2022 NBA Summer League: How are the championship and consolation games decided?

Join us for a look at what exactly the NBA’s Summer League is and how the format functions, in a tournament that’s become a proving ground for incoming rookies who hope to seal their spot on a roster.

What’s the NBA Summer League?

It’s been less than three weeks since the conclusion of the NBA post season and we can definitely say that quite a bit has happened since the Golden State Warriors lifted the Larry O’Brien trophy for the fourth time in 7 years. The top young stars in the nation have been drafted, a whole host of veterans have turned things upside down in free agency and we have got an ongoing trade saga with one of the league’s best players. Yet, it’s only served to distract us from the crazy amount of skills that we have seen on show in the NBA Summer League.  Yet what is it and how does it all work?

For starters, the NBA Summer League is a 75-game, 11-day offseason competition which is typically held in July. The general purpose of the tournament is to allow for players and teams alike to make a claim for a roster spot, experiment with different formations and lineups and in general get a hold on what they’re going to do in the coming season. While the focus is normally on rookies, bench players and members of the affiliate G League teams, it can sometimes be an arena in which veterans show that they aren’t passed it as well.

Who competes in the NBA Summer League?

Though there is nothing set in stone, it’s normally the rule of thumb that the summer league is all about the young up and coming players or those on the fringe who are trying to show their worth. That’s to say, you’re not likely to find your favorite All-Stars out there on the court running plays, nor are you likely to see the league’s best coaches. As mentioned above, the Summer League is generally a proving ground for rookies, sophomores and G League players. Occasionally, you will find that teams which are in the middle of a restructuring process will field their best players, but with the risk of injury always present, it’s not common.

How many teams play and what’s the format for the NBA Summer League?

All 30 franchises in the league field a Summer League team. The tournament starts with a series of four games which run from July 7th - 15th. The top-two teams based on winning percentage then advance to a championship matchup, while the remaining 28 teams wait to be allocated their specific seeds for their fifth and final games which are played on either July 16th or 17th. In terms of how these ‘consolation matchups’ are decided, the NBA announced that they will be determined by several variables, including team rivalries, broadcast interest and other scheduling considerations such as, timing of back-to-back games.

In the event of a need for a tiebreaker between two teams at the very top of the leaderboard, the championship matchup will be determined by a series of tiebreakers. Firstly, the head-to-head matchup which is to say, if the two teams in question played each other in one of the previous four rounds, the team that won will receive the higher seed. Secondly, we’ve got point differential. That means that the team with the greater number of points across the four games will receive the higher seed. If, however, we have a case where there are more than two teams tied, then we go to point differential and as before the team with the most, gets the highest seed. If that fails, then believe it or not, a random drawing in which case the highest seed is decided via the flip of a coin. In case you’re wondering, the championship game is set for July 17th at 3 p.m. ET.