NBA To Vote On In-Season Tournament For 2022

 

Industry reports have confirmed that the NBA and NBA Players Association are strongly considering a new early-season tournament that would include million-dollar per-player prizes for the winning team. 

ESPN Sources: There’s renewed traction on a future In-Season Tournament in the NBA. The league and union are discussing a structure that includes December pool play, pre-Christmas quarters/semis/finals and $1M per player payout on winning team. More next on ESPN’s NBA Countdown.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 25, 2021

Thought to be sparked by the success of the Play-In Tournament, the new In-Season Tournament would take place in December, and feature eight teams that come out on top in a points system determined from pool play. 

The week-long 8-team tournament would then take place before Christmas, with the winning team taking a purse of $1M per player. 

An additional report cites "multiple league sources", and suggests that the pool play would be comprised of regular-season games that take place on Tuesday and Friday nights, and that the regular-season would be reduced to 78 games, allowing for the one-week tournament for the final eight teams. 

The semi-finals and finals, according to this report, would take place at a neutral location, possibly Las Vegas. 

It's hoped that the new tournament would begin in 2022. The players union will vote on the idea later this season.

Photo Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports