We get it. Figuring out how the NBA In-Season Tournament works seems complex.
So, we created a scenario that ends with one team winning the championship game on Dec. 9 in Las Vegas. It’s at the level a fourth-grader should understand.
The winning team in this hypothetical scenario will be the Nuggets, last season’s NBA champs.
Here’s the hypothetical scenario
- The Nuggets have been placed in a group with four other teams. (This happened in real life already.) Denver plays one game against each of them throughout November. These four games — as you might’ve guessed — are on their 82-game schedule.
- The Nuggets go 4-0 during these games, also known as the “Group Play” stage of the tournament. The other teams compete against each other as well, but none finish with a better record than Denver. Thus, the Nuggets reach the next round.
- Not only did the Nuggets move on, but so did each team across the league who completed the same task: Finish with the best record out of the group they’ve been assigned. There are six groups — three in each conference — so we have six winners advancing. Still with us?
- Great, joining these six teams in the next round are two wild cards (the team from each conference that had the best record during Group Play but finished second in their group). They join the party. So, we have eight teams.
Now it gets even better
It’s single-elimination time. Let the Knockout Round begin. Here’s how Denver “wins” it.
- Quarterfinals: Denver beats Phoenix. (Yep, we’ve chosen opponents from their 2023 title run in our scenario.) The Suns are eliminated.
- Semifinals: Hello, Las Vegas. Four teams remain and they’ve traveled to Nevada for the final games. The Nuggets face the Lakers in the West showdown and win to reach the title game — much to Michael Malone’s delight
- Championship: The Nuggets defeat the Heat to win the first hypothetical 2023-24 In-Season Tournament championship.
