The NBA is reportedly working on an in-season tournament that could be implemented as soon as the 2023-2024 campaign, per Shams Charania.
According to Charania, there will be “Cup games through November.” 8 teams will move on and participate in a single-elimination tournament in December. The 22 teams that miss out on the tournament will continue on with the NBA regular season. Each game during the December tournament will be apart of the normal 82-game schedule with an exception for a championship game. The championship will be one extra game for the two Finals teams.
This in-season tournament would likely be implemented in order to draw interest during the long 82-game season. It also would not hurt from a financial standpoint. The league has been rumored to be discussing adding something like this for a few years now. However, it was unclear how the structure would work. Additionally, fitting it around the NBA schedule was destined to be a challenge.
The decision to simply add it into the current schedule makes sense. But one has to wonder what the incentive will be for winning the tournament. If the incentive is not enticing enough, it could lead to backlash from players and teams. The NBA needs to find a way to motivate players and teams for the tournament.
In the end, this NBA in-season tournament should do a good job of keeping fans entertained throughout the year. We will continue to provide updates on this story as they are made available.
Update: Shams Charania later shared a crucial report on the NBA’s in-season tournament announcement.
“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.”
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