Wizards Will Compete in First Ever NBA In-Season Tournament

Starting in the Eastern Conference Group B the Washington Wizards will go head to head with four other teams to start their quest for the NBA Cup.

The Washington Wizards will have a new wrinkle to navigate in the upcoming NBA season after the association announced a first-ever in-season tournament.

The winner of this tournament will win the first-ever NBA Cup, and all of the games played count toward the regular season standings as well.

To begin things, every NBA team will be split up into groups with three in each of the Eastern and Western Conferences. 

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A random drawing based on last year’s records determined the groupings and each group will play the other teams within it one time for a total of four games (two road and two home) in this first stage. 

After the drawing Washington ended up in East Group B along with the Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Miami Heat, and Charlotte Hornets.

Only the teams with the best records from each group will automatically advance to the second round, so 30 will become six after one stage of the in-season tournament.

But, there are two wild card teams as well with the next best record of the remaining teams in each conference earning those seventh and eighth spots in the second round. 

From there it’s a traditional bracketed tournament with the Western Conference and Eastern Conference split on either side playing knockout games until we get to a final two that will play for the in-season championship. 

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The final four of this in-season tournament will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada with the finals winner receiving the first ever NBA Cup on December 9th. 

It’s an opportunity to get an in-season look at who the top teams in the NBA are with something on the line, and a fresh way for the association to spark some interest earlier in the long 82-game marathon that is the league year.

For the Wizards they’ll be looking to make sure it’s not the only tournament they appear in this season, as they aim to surprise everyone in a rebuild year with a trip to the postseason.

Find David Harrison on Twitter @DHarrison82

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