Emirates NBA Cup 2024 In-Season Tournament Kicks Off!

It is November 12. Therefore, basketball fans you know exactly what time it is, so lock in. The Emirates NBA Cup 2024 In-Season Tournament is underway and team’s are vying for the victory bragging rights. And oh yeah, some extra cash.

As you may recall, the current reigning NBA Cup champions are the purple and gold. The Los Angeles Lakers snagged the mid season trophy in 2023 after defeating the Pacers. This tourney is a great avenue for keeping player effort and the fan experience high. The enthusiasm for a championship win was definitely evident last season.

As NBC recounts, “It was clear that [Los Angeles] cared about winning the first in-season tournament. In fact, the final game of the 2023 tournament between the Lakers and the Indiana Pacers felt like a playoff game … before Christmas. Anthony Davis went off for the Lakers, scoring 41 points and grabbing 20 rebounds in the 123–109 victory.”

Nice. Tourney atmosphere is always electric. Seriously, everyone loves when the NBA gets closer to the playoffs because usually the games intensify. Thus, allowing fans to enjoy such a thrill earlier in the season with this Cup tournament is just a win-win for everyone.

Nevertheless, let’s get to this year’s battle. But being that this championship is still new you may have questions. Like… you can’t remember how the NBA Cup works? When and where the tournament will be decided? Or how the teams are divided up? No problem, we got you.

Emirates NBA Cup 2024 In-Season Tournament Kicks Off

The NBA released a “little reminder” to get fans on the right page and into the tournament spirit. CBS sums it up stating,

“The groups were determined by a combination of random drawing and record from last season. Teams within each conference were put into one of five pots: one for the teams with the three best records in that conference last season, one for the next three best teams, and so on. Each group features one team from each of the five conference pots.

The 30 NBA teams have been divided into six groups of five. Those six groups feature three groups of Western Conference teams and three groups of Eastern Conference teams. Each team will play each team in its group once, and once group play concludes, the six group winners along with one wild card team per conference will advance to the knockout stage. All games from this point forward are single-elimination. The quarterfinals will be played in home venues. The semifinals and finals will be held in Las Vegas.

Group play games will be played on Tuesdays and Fridays from Tuesday until Dec. 6. Quarterfinal games will be played at home venues on Dec. 10 and 11. The semifinals will be played in Las Vegas on Dec. 14. Finally, the championship will be played on Dec. 17 in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, the 22 teams that don’t reach the knockout stage will play two more regular-season games against opponents that haven’t yet been determined on Dec. 12 or Dec. 13 and Dec. 15 or Dec. 16, while the four losing quarterfinal teams will play one more regular-season game on one of those dates.”

Got it? Now of course there could be ties. The NBA then would use: head-to-head record splits to break it; or the Point-differential in group play as a tiebreaker. If still tied after that then total points scored in group play would be considered. Or if none of that resolves things; then they will resort to a random drawing or utilize the record from the 2023-24 season.

Nonetheless, ties or not, this will be fun. Every team has a chance to win. And get more MONEY.

Players on the winning team receive a $500,000 bonus. Losing in the championship game nets a $200,000 bonus, while the semifinals ($100,000) and quarterfinals ($50,000) earn slightly less from there. Chump change for some players. But still a nice prize for trying.

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