The NBA officially announced the long-awaited in-season tournament Saturday night in Las Vegas. As Adam Silver explained on ESPN during the presentation of the tournament, the idea has been circulating for years and, from 2023, it will finally be part of the NBA calendar.
It’s not the first major tournament-style addition to the league in recent years – the NBA introduced the Play-In tournament to determine the 7 and 8 seeds in the Eastern and Western conferences in 2021 – but it is by far the most ambitious project the league has adopted in some time. As part of the announcement, the league has benefited from the help of a set of players and coaches to present the groups, which break down as follows:
Group A West: Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, Portland Trail Blazers
Group B West: Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets
Group C West: Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs
Group A East: Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons
Group B East: Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Miami Heat, Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets
Group C East: Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic
Group play in the in-season tournament will take place on Tuesdays and Fridays from November 3-28. For more details on how the tournament works, you can read more here.