One of the big topics of conversation in recent years for the NBA has been the league's in-season tournament, which was won by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2023 and the Milwaukee Bucks in 2024. The tournament was implemented to give some extra spice to a regular season that has gotten increasingly drawn-out and uninteresting over the last several years, and thus far, there have been mixed results as to fan reaction.
Recently, the NBA announced a new change for the tournament moving forward, albeit one that won't take effect until the 2026-27 season.
“The National Basketball Association announced today that the Emirates NBA Cup Semifinals will be played at the home arena of the higher-seeded team in each conference, beginning with the 2026-27 NBA season,” announced the league in a press release. “Under existing rules that will continue through the 2025-26 NBA season, the Emirates NBA Cup Semifinals and Championship are played at a neutral site (T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for the upcoming season). Starting with the Emirates NBA Cup during the 2026-27 NBA season, the Championship will be the only game played at a neutral site.”
This should add even more intrigue and home environment flavor to the tournament as the teams continue to become used to it.
An interesting experiment for the NBA
Many fans initially saw the NBA In-Season tournament as a gimmick meant to drum up artificial interest in regular season basketball, and after two years, some still hold the same opinion.
However, especially during the 2024-25 season, there did seem to be at least a slight uptick in competitive fire in NBA Cup games, which decided which teams would be making the trip to Las Vegas to participate in the final four.
Last year, the Bucks knocked off the eventual NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the tournament finale, with the Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks being the other two teams that made the final four.
In any case, the NBA Cup games are slated to get started very early in the season, with the Las Vegas games scheduled for the beginning of December.
