Important Tournament Dates:
Group Play Begins: Nov. 12
Semifinals: Dec. 14
Final: Dec. 17
Groups
Western Conference Group A:
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Sacramento Kings
- Houston Rockets
- Portland Trail Blazers
Group B:
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Phoenix Suns
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Utah Jazz
- San Antonio Spurs
Group C:
- Denver Nuggets
- Dallas Mavericks
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Golden State Warriors
- Memphis Grizzlies
Eastern Conference Group A:
- New York Knicks
- Orlando Magic
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Brooklyn Nets
- Charlotte Hornets
Group B:
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Indiana Pacers
- Miami Heat
- Toronto Raptors
- Detroit Pistons
Group C:
- Boston Celtics
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Chicago Bulls
- Atlanta Hawks
- Washington Wizards
> Similar to the 2023 edition of the tournament, teams will participate in group play on Tuesdays and Fridays from Nov. 12 through Dec. 3. The teams at the top of each group will advance to the single-elimination knockout rounds, while one wild card team from each conference will also be included.
Found a better explanation:
From Nov. 12 to Dec. 3, each team will play four games — one game against each team in its group (two at home and two on the road). Eight teams will advance to the knockout rounds (six group winners and two wild-card teams in each conference) consisting of single-elimination games in the quarterfinals, followed by the semifinals and championship. The championship will be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Great post, thanks! As a Raptors fan, I’m glad they didn’t do groups based on divisions again, given how deep our division is (Boston, Philly, NYC, Brooklyn).
One-game-take-all championships in sports like basketball that are traditionally best-of-seven in North America are generally fun. I’ll probably watch the in-season tournament (IST) championship game. I’m curious to see if the basketball court designs are as visually busy as last year. I felt that was sort of the biggest IST headline last year. A year later, the IST seems as unimpactful to me as an NBA fan as I imagined it would be when it was announced. It’s just for TV deals and advertising dollars in my eyes. I’m curious if other NBA fans are more passionate about the IST than I am. Maybe if your team is better that makes it more exciting. They’re just another of the 82 regular season games to me, and winning the IST doesn’t come close to the impressiveness of winning a championship
I’ll say it made the games a bit more entertaining than a normal regular season game which is all I had hoped for.
I never thought it’d match or come close to the actual playoffs it’s more just to spice up the long regular season since I don’t see them shortening it. For that scope I think it was a success last year but we’ll see how it is going forward.
