Love it or hate it, the NBA’s In-Season Tournament—now called the Emirates NBA Cup—accomplished its goal: boosting early-season viewership.
Group Play games on national outlets averaged 1.5 million viewers, a 26% increase compared to the same period in 2022. In November 2023, ESPN averaged 1.52 million viewers per game, while TNT brought in 1.43 million, up 20% and 16%, respectively. Socially, the tournament gave the NBA App and the league’s social media accounts their best November ever, with 3.9 billion video views.
The Championship Game between the Lakers and Pacers became the most-watched non-Christmas regular-season game on any network in nearly six years.
Yet, there were – and still are – a lot of mixed reviews.
Personally, I was a big fan. There was something about the courts—some of which were total eyesores—the madness of the point differential, and more intense games in November and early December that made it all fun.
I mean, how could you not be entertained by Joe Mazzulla re-inserting the starters with a 29-point lead just to intentionally foul Andre Drummond, a career 47.7% free throw shooter—because Boston needed to win by 23 against Chicago?
Better yet, imagine fans—and even Boston’s coaching staff—scoreboard-watching a late-November game between the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors. A game no one would normally care about this early in the season suddenly mattered because Boston needed a Toronto loss to get in.
The jumbotron flashed league-wide score updates, reporters streamed games on their devices in the press area, and coaches huddled at midcourt, sorting through the implications. The chaos of potential tiebreakers created a fascinating, one-of-a-kind scene.
The Celtics were ultimately eliminated by the Indiana Pacers in a thrilling knockout round contest that saw 16 lead changes and 15 ties. The Pacers erupted late, scoring 17 points in the final 1:57, including a 9-0 run in under a minute, sparked by a crucial four-point play from Tyrese Haliburton.
Now, it’s time for year two.
The Group Play of the tournament will be played on Tuesdays and Fridays between November 12 and December 3. The Celtics will compete in East Group C, featuring the Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Washington Wizards.
The top team from each of the six groups in Group Play will advance to the knockout rounds. Additionally, one wild card team from each conference—the second-place finisher with the best record in Group Play—will also move on, securing a spot in the eight-team tournament bracket.
In the event two or more teams are tied within a group, the tie among the teams will be broken according to the following tiebreakers (in sequential order):
• Head-to-head record in Group Play
• Point differential in Group Play
• Total points scored in Group Play
• Record from the 2023-24 NBA regular season
• Random drawing
The knockout rounds will feature single-elimination games, starting with the quarterfinals at team venues on December 10-11. The winning teams will then meet in the semifinals in Las Vegas on December 14, with the championship game set for December 17.
And yes, the courts will be back.
Last year, debates swirled about whether the Celtics should go all-in on the tournament. “Are they really going to hang an NBA In-Season Tournament championship banner at TD Garden?” some questioned. Others asked, “What about respecting opponents and the integrity of the game?” And, of course, there was concern about the potential risk to the team’s health.
I get those arguments, and I sure hope they don’t hang a banner. But at the end of the day, the Celtics should be focused on winning this thing.
And while they may have downplayed it early last season, the way they played in those games and their reaction to being eliminated showed they were invested in the tournament. After all, every game counts toward the regular-season standings—except the Championship.
Additionally, it offers the Celtics a chance to send a message. This is as close as you’ll get to a playoff atmosphere until the spring, giving the Celtics an opportunity to prove they’ve been there and done that.
Second, it pushes the Celtics to meet the challenges head coach Joe Mazzulla sets. They’ll need to get comfortable with discomfort, embrace physicality, and perform under high pressure. It’s a true test of their mindset and toughness, especially with teams already playing at a heightened level, and as reigning champions, they’ll always get everyone’s best shot.
Finally, it’s an opportunity to reward the players who took less money in free agency than they could have gotten elsewhere to sign minimum deals with the Celtics, namely Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman.
Last year, players on the winning team earned $500,000 each, while the runners-up received $200,000 each. Semifinal losers took home $100,000 each, and quarterfinal losers received $50,000 each.
This year, the prizes will be slightly higher due to negotiated raises that keep pace with increases in the salary cap and Basketball Related Income (BRI), as outlined in the latest collective bargaining agreement.
For players like Kornet (making $2.8 million this season) and Tillman ($2.2 million), those bonuses make up nearly 17% and 22% of their salaries, respectively. Add Neemias Queta ($2.1 million) and Jordan Walsh ($1.8 million), and suddenly, those bonuses look pretty sweet.
On the topic of money, the Celtics are the betting favorites (+425) to win the NBA Cup this year. A little sprinkle on that bet might be a bad idea.
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