More details are trickling out regarding the NBA’s polarizing new concept: a mid-season tournament.
On Tuesday, both the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers released their schedules for the opening “group stage” round of the NBA’s experimental In-Season Tournament.
The Lakers will begin the group stage on Nov. 10 in a showdown with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns in Arizona.
The team will then square off against the Memphis Grizzlies at Crypto.com Arena on Nov. 14, before traveling to Oregon to take on the Portland Trailblazers on Nov. 17.
They’ll close out the group stage with a Nov. 21 home game against the Utah Jazz.
The hometown rival Clippers will open group play on Nov. 10 in a road matchup with Luka Dončić, Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks. The Clippers will then travel to Denver to take on the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets on Nov. 14.
The group stage for the Clippers will come to an end with back-to-back home games against the Houston Rockets on Nov. 17 and the New Orleans Pelicans on Nov. 24.
The NBA’s In-Season Tournament is a new invention for the 2023-24 season, inspired by the many tournaments and competitions that take place in international sports leagues — particularly soccer.
Fan opinion about the tournament has been mixed, with some voicing concern that it will cannibalize the importance of the NBA Finals, and others concerned that teams may not take the competition seriously. Others, however, have voiced excitement for the new contest, arguing that it will give teams something to play for during the doldrums of the long NBA season.
All 30 teams will participate in the tournament, but only eight will advance out of group play. Groups were drawn randomly, with each team playing each other in the group stage, with two home games and two on the road.
Group play games will be played exclusively on “Tournament Nights,” which will take place every Tuesday and Friday in November. The In-Season Tournament’s championship game will be played on Dec. 9 in Las Vegas, a neutral site for both teams.
The winner of the In-Season Tournament will be awarded the NBA Cup, a new trophy created just for the competition, as well as a prize pool for participating players. A tournament MVP will also be crowned, as well as an “All-Tournament Team.”
Each team will still play the standard 82-game season, group play included, with the exception of the championship game.
The NBA says it will release the schedule for the entire NBA season on Thursday.