‘I can’t wait’: excitement mounts for NBA’s first in-season tournament

When Greg Popovich is enthused, you know you’re onto something. The often-reserved coach of the San Antonio Spurs is known for keeping his composure and not using hyperbole. It’s what’s helped his team win five NBA championships during his ongoing tenure. Now, though, as the league is set to embark on its latest endeavor – the in-season tournament, beginning on Friday night – the 74-year-old coach says that the event is “exciting for everybody”. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the Spurs coach reminded those listening just how driven NBA players are. So, with a chance at winning the new NBA Cup, Pop says teams will rise to the challenge.

“You have to understand all these guys are very competitive,” Popovich says of the NBA workforce. “If you put something out there like this, it just adds to that competition.”

Many around the league, from current to former players, to coaches, representatives and even NBA commissioner Adam Silver, have touted the new in-season tournament. Amid a regular-season schedule that stretches for 82 games over six-plus months (plus playoffs), the duration can feel at times interminable. That’s why league officials took inspiration from outfits like European soccer for the new in-season competition in order to spice things up and give teams something else to win.

The tournament, which tips off with a full slate of Friday games, features each of the NBA’s 30 teams broken up into five, six-team brackets based on win-loss records from last season. First, there is a group stage, where teams square off against the others in their pod for four designated games on Tuesdays and Fridays in November. From there, the six group winners and two wildcards (teams with the best records that did not win their group) will advance to a single-elimination knockout stage played in Las Vegas, starting with quarter-finals on 4 and 5 December, followed by the semi-finals on 7 December, and concluding with the championship game on 9 December.

The tournament games will also feature special uniforms and court displays. The winning squad will receive the inaugural NBA Cup trophy along with a cash prize of $500,000 per player. All of the games played during the in-season tournament will count towards each team’s 82-game schedule with the exception of the final. (Only the teams in the championship will play an extra 83rd game.) And those teams that do not reach the final will be assigned home and away games also to be played in early December to make up the difference.

The league’s hope is that the new tournament engenders excitement from fans, creates a second coveted trophy and, yes, can be spun off as a separate TV rights package to drum up more revenue (during a year when the league is negotiating a new television deal). There’s also the potential to highlight teams that may not have the profile of a traditional NBA championship contender. The tournament also marks yet another attempt from Silver at innovation following the play-in tournament, which was adopted earlier this decade. And while there remains some mystery about the new event in its first year, many around the league are embracing it.

“I believe it’s going be awesome and accepted,” former Charlotte Hornets point guard and present-day team ambassador Muggsy Bogues tells the Guardian. “Due to the long season, now it gives players and the organization incentive to have something to play for other than the finals.”

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Many of the NBA’s current stars have also been involved in the promotion of the in-season tournament, including Anthony Davis, Trae Young and more, in a new ad campaign. Others like Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Steph Curry and Anthony Edwards have picked which teams will emerge from the various groups. Influential media members like the Ringer’s Ryen Russillo and ESPN’s Zach Lowe have expressed positivity about the new development, while podcaster Bill Simmons has been suggesting a competition in this vein for years. Likewise, one of the NBA’s most prominent coaches, Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors, is onboard, echoing the sentiments expressed by Popovich, his former coach and mentor.

“We’re very excited about it,” Kerr told reporters in a Zoom call on Thursday night, the night before his team was slated to play the Oklahoma City Thunder in their first in-season tournament game. “Tomorrow will be fun.”

Kerr says he gives the NBA “a lot of credit” for trying something new. He believes the league’s players will enjoy it, too. Though, he added, the Warriors are “not going to treat it like the NBA finals”; specifically, Curry won’t be playing upwards of 45 minutes a night in the hopes of earning a victory. Still, the chance to play for something else during the season is enticing, says Kerr, a nine-time NBA champion as a player and on the sidelines. The coach and former player also noted that NBA stars are self-motivated, so “if you put a prize in front of [them], they’re going to be competitive. That’s what they do,” he says.

Asked if he thought the tournament would over-tax his roster, Kerr said he wasn’t worried. Instead, he leaned into the idea that the event would be “a lot of fun”. Kerr also says he’s a soccer fan, that he follows international leagues, and that he’s glad the NBA borrowed from their tradition of holding in-season competitions like this. Kerr did add that after this year, there may be some changes needed for future editions. “Like with anything,” he says, “I think we’ll learn a lot from the first year. Who knows, maybe there will be some tweaks. We have to go through it first and see how it plays out.”

For Kerr, who oversees a veteran-heavy Warriors team with no shortage of trophies, to win the inaugural NBA Cup would be a feather in their cap, even if it’s not their ultimate goal. But for younger teams that may not have hope of winning a title this year, the in-season trophy could be a solid stepping-stone. Kerr, who also advocated for a shorter regular-season during Thursday’s call with reporters (one with 70 or 72 games), nevertheless stayed positive about what’s ahead for his team this week and beyond. “I can’t wait to get on the floor,” he said.