Las Vegas will add another major sporting event to the city’s roster by hosting the first NBA In-Season Tournament, which will be announced during NBA Con at Sin City’s Mandalay Bay.
ESPN reports Las Vegas will host the inaugural tournament’s semifinals and final on Dec. 7 and 9, 2023. The tournament’s full schedule, competitive structure, locations, trophy unveiling, and group drawings will all be revealed Saturday night on ESPN at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The NBA’s new CBA — which went into effect July 1 — has already laid out several parameters for the In-Season Tournament. A group stage will divide each conference’s 15 teams into three groups of five — each playing the other four once. Records from the prior season will determine group placement, with each including a team that finished first-third, fourth-sixth, seventh-ninth, 10th-12th, and 13th-15th.
The six group winners and a wild-card team from each conference — chosen from the best group-play record without winning — will advance to the eight-team, single-elimination knockout stage. After the first knockout round, the remaining games will be played at a neutral site — this year in Vegas.
The other 22 teams will play two additional regular-season games during the knockout stage. The four teams that lose in the first round of the knockout stage will play one extra regular-season game during the same time period. All stats will count toward the regular season except for the championship game, per ESPN.
ESPN and TNT are expected to broadcast this year’s tournament, but it could be sold as its own package when the NBA takes its media rights to market next year.
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