The NBA officially unveiled the format of their inaugural In-Season Tournament this upcoming 2022-23 season.
Provided below are the guidelines and the flow of the said tourney which will commence from Nov. 3 to Dec. 9 next season (per Jordan Greer of Sporting News):
- The NBA In-Season Tournament is split into two stages: the group stage and knockout stage.
- All 30 teams participate in the group stage, and each team plays a total of four group stage games.
- There will be six total groups in the group stage (three per conference). Each group will have five teams, and those teams will be placed into groups via random drawings.
- The six group stage winners will move on to the knockout stage. The two “wild card” teams (one per conference) that had the highest winning percentages but finished second in the group standings will also advance to the knockout stage.
- Each game of the knockout stage will be an elimination game, meaning the winners will advance to the next round and the losers will be eliminated from the In-Season Tournament.
- The semifinal games and championship game will be held at a neutral site. Each In-Season Tournament game other than the championship game will be considered a regular season game.
The “Final Four” stage, which will feature the last four teams standing, will be played in Las Vegas in Dec. 7 and Dec. 9.
Below are the official groupings for the tournament in the group stage:
Group 1: Sixers, Cavaliers, Hawks, Pacers and Pistons.
Group 2: Bucks, Knicks, Heat, Wizards and Hornets.
Group 3: Celtics, Nets, Raptors, Bulls and Magic.
Group 4: Grizzlies, Suns, Lakers, Jazz and Trail Blazers.
Group 5: Nuggets, Clippers, Pelicans, Mavericks and Rockets.
Group 6: Kings, Warriors, Timberwolves, Thunder and Spurs.
