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It appears that the NBA is planning to shake things up as the association plans on introducing the NBA In-Season tournament this coming season. According to Shams Charania, the tournament is scheduled to take place in November and conclude by December. The goal is for all 30 teams to participate initially, with only eight teams remaining for the finals.
Since the In-Season tournaments have previously been limited to the G League and WNBA, some NBA fans may be unfamiliar with the format. The tournament will involve all 30 teams competing for a spot in the eight-team single-elimination tournament. Initially, teams will be divided into six groups of five based on conference rather than division.
During the first six weeks of the season, teams within each group will play Cup games against the other four teams in their respective group. The winners of each group, along with two wildcard teams, will advance to the eight-team single-elimination tournament.
The last four teams standing will converge at a neutral site in Las Vegas to compete in the final stages of the tournament. Each player on the championship-winning team will be rewarded with a prize of $500,000. It's worth noting that the four Cup games will count towards a team's regular season record.
Teams that progress to the finals of the In-Season Tournament will ultimately end up playing a total of 83 regular-season games. Meanwhile, those teams that have been eliminated from the tournament will continue to participate in the traditional regular season contests.
Adam Silver explains why he's adding an NBA In-Season tournament this year
While having an In-Season tournament in basketball isn't something new, it most certainly is a breath of fresh air for the NBA. Commissioner Adam Silver explained why the association has decided to mix things up this year. Silver stated that the tourney will have die-hard basketball fans intrigued, which will most likely translate into more viewership.
The commissioner also said that it'll be a nice change of pace for both the players and fans this season. Silver believes that adding an In-Season tournament will add more drama and give players more reasons to play harder. With that in mind, fans will also likely be interested to see what could potentially happen given that there are stakes on the line early on in the season.
