According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the NBA will hold the league’s first-ever in-season Final Four competition from December 7-9 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The NBA also announced that an ESPN NBA Today Special program will air on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. est to unveil additional specifics.
Dates, competition format, locations, trophy unveiling, and group drawings will be announced.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has expressed interest in organizing a soccer-style in-season cup tournament, telling reporters in April that the tournament would ‘appear different’ to spectators.
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The players will be dressed differently,’ he continued. ‘Perhaps the court will be different. You’ll realize it’s not a regular-season game.’
Silver also claimed that the competition would involve an opening round, knockout round, and pool play prior to the final four in order to ‘create new games of repercussions within the regular season.’
Earlier this year, Yahoo Sports claimed that the players on the winning squad would each receive $500,000 in prize money.
Holding the tournament in a city without an NBA franchise, such as Las Vegas, would also provide fans in a new market with the opportunity to see a range of different teams.
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