NBA Won't Add In-Season Tournament Next Season, Commissioner Adam Silver Says

Adam Silver told reporters at his annual All-Star Weekend press conference that the league does not plan to implement an in-season tournament for the 2022-23 season, but that the league is still strongly considering adding it in the future.

Silver talked about the possibility of an in-season competition after talking about the play-in tournament.

"Related to that, to me, in terms of trying new things, then does it make sense to look at some other concepts we’ve talked about, like an in-season tournament,” Silver said. “In some ways, the players have been more receptive to the possibility of an in-season tournament, because the Play-In has been a bit more successful."

Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press reported in December that the talk of an in-season competition separate from regular-season play has been on the table for a while. Reynolds said there was a specific proposal in place for the upcoming season.

"The proposal calls for teams to play eight divisional games in the group stage of the event, which would begin Nov. 24, 2021 and continue through Dec. 11. (The NBA said the dates are tentative.) The group stage games—four home, four away—would count toward a team’s regular-season total.

"The six division winners and two wild cards would qualify for the quarterfinals on Dec. 13 and 14, 2021. Semifinals would be played as a doubleheader on Dec. 16 and the title game would be played two days later—with the semis and finals at a neutral site like Las Vegas. Players on the winning team would split $15 million; the winning coaching staff would split $1.5 million.

"The NBA said that there is the potential for 'additional prizing for players on the remaining final four teams' and that other incentives for teams and fans were 'to be determined.'"

There was a renewed enthusiasm for the creation of a future in-season NBA tournament among the league's 30 teams.

"Negotiations have centered on an in-season tournament that would begin with pool play as part of the regular-season schedule prior to teams with the best records advancing to an eight-team, single-elimination tournament that would culminate prior to Christmas, sources said. The proposal also would shorten the regular season from 82 to 78 games, sources said.

"The sides have discussed a purse of $1 million per player for the winning team, and the players could see more financial and competitive incentives before an agreement on the format, sources said. The NBA has been motivated with the prospects of lucrative television and sponsorship revenue that it is hopeful would deliver long-term financial growth."

Changes to the regular-season structure would be implemented in 24 months.

The Commissioner's Cup is an in-season tournament for the WNBA. Each team's first home and road game against a conference rival counts as part of the Commissioner's Cup.

The winner of the Eastern and Western Conferences will play in the Commissioner's Cup Championship Game. There is a prize pool.

The NBA has seen some success with the play-in tournament for the third year in a row.

The final two spots in the Eastern and Western Conferences are up for grabs in the current iteration.

The Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers faced off in the playoffs last year. The Dubs were upset by the Grizzles in another classic to go to the playoffs.

We will see if a new regular-season tournament would add more drama and intrigue, but for now there are two regular-season months left.