NBA In-Season Tournament 2023: Dates, Groups, More Revealed for Inaugural Format
July 9, 2023The dawn of a new NBA tradition is upon the basketball world with the official reveal of the league's In-season Tournament format taking place Saturday in Las Vegas.
Adam Silver was on hand as well as several of the league's young, bright stars, such as Victor Wembanyama, Paolo Banchero, Cade Cunningham, Anthony Edwards and two-time All-Star Trae Young to help spark interest in the NBA's newest competition.
The specific details of the tournament were finally released by ESPN analyst and former NBA Champion Richard Jefferson.
Jefferson revealed that all 30 teams will compete in the tournament but will split up into three groups per conference that were randomly drawn based off last season's regular season records.
Group play will take place on Tuesdays and Fridays throughout the month of November with each team in a group playing each other once for a total of four group games per team.
From there, eight teams will advance to the single-elimination knockout rounds. Those eight teams will consist of the squads with the best tournament record from each group as well as one Wild Card team from each conference.
The top-four teams will eventually end up back in Vegas where they'll battle it out in the semifinals and final in December with the hopes of bringing home the first-ever In-Season Tournament Cup, which was on display Saturday.
The Tournament will also come with individual honors such as an MVP and All-Tournament team.
Here are some more of the key details from the reveal:
Important Tournament Dates:
Group Play Begins: Nov. 3
Semifinals: Dec. 7
Final: Dec. 9
Broadcast Schedule
NBA Communications @NBAPRThe game and broadcast schedule for the In-Season Tournament Group Play stage will be announced in August. <br><br>The list of matchups for Group Play games is available below. <a href="https://t.co/5uSmZrY3AA">https://t.co/5uSmZrY3AA</a> <a href="https://t.co/UeaqJYa6fJ">pic.twitter.com/UeaqJYa6fJ</a>
Groups
Western Conference Group A:
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Phoenix Suns
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Utah Jazz
- Portland Trail Blazers
Group B:
- Denver Nuggets
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Dallas Mavericks
- Houston Rockets
Group C:
- Sacramento Kings
- Golden State Warriors
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- San Antonio Spurs
Eastern Conference Group A:
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Cleveland Cavs
- Atlanta Hawks
- Indiana Pacers
- Detroit Pistons
Group B:
- Milwaukee Bucks
- New York Knicks
- Miami Heat
- Washington Wizards
- Charlotte Hornets
Group C:
- Boston Celtics
- Brooklyn Nets
- Toronto Raptors
- Chicago Bulls
- Orlando Magic
Key Matchups
When looking over all the groups for the tournament, most of the attention will go straight to Group A in the West, with several of the conference's biggest hitters all set to face off against one another in the Grizzlies, Lakers and Suns.
While they'll likely be without Ja Morant for the majority of the group stage, the young star has to serve a 25-game suspension to start the season, the Grizzlies will still be a formidable opponent for both Los Angeles and Phoenix.
Marcus Smart will be sure to bring his signature grit and toughness from Boston to make sure the organization doesn't miss a beat without its leader.
But the biggest matchup of the group stage in either conference will be between the Lakers and Suns, arguably the two most talented squads in the entire league.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis will be primed to take on Phoenix's new big three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal in what is sure to be one of the most hyped up games of the entire season with everyone healthy.
While the groups may not be as strong in the East, there are still multiple fun individual matchups in the group stage.
But perhaps the most intriguing will be between the Miami Heat and the Milwaukee Bucks.
The two organizations have developed a rivalry over the last several years, having met in the playoffs multiple times.
Most recently, Miami knocked out the top-seeded Bucks in the first round of last year's postseason.
So, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. will certainly be looking for revenge.
It'll be especially interesting should Damian Lillard get his wish granted and is traded to South Florida to play with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
There won't be any shortage of storylines for the In-Season Tournament with plenty of juicy action set to go down.