NBA In-Season Tournament: FAQ

NBA In-Season Tournament Explained

Below is a list of frequently asked questions about the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament. For more information, read the In-Season Tournament 101 summary.

> What is the NBA In-Season Tournament?The NBA In-Season Tournament is a new annual competition for all 30 teams that will debut in the 2023-24 season.

> Why is the NBA adding the In-Season Tournament?The In-Season Tournament will provide players and teams with another competition to win, engage fans in a new way and drive additional interest in the early portion of the regular-season schedule.

> When is the In-Season Tournament?The inaugural In-Season Tournament will tip off on Friday, Nov. 3 and culminate with the Championship on Saturday, Dec. 9. The complete schedule is here.

> Where will the In-Season Tournament be played?All tournament games will be played in NBA team markets except the Semifinals and Championship, both of which will be held at a neutral site (T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas).

> Which teams will participate in the In-Season Tournament?All 30 teams will participate in the first stage of the tournament, Group Play. Eight teams will advance to the second and final stage, the single-elimination Knockout Rounds.

> What does the champion of the In-Season Tournament receive?The champion will receive a new trophy, the NBA Cup. In addition, a prize pool will be allocated to players on teams that qualify for the Knockout Rounds, with allocations increasing depending on how far a team progresses in the tournament.

> Will top performers from the In-Season Tournament be honored?After the Championship is played, 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.

> What is Group Play?All 30 teams have been randomly drawn into groups of five within their conference based on won-loss records from the 2022-23 regular season. Each team will play four designated Group Play games – one game against each opponent in its group, with two games at home and two on the road.

Group Play games will be played on “Tournament Nights,” which will take place every Tuesday and Friday from Nov. 3-28 (with the exception of Election Day on Nov. 7). The only NBA games played on Tournament Nights will be Group Play games.

> How were the groups determined?Before the Group Play draw, 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. Pot 1 had the teams with the three best prior-season records in a conference, Pot 2 had the teams with the fourth- through sixth-best prior-season records in a conference, and so on through Pot 5.

> Which teams advance to the Knockout Rounds?Eight teams will advance to the Knockout Rounds: the team with the best standing in Group Play games in each of the six groups and one “wild card” team from each conference. The wild card will be the team from each conference with the best record in Group Play games that finished second in its group.

Everyone loves a bracket…

The NBA In-Season Tournament moves on to the Knockout Rounds!

Quarterfinals: Dec. 4 & 5Semifinals: Dec. 7Championship: Dec. 9 pic.twitter.com/7yoDMwe9Xe

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) November 29, 2023

> What are the Knockout Rounds?The Knockout Rounds will consist of single-elimination games in the Quarterfinals (Dec. 4-5), Semifinals (Dec. 7) and Championship (Dec. 9).

> How does the In-Season Tournament affect the regular season?Every team will still play an 82-game regular season. All In-Season Tournament games will count toward the regular-season standings except the Championship, which will sit outside the regular season.

> Why are there two games labeled as “TBD” on each team’s 2023-24 regular-season schedule?Every team will play two regular-season games (including the In-Season Tournament Quarterfinals and Semifinals for qualifying teams) during the week of Dec. 4. The 22 teams that do not qualify for the Knockout Rounds will play two regular-season games during tournament off nights that week (Dec. 6 & 8). The four teams that lose in the Quarterfinals will play a regular-season game on Dec. 8.

> What is the schedule for Group Play?The game and broadcast schedule for Group Play was announced on Aug. 15.