What do we know about the new NBA in-season tournament so far? Dates, format...
The 2023 NBA Play-In Tournament will include teams with the 7th through 10th-highest winning percentages in each conference and is right around the corner
The NBA and its players association have agreed to a new seven-year collective bargaining agreement, which includes the NBA in-season tournament- arguably the most significant part of the upcoming CBA.
The tournament will feature all 30 teams leading up to one champion. Each team will play an amount of pool-play games that determine the eight teams that proceed to a single-elimination tournament. The Final Four will then be held at a neutral site.
Games that have already been implemented as part of the regular-season schedule will count as pool-play matchups. Furthermore, the single-game elimination matches will count toward the regular-season schedule. Finally, the two teams that make it to the in-season tournament championship game will play 83 games for the season.
There will be no time off for the in-season tournament since all of the games count for the regular season. When the eight teams advance to the single-game elimination part of the tournament, the other 22 NBA teams will continue to play regular-season games.
When is the Play-In Tournament?
The Play-In Tournament will take place Tuesday, April 11 – Friday, April 14, before the first round of the NBA Playoffs begins. The tournament will have three games in each conference for a total of six games.
According to Shams Charania, every team will have 80 games on their initial regular-season schedule. Once the knockout round is set, the NBA will determine the remaining schedule.
The Play-In Tournament structure
Here is an overview of the games in each conference:
APRIL 11
GAME 1: EAST 7 VS. EAST 8
GAME 2: WEST 7 VS. WEST 8
The team with the seventh-highest winning percentage in its conference will host the team with the eighth-highest winning percentage in the same conference. The team that wins will be the seventh seed in the Playoffs for its conference. The team that loses will still be able to earn the eighth seed in the NBA Playoffs for its conference.
APRIL 12
GAME 3: EAST 9 VS. EAST 10
GAME 4: WEST 9 VS. WEST 10
The team with the ninth-highest winning percentage in its conference will host the team with the 10th-highest winning percentage in the same conference. The team with the win will continue to battle to earn the eighth seed in the Playoffs for its conference, while the losing team will be eliminated.
APRIL 14
GAME 5: EAST LOSER 7/8 VS. EAST WINNER 9/10
GAME 6: WEST LOSER 7/8 VS. WEST WINNER 9/10
The teams losing on April 11 will host the winning teams from April 12. This goes for every conference. The winning team of this game will be the eighth seed in the NBA Playoffs for its conference, and the losing team will be eliminated.