What Is The NBA In-Season Tournament?
Nov 3, 2023, 11:59 AM
Eric Gordon #23 of the Phoenix Suns handles the ball against John Collins #20 of the Utah Jazz during the first half of the NBA game (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The innagural NBA In-Season Tournament begins tonight.
All seven games on the the Friday night docket are considered cup games with team’s competing to earn a spot in the eight-team single-elimination tournament.
Cup play consists of six five-team groups, separated by conference, but not by the league’s existing divisions.
Over the first six weeks of the season, teams will face the other four members in their grouping once each in Cup games. Then, the winner of each group, plus two wildcard teams, will advance to the eight-team single-elimination tournament.
The Group Play slate for opening night of the FIRST-EVER NBA IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT!
🏆 Giannis, Dame, MIL host NYK
🏆 Steph, GSW visit OKC
🏆 Luka and Jokic duel in Denver🏀: Watch on ESPN and the NBA App
📱: https://t.co/x0DNPlsCQq pic.twitter.com/aePP7OSMUa— NBA In-Season Tournament (@NBA) November 3, 2023
The final four teams will complete the tournament at a neutral site in Las Vegas beginning December 7, with players on the winning team each earning $500,000.
The four Cup games will be counted toward a team’s regular season record.
Teams that advance to the finals of the NBA In-Season Tournament will wind up playing 83 regular season games, while those teams already eliminated will continue to compete in traditional regular season contests.
When And Who Do The Utah Jazz Face In Group Play?
The NBA announced the Jazz were in West Group A featuring the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, and Portland Trail Blazers.
To open tournament play, the Jazz will play the Grizzlies on November 10 in Memphis and then return home for a game against Portland on November 14.
Have you seen the new, purple @utahjazz court? 🤔Check it out, tell us what you think! @kslsports https://t.co/yfCkJhR5eB
— KSL NewsRadio (@kslnewsradio) October 30, 2023
Utah will play the Suns at home on November 17 and then head to Los Angeles to play the Lakers on November 21.
The game against Phoenix will be broadcast on ESPN and the game in Crypto.com Arena will be on TNT.
The Jazz will debut a uniform and court when the in their tournament home-opener against the Trail Blazers on November 14.
Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops or on Instagram @BensHoops.
