NBA In-Season tournament 2023: Format, when it starts, schedule, and all you need to know

For the very first time, the NBA will have an in-season tournament taking place between November and December 2023. This is an innovation for the league, which wanted to increase the level of interest for fans while giving extra motivation to teams and players that will have an extra target this season.

With that in mind, let's explore what the format, schedule and key dates of this inaugural in-season tournament are:

NBA In-Season Tournament: When it starts and key dates

The in-season tournament will kick off in the second week of the regular season, which means November 3, 2023.

The games of the group stage will be played on six different dates, namely Friday, November 3, Friday, November 10, Tuesday, November 14, Friday, November 17, Tuesday, November 21, Friday, November 24 and Tuesday, November 28.

After that, we will move to the knockout stage, where the quarter-finals will take place on Monday, December 4 and Tuesday, December 5. The semi-finals will be on Wednesday, December 7 and the Championship Game on Saturday, December 9.

The NBA In-Season Tournament will last for five weeks and will count as regular season games, except for the Championship Game.

NBA In-Season Tournament: Format

The format of the NBA In-Season Tournament looks quite simple. In the first part, teams are split into six groups of five teams each. Each team will play a total of four games, a couple of them at home and the other two on the road.

The winner of each group will advance to the knockout stage, while the two teams with the best record among those that will finish second in their respective groups will complete the quarter-finals set.

The four teams with the best record among the eight that will have qualified for the Top-8 will host the four quarter-final games, while the semi-finals and the Championship Game will be played in Las Vegas.

NBA In-season Tournament: Schedule

In mid-August, the NBA officially announced all details for the inaugural In-Season Tournament. Aside from that, they also went to social media and revealed the tournament's schedule. So, let's take a closer look at it:

Eastern Conference

Group A: Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons

The matchups that stand out from the first group of the Eastern Conference are the Hawks vs Sixers on Friday, November 17, Sixers vs Cavs on Tuesday, November 21 and Cavs vs Hawks a week later (Tuesday, October 28).

Group B: Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Miami Heat, Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets

Here we should focus on the battles between the Bucks and Heat (Tuesday, November 28), who collided in the opening round of the playoffs last season, Knicks vs Miami (Friday, November 21), who faced each other in the East semi-finals, and the battle between Milwaukee and New York at Fiserv Forum on the opening night of the tournament (Friday, November 3).

Group C: Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic

We should expect to see a lot of great games in this group, with the Celtics as the favorite to win the group, but the Nets, Raptors and Bulls fully capable of finishing second and fighting for the wild card for the Top-8.

Western Conference

Group A: Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, LA Lakers, Utah Jazz, Portland Trail Blazers

Here we have three title contenders in the Suns, Grizzlies and Lakers, so their matchups should be quite interesting. Memphis and Phoenix will collide on November 24, while the Grizzlies will play the Lakers on Tuesday, November 14. The clash between the Suns and Lakers will take place on Friday, November 10.

Group B: Denver Nuggets, LA Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets

The reigning champions Denver Nuggets, the Clippers and the Mavs are expected to fight for the top two spots in the group. The Nuggets will host the Mavs and Clippers in their first two games on November 3 and 14, respectively, while the Clippers will play Dallas in their tournament opener on Friday, November 10.

Group C: Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs

Here the battle between the Kings and Warriors stands out, in a rematch of the first-round playoff series last year, where Golden State had won in seven games. The two West contenders will collide in Sacramento in the group stage finale on Friday, November 28.

The winner of the NBA In-Season Tournament will claim the NBA Cup and will earn $500,000. The losing team in the Championship Game will earn $200,000.