The NBA In-Season Tournament has officially begun! This tournament adds an extra layer of excitement to the regular season and provides teams with a chance to compete for an additional prize pool. Let’s take a closer look at how the tournament works!

How it works: The first part of the competition is called Group Play games. All 30 NBA teams are placed in 6 groups. There are 3 groups in each conference. On set tournament days (Tuesdays and Fridays from November 3rd to 28th), teams will compete against one of the other teams in their group. Once each team in the groups has played each other one time (2 of these games will be at home), the competition will move on to the playoffs. 

The groups are:

• West Group A: Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, L.A. Lakers, Utah Jazz, and Portland Trail Blazers
• West Group B: Denver Nuggets, LA Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, and Houston Rockets
• West Group C: Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, and San Antonio Spurs
• East Group A: Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, and Detroit Pistons
• East Group B: Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Miami Heat, Washington Wizards, and Charlotte Hornets
• East Group C: Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, and Orlando Magic

8 teams will advance to the playoffs (the team with the best record in the Group Play games in each of the groups and one wild card team from each conference).  The wild card team from each conference will be the team with the best record in Group Play games that finished second in its group. If there is a tie among the teams, the teams will be broken up by the tiebreakers below (in sequential order):

• Head-to-head record in the Group Stage
• Point differential in the Group Stage
• Total points scored in the Group Stage
• Regular season record from the 2022-23 NBA regular season
• Random drawing (in the unlikely scenario that two or more teams are still tied following the previous tiebreakers)

The playoffs (also called the knockout round) are made up of single-elimination games. It starts with the quarterfinals from Dec 4th to 5th. The teams with the best records in the Group Play games will host. The team with the best record will host the wildcard team. The remaining teams will go to the semifinals, and then the Championship. Those games are held in neutral places.

All the Group Play games also count as regular season games, affecting the standings in the 2023-2024 season. The quarterfinals and semifinals also count but the Championship does not. The teams who did not qualify for playoffs or were eliminated will play regular season games on the tournament dates (excluding the Championship date).

The Prize: The In-Season Tournament prize pool ($18 million) for the 2023-24 season will be given to the players of teams participating in the Knockout Rounds. The amount awarded to each team will increase as they progress further in the tournament. The NBA will announce the Most Valuable Player of the competition and the All-Tournament Team after the In-Season Tournament concludes. Player performance in both Group Play and the Knockout Rounds will determine the selection for both awards.

Lots of people are complaining since the stakes are too low. Players of the champion team will only get $500,000 and people complain that it’s too low. Some say that teams should get draft picks or a playoff slot if they win. What do you think about this tournament? Leave a comment below with your thoughts!