What’s At Stake In The Final Stages Of The NBA In-Season Tournament?

The NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament has been an intriguing talking point for basketball fans. The league has tried to spice up its regular season schedule for many years, and thinks this might be the longstanding solution to that challenge. We’ll take a look at what’s at stake for players, coaches, teams and the league as the tournament wraps up.

The NBA had to incentivize teams and players to care about the in-season tournament, and paying them boatloads of money is one way to ensure that. Each player would receive $500,000 if they win the tournament, as would the head coach of the winning team. Assistant coaches would also qualify for a healthy sum.

Certain teams in the quarterfinals of the in-season tournament hope to have bigger fish to fry in the spring, but others are hoping to use this as a stepping stone to future success. The Indiana Pacers and New Orleans Pelicans, for example, are two younger squads that could have their confidence boosted by a strong showing in the knockout round.

The NBA has attempted to inject their season with knockout games with their play-in tournament, and has doubled down on the format with this tournament. While there’s a fairness component to address with one and done tilts, there’s no denying that it vaults the intensity and excitement level to a fever pitch.

It’s going to be fascinating to see how hard the championship team celebrates in the aftermath. As previously alluded to, some might not view this as the biggest deal, while others may bask in the glory of the accomplishment. The NBA is hoping for the latter, so that fans can see just how much this means to the players.

The NBA already has a great relationship with the city of Las Vegas, as they host their primary Summer League action in Sin City. The partnership will continue this winter, and will likely end up with Las Vegas getting an NBA team of their own in the near future. Having a central location for the semifinals and finals gives the tournament Final Four vibes.

There’s always a chance that someone could get hurt in any game, but the NBA will have to cross their fingers and toes that no one gets seriously injured during the knockout stage of the in-season tournament. If someone were to go down for the season during these games, it’ll force franchises to think twice about how seriously they want to take it moving forward.

The NBA’s television partners, Turner and Disney, are teaming up to combine their studio coverage of the in-season tournament. That means the likes of Stephen A. Smith from ESPN and Charles Barkley from TNT will set on the same set and deliberate about the action. It should make for an entertaining pivot from the usual setup fans are used to seeing.

The East semifinal matchup will begin at 5 p.m. Eastern time on December 7, which is a bit early for a weeknight. The league probably wanted to do this to get the game in before the NFL action starts, but some might still be at work when this tilt tips off. The West semifinal matchup starts later that evening at 9 p.m. Eastern.