The NBA has added a new twist for the 2023-24 campaign in the form of an in-season tournament. And it’s called – appropriately enough – the In-Season Tournament.
It began on Friday with seven games. Between now and December 9 (with tourney group clashes played on Tuesdays and Fridays), the 30 clubs in the Association will battle for the eight available spots in the knockout round.
The quarterfinals, semis and championship will be single elimination, and every player and coach on the team that snags the crown will pick up $500,000.
Scoff if you will about this “gimmick,” but basketball is built for tournaments and as a basketball fan, I’m all-in. I think it’s a fun idea that gives early season games some extra spice.
When it comes to mini-seasons within a season, though, the G League is way ahead of the curve.
The NBA developmental circuit tips-off next Friday, and all games will be part of the Showcase Cup, which culminates in the Winter Showcase in Las Vegas.
There have been 18 previous events, so it’s a standard feature of the G League. And starting on November 10, squads will be divided into four regional pods and play 16 games, with eight qualifying for the Winter Showcase.
After a winner is crowned at Mandalay Bay Convention Center on December 22, team records are reset to 0-0 and a 34-game regular season commences on December 27.
(By way of comparison, during the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament all games except the championship count in the regular season standings).
Malcolm Hill, who has spent time with two NBA teams and is now back on the roster of the Birmingham Squadron, has mixed emotions about the Showcase. Birmingham, the New Orleans Pelicans’ affiliate, hosts the Austin Spurs, feeder club for the San Antonio Spurs, on November 10 at 7 p.m. at Legacy Arena to open tournament play.
Birmingham and Austin are in the South Pod along with the Memphis Hustle, Mexico City Capitanes, Oklahoma City Blue, Osceola Magic, Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Texas Legends.
“Honestly, there are pros and cons to both sides, I guess,” Hill said. “You know you’re competing for a championship in the middle of the season, and that’s pretty cool. The flip side of it is it almost like means like nothing, because then (the season) starts over.
“But if you’re a bad team, you have the opportunity to kind of finish things the way you ideally wanted to once the regular season starts.”
The Squadron – which came to Birmingham in 2021-22 after two years as the Erie BayHawks – has yet to make it to the money round in Vegas.
They finished 9-5 in the 2021 event and 6-12 last year.
The stakes are different, but Birmingham coach T.J. Saint says his approach to Showcase Cup Games is the same as a regular season contest.
“Really, it’s all about building your identity to help these guys achieve their dreams,” he said. “The only incentive is that obviously if you do win the Showcase Cup you get 100 grand, so that’s on the line, but we don’t really change anything from a preparation standpoint.”
That preparation continued with a scrimmage against the College Park Skyhawks on Saturday, and cut day for training camp hopefuls is set for the middle of next week.
Then, it’s tournament time.
“I think it’s great,” said UAB product Trey Jemison, who signed with the Squadron last month. “It gives you a whole month to compete for something like the (Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy), and then you get to start the regular season.”
For tickets to next Friday’s home opener go to Birmingham.gleague.nba.com/tickets.