2024 NBA In-Season Tournament

It must be noted that the NBA In-Season Tournament is NOT an entirely different competition. The wins and losses from the games played in this In-Season Tournament are integrated into the regular season standings as well. However, the outcomes of these games play a crucial role in teams advancing further in the NBA In-Season Tournament. We have elaborated on this in the following sections.

Group Play

• All 30 NBA teams are divided into groups of five within their respective conferences.

• Each team will play four designated Group Play games, facing each team in their group once. (Two home games, Two road games).

• The team with the best record in each group and two"wild card" teams, one from each conference, will advance to the Knockout Rounds.

• Two wild card teams are the teams from each conference with the best record in Group Play games that finished second in their groups.

Knockout Rounds

• The in-season tournament Knockout rounds feature single-elimination games.

• These in-season tournament knockout games count as regular-season games, except for the final championship game.

How are the In-Season Tournament Groups decided?

The NBA decided to use a systematic approach to ensure fairness in the formation of the groups for the NBA In-Season tournament. Each team was categorized into a "pot" based on their performance in the previous regular season (2023-24). The pots were organized as follows:

• Pot 1: Composed of teams with the three best records from the prior season in each conference.

• Pot 2: Included teams with the fourth through sixth-best records in each conference from the previous season.

• Pot 3: Included teams with records ranking seventh through ninth in each conference in the prior season.

• Pot 4: Consisted of teams that ranked from 10th to 12th in each conference's regular season records from the previous year.

• Pot 5: Contained teams with the lowest regular season records, falling in the thirteenth to fifteenth positions in each conference during the previous season.

This method ensured a fair and balanced distribution of teams into the groups, preventing any unfair advantages or disadvantages due to the luck of the draw. Once the pots were fixed, the NBA held a random draw, and the 2024 NBA In-Season Tournament groups were determined. Detailed information about the 2024 In-Season Tournament groups is provided in the following section.

What were the 2024 NBA In-Season Tournament Groups?

Here's a quick look at the six groups of the 2024 NBA In-Season Tournament:

Eastern Conference Groups:

• East Group A: New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets

• East Group B: Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, Detroit Pistons.

• East Group C: Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards.

Western Conference Groups:

• West Group A: Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers,

• West Group B: OKC Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs,

• West Group C: Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies,

Group Play

• Each team will play four designated Group Play games, Two home games, and Two road games. (Note: These In-Season Tournament games will be part of the regular season.)

Knockout Rounds

• The Quarter-Finals were played in the higher-seeded team's home arena.

• The Semi-Finals along with the "2024 NBA In-Season Championship Game" will be played at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

This In-Season Tournament prize is not limited to players alone; it also extends to the coaching staff. Head coaches receive an amount equivalent to that of the players, while assistant coaches receive money amounting to 75 percent of the head coach's total payout.