The National Basketball Association averages around 1.5 million viewers during each regular season game, which is very low for national sports. In comparison, the NFL averages 17.9 million viewers each regular season game. The NBA searched for a solution to make the 82-game season more unique and to attract more fans and spice up the season.
Responding to the analytics, the NBA created the In-Season Tournament last year as a new way to bring more competition and tension to the first half of the season while keeping it separate from the postseason. Not only did this addition guarantee more fans and attention, it also allowed the NBA to show off exclusive jerseys and courts specific to the tournament. Funny enough, the NBA wasn’t satisfied with the profits last season, so the name of the tournament was changed to the NBA Emirates Cup to sponsor a brand and bring more money to the league.
Additionally, to bring in even more fans, the NBA created a trailer as if the Emirates Cup was a movie. The trailer consists of some of the best current players in the league and famous actors, Micheal Imperioli and Rosario Dawson. The title of the trailer and “nick-name” of the tournament is The Heist 2. Symbolizing the second time the teams have tried to steal the trophy.
The NBA Emirates Cup tournament began Nov. 12 and will end Dec. 3. It is broken down into two different rounds.
The first round of the tournament is group play, and teams are randomly separated into groups of five. Prior to the drawing, each team was placed into a “pot” based on its record from last season. One team is pulled from each “pot” to create a group. This allows for an even distribution of talent.
Every team will play each team in their group, two games at home and two games away. The team with the best record in each group will automatically move onto the next round. Two wild card teams will get the same opportunity.
The wild card is given to the teams ranked second in their group with the lowest point differential. Because the first round consists of six groups, it is necessary to have two more teams advance in order to align the tournament’s bracket.
The next round is the knockout round, where each team will play in single-elimination games until there are two teams left to play for the NBA Emirates Cup championship trophy. Additionally, players on the winning team will each receive $514,970; the runners-up will receive $205,998. The semi-finals will be held on Dec. 14 and the championship on Dec. 17, both in Las Vegas.
There aren’t many significant changes to the tournament since last season, except for a slight increase in prize pool money, 3% to be exact, which is an attempt to make the tournament more competitive and consistent. The 2023 winners were the Los Angeles Lakers, but this season could be anyone.
