After Group Play Games, How NBA In-Season Tournament Operate?

As the competition moves into its last stage, how does the NBA’s newest innovation—the In-Season Tournament—work? Teams have been playing competitive basketball to try to win an additional trophy, so far, it has been successful.

The first round of play consisted of six groups, each consisting of five teams that faced off twice—once at home and once on the road. Each of the two runners-up with the best records serving as “wildcard” entry, one from each Conference, and the eight group winners made it to the final stage.

The following teams are in the championship round: the Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Phoenix Suns, the New Orleans Pelicans, the Sacramento Kings, the New York Knicks, and the Milwaukee Bucks.

Like the NBA postseason playoffs, they will now face each other in the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final, with the losing teams being ousted from the match. But in contrast to NBA Finals multi-game series, if you miss this one game, you’re done. No second opportunities are given.

All of the games in the competition will count towards the NBA rankings for the regular season, which keeps teams from intentionally losing an exhibition match by resting their best players. As a result, teams compete with great determination. There will also be a $5,000 payout for every winning participant.