We finally have more details about the NBA’s highly-anticipated in-season tournament. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the tournament will feature a Final Four that is scheduled to take place between December 7 and December 9 in Las Vegas.
The tournament games’ statistics will count towards the regular season except for the tournament Finals game. This is because the two teams that make it to the championship game will end up playing 83 regular-season games.
The idea of an in-season tournament, inspired by soccer’s Cup competitions, has been around for some time. The league first tinkered about organizing it during the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season but instead opted to introduce only the play-in tournament.
The overall look of the tournament was detailed in the new collective bargaining agreement. The tournament’s inaugural edition was set for the 2023-24 season, and all 30 teams will participate.
The first phase of the tournament will feature six groups. Each team will play four games in their group, with six group winners and two second-placed teams with the best winning percentage making it to the knockout stage. The entirety of the knockout stage, including the Finals game, will be based on a single-game elimination format.
