Author: Monojit Mandal
The NBA is preparing to make history with the introduction of the first Final Four competition of the league season, which will be held from December 7 to 9 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The announcement was made by the NBA, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who also announced that more details about the tournament would be revealed during a special broadcast of ESPN NBA Today on Saturday at 7.30pm (Brasília time).
The next program will reveal important details about the competition, such as the dates, competitive structure, venues, trophy design and group draws. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has expressed his intention to develop a soccer-style cup event during the NBA regular season, telling reporters in April that it would be a unique experience for spectators. “The players will wear different uniforms,” said Silver. “Maybe the court is different. You’ll notice it’s not a regular season game.”
Silver said that the competition will include an opening round, a knockout round and group games, leading up to the long-awaited Final Four. The aim of this format is to “create new games with consequences during the regular season”. Yahoo Sports said that the players from the winning team will each receive the ostentatious sum of US$500,000.
Choosing a host city that doesn’t have an NBA franchise, such as Las Vegas, allows the league to expose a variety of teams to a new market, enabling fans in the region to attend a variety of games. The event will consist of 24 teams divided into six groups of four each, who will play each other once within their respective groups, with two home games and two away games. The top two teams from each group, as well as two wild card teams, will move on to the single elimination round.
The final match will be held on December 9, 2023, to mark the end of the competition. The winning team will not only win the championship, but will also receive a prize of US$1 million.
The NBA hopes that this new event within the season will add excitement to the early stages of the season. It also allows clubs to face opponents they wouldn’t normally face during the regular season. More information, including the exact dates and group draws, will be released on Saturday, July 9, 2023.