The NBA recently announced the inaugural in-season tournament, which will kick off just days into the new season on November 3 and will culminate with the championship game on December 9.
A lot of fans don’t know what to think about the in-season tournament.
And they’re not the only ones.
Hopping on Twitter, Sacramento Kings player De’Aaron Fox said: “How do you feel about the in season tournament?”
How do you feel about the in season tournament?
— De'Aaron Fox (@swipathefox) August 14, 2023
This shows that many players aren’t sure about this tournament.
But they’re about to learn a whole lot about it.
All 30 teams have been randomly drawn into groups of five within their conferences based on their win-loss records from the 2022-23 season.
Starting in November, each team will play in group-play games on “Tournament Nights.”
This will eventually lead to eight teams advancing to the knockout rounds and, ultimately, two teams facing off to win the NBA Cup.
The league sees this as a way to give the first half of the season more importance.
It will also drum up interest and ratings, of course.
But for fans and players, it doesn’t yet hold a high level of importance.
Commissioner Adam Silver has made no secret of wanting this sort of tournament for years now.
This has been a long time in the making and will likely be here to stay.
As for Fox, his Kings will start out in a group with the Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, and San Antonio Spurs.
Can they win their way out of that group and into the knockout round?
We will find out in just a few months just how well Fox and his team adjust to this new NBA mainstay.
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