2023 NBA In-Season Tournament

The 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament was a multi-stage basketball tournament that played during the 2023–24 NBA season. It was the first edition of the NBA Cup, then under the working name NBA In-Season Tournament. All 30 teams participated, each playing four regular season games that count towards the tournament's group stage standings. All games in the knockout round, except for the championship game, also counted towards the regular season standings. The tournament's semifinals and championship game were played at T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip.

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers in the championship game, and Los Angeles' LeBron James was named the Most Valuable Player for the tournament.

Format

The tournament's format was similar to in-season, multi-stage tournaments in European soccer.^[1]

In the group stage, each conference was divided into three groups with five teams each, for a total of six groups. Regular season games played on Tuesdays and Fridays between November 3 and November 28 counted in the regular season standings and the In-Season Tournament standings. Each team played one game against each of the other teams in its group, for a total of four games (two at home and two on the road).^[1]

If two or more teams in a group had equal records upon completion of group play, the following tiebreakers were applied in this order:^[1]

1. Head-to-head record in the group stage
2. Point differential in the group stage
3. Total points scored in the group stage
4. Regular season record from the 2022–23 regular season
5. Random drawing

Each group's winner then advanced to the knockout stage, as did one wild card from each conference—the group runner-up with the best group stage record. The knockout stage was a single-elimination tournament. Quarterfinal games were played in local NBA markets on December 4 and 5, with the teams with the top two group stage records in each conference hosting, and the best team in group-play games would host the wild-card team. The semifinals were played on December 7, and the championship was on December 9. The final two rounds were played at T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip.^[1]

Quarterfinal and semifinal games counted as regular season games, affecting teams' positions in league standings, but the championship game did not. Statistics from the championship game are also not counted in regular season totals.^[1]

To balance the regular season, the four teams that lost in the quarterfinals played one additional game on December 8, against each other in the same conference.^[1]

While the knockout stage was played, the 22 teams that did not qualify for the knockout stage each played two additional regular season games, one home and one away, to complete each team's 82 game regular season schedule. Among these 22 total matchups, 20 were intra-conference games, with an attempt by the league to schedule as many pairs of teams which were originally scheduled to only play each other three times during the regular season. The other two matchups were interconference games, as there was an odd number of teams in each conference (11). These two interconference matchups featured four of the six teams that finished last in their respective group.^[1]

Prize money

Players on teams advancing to the knockout stage will receive prize money as follows:^[2]

• Players on teams that lose in the quarterfinals: $50,000 each
• Players on teams that lose in the semifinals: $100,000 each
• Players on the tournament runner-up team: $200,000 each
• Players on the tournament championship team: $500,000 each

Draw

Pots

Teams were allocated into five pots per conference based on the 2022–23 regular season standings. Pot 1 contained the teams with the top three regular season records in each conference, while Pot 2 contained the teams with the fourth- to sixth-best records and so forth, concluding with Pot 5, which contained the teams with the bottom three (thirteenth through fifteenth) records.^[1][3]

Draw results

The initial groups were revealed during the tournament announcement on July 8, 2023.^[4] The five teams in each group were selected by a draw of one team from each of the five pots for the conference in question.

Group stage

East group A

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Note: Times are Eastern Time (UTC−4 or UTC−5) as listed by the NBA. If the venue is located in a different time zone, the local time is also given.

East group B

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Note: Times are Eastern Time (UTC−4 or UTC−5) as listed by the NBA. If the venue is located in a different time zone, the local time is also given.

East group C

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Note: Times are Eastern Time (UTC−4 or UTC−5) as listed by the NBA. If the venue is located in a different time zone, the local time is also given.

West group A

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Note: Times are Eastern Time (UTC−4 or UTC−5) as listed by the NBA. If the venue is located in a different time zone, the local time is also given.

West group B

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Note: Times are Eastern Time (UTC−4 or UTC−5) as listed by the NBA. If the venue is located in a different time zone, the local time is also given.

West group C

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Note: Times are Eastern Time (UTC−4 or UTC−5) as listed by the NBA. If the venue is located in a different time zone, the local time is also given.

Knockout stage

Qualified teams

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

Bracket

Home team listed first (quarterfinals only).

Source:^[5]

Quarterfinals

Note: Times are Eastern Standard Time (UTC−5) as listed by the NBA. If the venue is located in a different time zone, the local time is also given.

During the Kings-Pelicans game on December 4, a 34-year-old Kings fan named Gregorio "Greg" Florez Breedlove had a medical emergency during the first quarter of that game and died 20 minutes after emergency medical services arrived to try and help him out.^[6][7] A day later, during the Suns-Lakers game on December 5, the game's conclusion was met with serious controversy due to a controversial timeout that was given to the Lakers by the referees near the end of the game despite the Lakers not holding possession of the ball at the time the timeout was called.^[8][9][10] However, according to commissioner Adam Silver, it was considered the right call by the notion that Austin Reaves had his left hand on the ball while pinned under his left leg before it got loosened up again.^[11]

Championship game

Buddy Hield of Indiana scored the game's first basket when he hit a three-pointer. However, the Lakers quickly took control of the first quarter and led 20–15 after six minutes. After one frame, the Lakers led 34–29 with 26 points coming inside the paint.^[12] The teams went into half-time with a 65–60 advantage for Los Angeles.

The second half opened up with a LeBron James and-one play, and the Lakers quickly captured a 10-point lead. Despite cutting the lead to a five-point lead at one point, the Pacers went into the fourth quarter trailing 90–82.^[12]

The final quarter saw the Pacers crawl back into the game, cutting the lead down to two with 10:30 to go. However, Indiana was unable to keep up with the Lakers offense and were trailing by ten points with four and a half minutes left. Indiana center Myles Turner fouled out after fouling Anthony Davis and picking up his sixth foul, with 4:09 to go in the game. Davis scored 10 straight points as part of the 13–0 run that gave the Lakers a 16-point lead with 3:11 remaining in the game.^[13] By then, the Lakers comfortably played the game out. The Lakers dominated the Pacers inside, edging them with an 86–44 edge in points in the paint.^[13]

The Lakers became the first team to win the NBA Cup. Anthony Davis finished with 41 points on 16-for-24 shooting, 20 rebounds and 4 blocks;^[13] his performance was widely praised as a "masterpiece",^[14] with James describing it as a "Shaq-like performance".^[15] Davis became the first player in 36 years to record 40+ points, 20+ rebounds, 5+ assists and 4+ blocks,^[15] and was the third Laker to achieve this feat following Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain.^[16] Tyrese Haliburton finished with 20 points and 11 assists, while Bennedict Mathurin scored 20 as well.^[12]

Awards

The Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA Cup. LeBron James won the inaugural Most Valuable Player award, following his averages of 26.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists, while shooting 56.8% from the field and 60.6% on threes.^[18] On December 11, the NBA announced the All-Tournament Team.^[13]

Marketing

The Heist

On October 25, one week before the start of group play the NBA debuted "The Heist," a series of short films used to promote the tournament.^[19] "The Heist" features seven NBA all-stars: Anthony Davis, Demar Derozan, Darius Garland, Draymond Green, Kawhi Leonard, Julius Randle, Trae Young and Emmy winning actor Michael Imperioli attempting to take the NBA Cup trophy from a Las Vegas casino.

Anthem

The official anthem for the tournament was a re-recorded version of "Mama Said Knock You Out" by LL Cool J combined with The Roots "Here I Come."^[20][21] The song was prominently featured in promotional videos for the tournament. The Anthem was played before the start of each game throughout the group stage and knockout rounds.

Media coverage

The group stage of the tournament was covered by the NBA's existing broadcasters.

In national linear television broadcasts in the United States, TNT had selected Tuesday games, ESPN aired selected Friday games, and NBA TV had two on Friday, November 24.^[22] Most group stage games were instead only televised locally by the teams' regional broadcasters.^[23][24][25] During the knockout stage, TNT aired all four quarterfinals in prime time^[26] on December 4 and 5. For the semifinals on December 7, ESPN televised the early game and TNT had the late game. The championship game aired on ABC in prime time on December 9.^[27][28]

TruTV also aired three alternative telecasts of quarterfinal and semifinal games that air on TNT during the knockout round.

The championship game was the first year of a two year deal that saw the game broadcast on ABC (including local stations KABC-TV in Los Angeles and WRTV in Indianapolis). The game was the most-viewed game of the season with 4.58 million viewers. It was also the most-watched non-Christmas regular season game since 2018.^[29] ESPN2 also aired an alternate telecast for the championship game on December 9.^[30]

All TNT's games were streamed on Max including two exclusive alternate telecast of quarterfinal games on December 5.^[24] NBA League Pass offered out-of-market group stage games, as well as live access to NBA TV's games.^[25]

In Canada, national coverage of all Toronto Raptors games and other selected games were split between TSN, Sportsnet, and NBA TV Canada.^[31][32]

Semifinal ESPN/TNT broadcast collaboration

Ahead of the semifinals, ESPN and TNT announced that their broadcast teams would collaborate on each other's coverage. For ESPN, TNT's Reggie Miller joined Mike Breen, Doris Burke and Lisa Salters, while on TNT, ESPN's Doc Rivers joined Kevin Harlan, Candace Parker and Allie LaForce. TNT's Inside the NBA (including NBA Tip-off) studio team of Ernie Johnson Jr., Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal also collaborated with their ESPN counterparts, the NBA Countdown studio team of Malika Andrews, Stephen A. Smith, Michael Wilbon, Bob Myers and Adrian Wojnarowski, during the other network's coverage. Specifically, it was announced that the Inside the NBA team would appear on NBA Countdown while Smith and Wilbon would appear on Inside the NBA.^[33][34]

Aftermath

Commissioner Adam Silver told in a press conference after the championship game that he was satisfied with the inaugural In-Season Tournament and is open to changes to the format, including the tie-breakers in the group play and the alternate colored courts that were used during the tournament.^[35]

On December 19, the Lakers celebrated their win by hanging a championship banner in the Crypto.com Arena to honour their In-Season Tournament victory, ahead of their regular season game against the New York Knicks.^[36][37]

References

1. ^ "In-Season Tournament 101: Rules, format and how it works". National Basketball Association. 8 July 2023. Archived August 10, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
2. ^ Foglio, James (November 15, 2023). "Lakers' Anthony Davis says $500K prize in NBA In-Season Tournament is a 'real lure'". basketballinsiders.com. Archived November 23, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
3. ^ Bontemps, Tim (July 8, 2023). "NBA officially unveils format, groups for new in-season tournament". ESPN. Archived July 9, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
4. ^ Rosa, Francisco (July 8, 2023). "NBA In-Season Tournament 2023: Dates, Groups, More Revealed for Inaugural Format". Bleacher Report. Archived July 9, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
5. ^ "NBA In-Season Tournament Tracker: Knockout Rounds matchups, schedule". NBA.com. December 12, 2023. Archived December 14, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
6. ^ "Fan dies after emergency during Pels-Kings game". December 5, 2023.
7. ^ "Sports Digest: Fan dies after medical event in stands at Kings-Pelicans game". December 6, 2023.
8. ^ https://www.sportingnews.com/in/nba/news/lakers-suns-timeout-controversy-devin-booker/
9. ^ "NBA Fans Outraged over Lakers' Controversial Last-Second Timeout in Win over Suns". December 6, 2023.
10. ^ "Lakers gifted clutch timeout by refs to screw Suns in NBA in-season tournament". December 6, 2023.
11. ^ "NBA Says Controversial Suns-Lakers Timeout Was Correct Call". December 6, 2023.
12. ^ East, Tony (2023-12-09). "Indiana Pacers overpowered by Los Angeles Lakers in In-Season Tournament Finals". Sports Illustrated. Archived December 10, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
13. ^ "NBA In-Season Tournament: LeBron James, Kevin Durant headline All-Tournament Team". NBA.com. December 11, 2023. Archived December 12, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
14. ^ "'Masterpiece' from Anthony Davis powers Lakers to win first-ever NBA in-season tournament". Fox Sports. 2023-12-10. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
15. ^ Acedera, Shane Garry (2023-12-10). "LeBron James' description of Anthony Davis' game in the IST Finals: "That was a Shaq-like dominant performance"". basketballnetwork.net. Archived December 10, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
16. ^ Ganglani, Nicole (2023-12-11). "Records Anthony Davis achieved after 41-20-5-4 NBA Cup Finals performance". Basketball Network. Archived December 12, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
17. ^ "Indiana Pacers vs Los Angeles Lakers Dec 9, 2023 Game Summary". www.nba.com. Archived December 8, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
18. ^ "LeBron James wins first-ever In-Season Tournament MVP". NBA.com. 2023-12-10. Archived December 10, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
19. ^ "NBA debuts short film 'The Heist' to fuel anticipation for inaugural In-Season Tournament". NBA.com. October 25, 2023. Archived July 10, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
20. ^ "LL COOL J and The Roots reimagine Grammy® Award-winning single "Mama Said Knock You Out" for NBA In-Season Tournament Anthem". NBA.com. November 3, 2023. Archived January 12, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
21. ^ Rashad Grove (2023-11-03). "Exclusive: LL Cool J talks reimagining 'Mama Said Knock You Out' for the NBA In-Season Tournament soundtrack". BET. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
22. ^ "2023 NBA In-Season Tournament Schedule". NBA.com. August 16, 2023. Archived August 22, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
23. ^ "ESPN & ABC's Blockbuster Broadcast Schedule for 2023–24 NBA Regular Season". ESPN Press Room. August 17, 2023. Archived August 18, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
24. ^ "TNT to Tip Off 2023–24 NBA Regular Season with Blockbuster Opening Night". Warner Bros. Discovery. August 17, 2023. Archived August 18, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
25. ^ "NBA TV to Televise 106 Games During 2023–24 Regular Season with Multiple Appearances by NBA Champion Nuggets, Celtics, Warriors, Bucks, Lakers, 76ers, Suns & Mavericks". Warner Bros. Discovery. August 17, 2023. Archived August 18, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
26. ^ "Breaking News - TNT Sports to Showcase Inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament Knockout Rounds with Three Nights of Coverage Next Week Across TNT, truTV & Max". TheFutonCritic. Archived December 24, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
27. ^ "ESPN Schedules". ESPN Press Room U.S.. Archived March 7, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
28. ^ "What to know about NBA in-season tournament: Games start Friday, team groups, Las Vegas hosts semifinals, championship". Yahoo! Sports. November 3, 2023. Archived November 5, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
29. ^ Dixon, Ed (2023-12-13). "NBA In-Season Tournament championship game averages 4.58m viewers on ABC and ESPN". SportsPro. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
30. ^ Rajan, Ronce (2023-12-05). "NBA Unplugged with Kevin Hart to Debut on ESPN2 for Inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament Championship Game December 9". ESPN Press Room U.S.. Archived December 10, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
31. ^ "NBA on TSN National Broadcast Schedule". TSN. October 24, 2023. Archived November 4, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
32. ^ "NBA Schedule - NBA Games & Events". NBA.com. Archived November 4, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
33. ^ Rajan, Ronce (November 28, 2023). "ESPN, TNT Collaborate on Game and Studio Coverage for Inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament Semifinals December 7". ESPN Press Room. Archived November 29, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
34. ^ "TNT Sports to Showcase Inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament Knockout Rounds with Three Nights of Coverage Next Week Across TNT, truTV & Max". Warner Bros. Discovery. November 28, 2023. Archived November 28, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
35. ^ "Commissioner Adam Silver happy with success of In-Season Tournament, open to changes". NBA.com. 2023-12-10. Archived December 10, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
36. ^ Joseph, Samuel (2023-12-19). "LA Lakers unveil In-Season Tournament Championship banner but the New York Knicks spoil the party". CNN. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
37. ^ "Lakers to hang banner for in-season tournament championship". Yahoo Sports. 2023-12-11. Archived December 12, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-12-12.