Coming quickly: the NBA Cup.
The NBA unveiled the small print on Saturday of its inaugural in-season match, which could have a prize pool of about $US18 million (A26.9m) and will probably be capped by a championship sport in Las Vegas on December 9.
It’s an occasion that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver wished for years, giving groups a trophy to play for throughout the common season.
And now, it is lastly actuality.
“This is a concept that has been rumbling around the league office for about 15 years,” Silver mentioned. “It’s not a new concept in sports. For those that follow particularly international soccer, it’s a long tradition of having in-season tournaments … so we thought, what a perfect opportunity for a global league like the NBA and it’s a perfect fit for our game.”
The match payouts for gamers on customary contracts will probably be $US500,000 apiece for these on the profitable workforce, $US200,000 apiece for these on the runner-up, $100,000 apiece for these on the groups that lose semi-final video games and $US50,000 for these on the groups that lose within the quarter-finals.
Games will begin on November 3, being performed totally on Tuesdays and Fridays in November – apart from November 7, when the NBA will play no video games to commemorate Election Day. That announcement got here Saturday, and can mark the second consecutive 12 months when the NBA has no video games on that date with hopes of selling civic consciousness and engagement.
The Final Four will probably be in Las Vegas.
Teams have been assigned to a five-team group. They’ll play one round-robin spherical; the six group winners will make the quarter-finals, as will one of the best two second-place groups from the teams.
They have been chosen as follows:
West Group A — Memphis, Phoenix, the Los Angeles Lakers, Utah and Portland.
West Group B — Denver, the Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans, Dallas and Houston.
West Group C — Sacramento, Golden State, Minnesota, Oklahoma City and San Antonio.
East Group A — Philadelphia, Cleveland, Atlanta, Indiana and Detroit.
East Group B — Milwaukee, New York, Miami, Washington and Charlotte.
East Group C — Boston, Brooklyn, Toronto, Chicago and Orlando.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
