Report: NBA sets framework for in-season tournament

The NBA could have an in-season tournament as soon as the 2023-24 season.

Adam Silver has pushed for this, and the success of the NBA’s Play-in Tournament and WNBA’s Commissioner’s Cup have given him the leverage. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the NBA has figured out the tournament’s in-season logistics and laid it out for teams.

Current framework of NBA In Season Tournament as soon as 2023-24, per sources:

– Cup games through November– 8 teams advance to single-elimination Final in December; other 22 continue with regular season– All games part of normal 82-game schedule; one extra for two Final teams

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 9, 2022

The NBA and NBPA are still working to finalize the In Season Tournament concept, which includes to-be-determined prizes for the eight teams that advance to the single-elimination round, sources said. https://t.co/j5Sr54WUEJ

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 9, 2022

Much like the WNBA’s Commissioner’s Cup, the goal is to blend most of this into the regular season for teams. For example, a standard mid-week Celtics vs. Knicks game could be designated a tournament game and take on additional weight.

The financial incentive part will be interesting. For a lot of NBA players (two-thirds?) any reasonable financial boost will matter to them and get them focused, but for the players who genuinely determine the winners and losers nightly in the NBA, what can the league do to motivate them? This coming season 39 players will make more than $30 million, how does the league get those players to care about a tournament game?

For the league, this tournament can theoretically accomplish two important goals. First, it can spice up the season’s opening months,