Report: NBA Planning In-Season Tournament
Sep 9, 2022, 2:39 PM | Updated: 2:42 pm
NBA commissioner Adam Silver (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The NBA is preparing to implement an in-season tournament according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Charania reported the news on Twitter Friday and included details on what the tournament might look like.
“Current framework of NBA In Season Tournament as soon as 2023-24, per sources: Cup games through November – 8 teams advance to single-elimination Final in December; other 22 continue with regular season – All games part of normal 82-game schedule; one extra for two Final teams,” Charania tweeted.
Current framework of NBA In Season Tournament as soon as 2023-24, per sources:
– Cup games through November
– 8 teams advance to single-elimination Final in December; other 22 continue with regular season
– All games part of normal 82-game schedule; one extra for two Final teams— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 9, 2022
The proposed tournament has gained momentum in recent years as commissioner Adam Silver has looked to add intrigue to the NBA regular season.
Last year the G League began its season with a 30-team tournament that ran from November through December’s annual Winter Showcase.
“The NBA and NBPA are still working to finalize the In Season Tournament concept, which includes to-be-determined prizes for the eight teams that advance to the single-elimination round, sources said,” according to Charania.
In February, Silver lauded the league’s adoption of the year-end play-in tournament that determines the final two spots of the postseason in each conference.
“In some ways, the players have been more receptive to the possibility of an in-season tournament, because the Play-In has been a bit more successful,” Silver said during his most recent All-Star weekend media event.
The NBA and NBPA are still working to finalize the In Season Tournament concept, which includes to-be-determined prizes for the eight teams that advance to the single-elimination round, sources said. https://t.co/j5Sr54WUEJ
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 9, 2022
Previously, a $15 million purse to be split among the winning team had been proposed with the team’s coaches splitting a $1.5 million prize.
“It would need to be negotiated with the Players Association,” Silver said in 2019.
NBA in-season tournament options have been discussed as far back as 2016 with early models setting a start date for the 2021-22 season. However, after two covid-shortened seasons, the NBA was unable to implement new wrinkles to the league’s schedule.
The 2022-23 NBA season is set to begin on October 18 with no plans for an in-season tournament.
