What is the tournament in the NBA season?
The NBA announced its schedule for the group stage games of its season-opening tournament on August 15, in which the winning team will win the NBA Cup and its players will win $500,000 each.
In the tournament, whose final will be on December 9 in Las Vegas, each NBA team will play a four-game group stage in November, with the group winners advancing to the knockout rounds.
The new tournament will be a showcase for the league’s newest star, as Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs have more nationally televised games (three) than any other team during the tournament’s four-game group stage, which will have place in the month of November.
So what exactly is the NBA Cup? How will the tournament work? Why is it happening? What does the NBA hope to get out of this?
Wemby vs. Holmgren face to face
Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren have their first matchup that counts in the NBA on Tuesday when the Oklahoma City Thunder host the San Antonio Spurs as part of the group stage of the NBA Cup.
Wembanyama (7 feet, 4 inches), 19, and Holmgren (7-1), 21, are the favorites to compete for the Rookie of the Year award, and for many they could be the next great rivalry in the NBA.
Holmgren missed all of last season due to a foot injury after being selected second in the draft. He is averaging 16.4 points per game, 7.6 RPG and 2.3 blocks per game in 10 games this season.
The No. 1 pick in the last draft, Wembanyama has so far performed like a generational talent, averaging 19.7 points per game, 8.8 RPG and 2.4 blocks per game.
Wembanyama and Holmgren faced off in the preseason, with Holmgren and the Thunder winning 122-121. Wembanyama had 20 points and five rebounds, while Holmgren closed with 21 points and nine rebounds.
Why is this happening?
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has wanted to implement it for years, for a variety of reasons. However, just like the play-in, it took him a long time to convince everyone involved to give it a try.
The first hope, obviously, is that it generates income. The NBA believes that the seasonal tournament can eventually become a very lucrative franchise due to the ability to sell its television rights, as was the case with the WNBA version of the event. The other hope is to attract more eyes to the league. The time period in which the tournament takes place, from early November to the first week of December, might be the most irrelevant part of the NBA calendar. It’s after the initial rush of the start of the season, and alongside the college football and NFL regular seasons. If this tournament manages to attract more attention to the sport during the least relevant time of the year, it will be seen as a victory.
What is the format?
Silver has long been fascinated with European soccer, and the foundation of the NBA’s seasonal tournament lies in cup tournaments across Europe. In those leagues, there is a regular-season championship, determined by the team with the most points throughout the year, and then a separate tournament (or, in some leagues, multiple tournaments) that takes place at the same time as the season. . . the league.
However, unlike European soccer tournaments, which are played outside the league schedule, the NBA Cup is integrated into the NBA’s regular season schedule. The 30 teams were divided into six groups of five teams.
The four group stage matches will be played on seven dates in November: four Fridays (November 3, 10, 17 and 24) and three Tuesdays (November 14, 21 and 28).
The quarterfinals will be played on December 4 and 5 for the highest-ranked team, and the semifinals and championship will be played on December 7 and 9 in Las Vegas.
