The NBA announced the introduction of the NBA In-Season Tournament for the 2023-24 season. The Detroit Pistons will compete in East Group A which includes the Pistons, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Atlanta Hawks and the Indiana Pacers.
All thirty teams will compete in group play during the season starting in November. The games will count as regular season games. Eight teams from group play advance to knockout rounds, and only one team will win the NBA Cup.
The tournament begins November 3 with the semifinals and finals being played in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena on December 7 and 9.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the tournament format has been discussed for 15 years and is modeled after other international sports like soccer. NBA Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars said the tournament will further enhance and innovate the season structure.
“With the addition of this new marquee event on the NBA calendar, we are focused on providing players and teams with another competition to win, engaging fans in a different way and driving further interest in the early portion of the regular-season schedule,” said Dumars.
Here is the format according to a release from the Detroit Pistons and the NBA:
Group Play Draw
To determine each team’s opponents in the Group Play games, the 15 teams in each conference were divided into three groups of five teams via a random drawing. The groups are below:
- West Group A: Grizzlies, Suns, Lakers, Jazz, Portland
- West Group B: Nuggets, Clippers, Pelicans, Mavericks, Rockets
- West Group C: Kings, Warriors, Timberwolves, Thunder, Spurs
- East Group A: 76ers, Cavaliers, Hawks, Pacers, Pistons
- East Group B: Bucks, Knicks, Heat, Wizards, Hornets
- East Group C: Celtics, Nets, Raptors, Bulls, Magic
Before the drawing, each team was placed into a “pot” based on its record from the prior regular season (2022-23). In each conference, one team from each pot was randomly selected into each of the three groups in that conference. The pots were as follows:
· Pot 1: The teams with the three best prior-season records in a conference.
· Pot 2: The teams with the fourth- through sixth-best prior-season records.
· Pot 3: The teams with the seventh- through ninth-best prior-season records.
· Pot 4: The teams with the 10th- through 12th-best prior-season records.
· Pot 5: The teams with the 13th- through 15th-best prior-season records.
Knockout Rounds
In each conference, Quarterfinal games will be hosted by the two teams with the best record in Group Play games, and the team with the best record in Group Play games will host the wild card team.
During the Knockout Rounds on days when In-Season Tournament games are not scheduled (Wednesday, Dec. 6 and Friday, Dec. 8), the 22 teams that do not qualify for the Knockout Rounds will each play two regular-season games. The four teams that lose in the Quarterfinals will each play a regular-season game on Dec. 8.
Prize Pool
For the 2023-24 season, the In-Season Tournament prize pool will be allocated to the players on the teams that participate in the Knockout Rounds as follows:
· Players on winning team of Championship: $500,000 each
· Players on losing team of Championship: $200,000 each
· Players on losing team of Semifinals: $100,000 each
· Players on losing team of Quarterfinals: $50,000 each
League Honors
At the conclusion of the In-Season Tournament, the NBA will name the Most Valuable Player of the In-Season Tournament and the All-Tournament Team. Selection will be based on the players’ performance in both Group Play and the Knockout Rounds.
