‘I can’t wait’: excitement mounts for NBA’s first in-season tournament

WWhen Greg Popovich is excited, you know you’re on to something. The often reserved coach of the San Antonio Spurs is known for keeping his composure and avoiding exaggerations. It’s what helped his team win five NBA championships during his tenure. But with the league about to embark on its latest venture – the season-long tournament starting Friday evening – the 74-year-old coach says the event is “exciting for everyone.” Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the Spurs coach reminded listeners just how driven NBA players are. So with a chance to win the new NBA Cup, Pop says teams will rise to the challenge.

“You have to understand that all these guys are very competitive,” Popovich said of the NBA staff. “If you put something like that on the market, it only adds to the competition.”

Many in the league, from current to former players, to coaches, representatives and even NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, have touted the new season tournament. With a regular season schedule that stretches over 82 games over more than six months (plus playoffs), the duration can sometimes seem interminable. That’s why league officials took inspiration from outfits like European soccer for the new season, to spice things up and give teams something different to win with.

The tournament, which concludes with a full slate of games on Friday, features each of the 30 NBA teams divided into five groups of six teams based on win-loss records from last season. Firstly, there is a group stage, in which teams compete against the others in their pod for four designated matches on Tuesdays and Fridays in November. From there, the six group winners and two wildcards (teams with the best records that did not win their group) will advance to a single-elimination knockout stage, played in Las Vegas, starting with the quarterfinals on December 4 and 5, followed by the semi-finals on December 7 and concluding with the championship match on December 9.

The tournament games will also feature special uniforms and court shows. The winning team will receive the first NBA Cup trophy and a cash prize of $500,000 per player. All games played during the season tournament will count toward each team’s 82-game schedule, with the exception of the final. (Only the teams in the Championship will play an extra 83rd match.) And the teams that don’t reach the final will also be allocated home and away matches to be played in early December to make up the difference.

The league’s hope is that the new tournament will generate excitement among fans, create a second coveted trophy and, yes, could be spun off as a separate TV rights package to generate more revenue (during a year when the league is negotiating a new television deal). There’s also the opportunity to spotlight teams that may not have the profile of a traditional NBA championship contender. The tournament also marks another attempt by Silver at innovation after the play-in tournament, which was adopted earlier this decade. And while some mystery remains about the new event in its first year, many in the league are embracing it.

“I believe it will be great and accepted,” former Charlotte Hornets point guard and current team ambassador Muggsy Bogues told the Guardian. “Because of the long season, it now gives players and the organization an incentive to have something different to play for than the final.”

Many of the current NBA stars have also been involved in promoting the season’s tournament, including Anthony Davis, Trae Young and more, in a new advertising campaign. Others like it Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Steph Curry And Anthony Edwards have chosen which teams will emerge from the different groups. Influential media members like the Ringer’s Ryen Russillo and ESPNs Zach Lowe have spoken positively about the new development, while podcaster Bill Simmons has also been suggests a competition in this vein for years. Likewise, one of the NBA’s most prominent coaches, Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors, is on board, echoing the sentiments of Popovich, his former coach and mentor.

“We’re really excited about it,” Kerr told reporters in a Zoom call Thursday evening, the night before his team was scheduled to play the Oklahoma City Thunder in their first tournament game of the season. “Tomorrow will be fun.”

Kerr says he gives the NBA “a lot of credit” for trying something new. He believes the league’s players will enjoy it too. Although, he added, the Warriors “won’t treat it like the NBA Finals”; specifically, Curry won’t play more than 45 minutes per night in hopes of picking up a win. Still, the chance to play for something else during the season is enticing, said Kerr, a nine-time NBA champion as a player and on the sidelines. The coach and former player also noted that NBA stars are motivated, so “if you put an award in front of them, they will be competitive. That’s what they do,” he says.

Asked if he thought the tournament would put too much strain on his squad, Kerr said he wasn’t worried. Instead, he leaned into the idea that the event would be “a lot of fun.” Kerr also says that he is a football fan, that he follows international competitions, and that he is happy that the NBA has borrowed from their tradition of holding these types of seasonal competitions. Kerr added that some changes may be needed for future editions after this year. “As with everything,” he says, “I think we will learn a lot from the first year. Who knows, maybe there will be some adjustments. We have to go through it first and see how it turns out.”

For Kerr, who oversees a Warriors team with plenty of veterans and no shortage of trophies, winning the first NBA Cup would be a feather in the cap, even if that’s not their ultimate goal. But for younger teams who may have no hope of winning a title this year, the season trophy could be a solid stepping stone. Kerr, who also argued for a shorter regular season (one with 70 or 72 games) during Thursday’s call with reporters, nevertheless remained positive about what awaits his team this week and beyond. “I can’t wait to get on the floor,” he said.