Mark Cuban gives approval to NBA In-Season Tournament despite massive backlash: "There’s absolutely no downside"

Modified Jul 12, 2023 09:47 GMT

Dallas Mavericks v Phoenix Suns - Game Seven — Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks

Mark Cuban has no problems with the NBA In-Season Tournament that's set to begin next season. That's despite the massive negativity the tournament has received from fans online.

In an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Cuban discussed the midseason tournament and admitted that he didn't like the idea at first. He thought that it had no real negative effect on the season, but the most important thing is young fans are loving it.

"Initially, I was out on it," Cuban said. "But the more I thought of it, there's no downside. There's absolutely no downside.

"My son Jake is here, he's like, 'We got a bad draw.' It means he's thinking about it, and if gets kids excited, and it gets whoever excited. It's just a regular season game unless you win it, so why not do it?"

Explore the NBA Draft 2024 with our free NBA Mock Draft Simulator & be the GM of your favorite NBA team.

Expand Tweet

Also Read: Kyrie Irving looking to top $2.6 billion in revenue with Anta as numbers behind old deal with Nike come to light

When is the NBA in-season tournament?

NBA in-season tournament logo (Photo: NBA.com)

The NBA in-season tournament is set to start on November 3 and end with the championship game on December 9. The semifinals and final will be held at a neutral site inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The tournament will have two stages, the group stage and knockout stage. In the group stages, all 30 teams will be divided into six groups. Each group will have five teams that will play four games each before determining who will advance to the knockout rounds.

The six teams who topped each group will automatically qualify for the quarterfinals. Two wildcard teams from each conference will be chosen to complete the final eight. From the quarterfinals to the final, all matchups will be single-elimination games.

The winning team will earn a new trophy called the NBA Cup. The concept of the league's midseason tournament came from the world of football. League cups have been a part of the game across the world and will finally make their way to the NBA next season.

Also Read: "Loyalty doesn't lie in professional sports" - Matt Barnes believes it's payback time for Blazers on Damian Lillard situation