming to attract more casual fans who may only start watching after Christmas or even during the playoffs.
During the Covid-enforced Bubble at Disney World in Florida in 2020, the league took steps to address this problem by implementing a Play-In system. This involved the teams finishing 7th-10th in each conference competing for the final two playoff spots in each conference.
The Play-In proved to be incredibly successful, leading to its inclusion in every season thereafter. This has helped maintain the competitiveness of numerous teams, as they now strive to secure the 10th position and participate in at least one postseason game. Previously, these teams may have already surrendered in order to improve their draft position.
The NBA will, of course, be hoping for similar success for the In-Season tournament.
