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The NBA will kick off its inaugural in-season tournament this Friday, with the winning team set to claim the prestigious NBA Cup and its players each receiving a substantial $500,000 prize.
The tournament format consists of an initial group stage, with each NBA team competing in four games during the month of November. The group winners will proceed to the knockout rounds.
To organize these groups, the NBA adopted a structured approach.
The 30 teams were divided into six five-team groups.
Each team's schedule includes four group-stage games to be played on seven selected dates in November.
This comprises four Fridays (Nov. 3, 10, 17, and 24) and three Tuesdays (Nov. 14, 21, and 28).
The knockout rounds are set to kick off with the quarterfinals on December 4 and 5, hosted by the higher-seeded teams.
Then, the competition will intensify, culminating with the semifinals and the championship game taking place on December 7 and 9 in the vibrant city of Las Vegas.
What's particularly intriguing is how the NBA created these groups.
Teams from each conference were distributed into five pots based on their performance in the previous season's standings.
The top three teams from the regular season (1-3) were placed in Pot 1, while teams that finished 4th to 6th in the regular season were included in Pot 2.
Pot 3 held teams ranking 7th to 9th, Pot 4 featured teams in the 10th to 12th positions, and Pot 5 included the teams that finished 13th to 15th.
NBA In-Season Tournament Groups
Group Play games will take place on selected Tuesdays and Fridays in November, with only these "Tournament Nights" featuring group stage matches.
Let's take a look at the teams grouped according to their respective conferences:
Eastern Conference
- East Group A: 76ers, Cavs, Hawks, Pacers, Pistons
- East Group B: Bucks, Knicks, Heat, Wizards, Hornets
- East Group C: Celtics, Magic, Bulls, Nets, Raptor
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Western Conference
- West Group A: Grizzlies, Suns, Blazers, Lakers, Jazz
- West Group B: Nuggets, Pelicans, Mavs, Clippers, Rockets
- West Group C: Warriors, Wolves, Thunder, Kings, Spurs