Victor Wembanyama gets the attention in NBA season-long tournament group stage

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The NBA is showcasing its newest star in its new tournament.

Six6score- Victor Wembanyama gets the attention in NBA season-long tournament group stage
Six6score Victor Wembanyama gets the attention in NBA season long tournament group stage

 

Tuesday afternoon on ESPN’s “NBA Today,” the league released the group-play schedule for its first in-season tournament. The San Antonio Spurs, led by No. 1 lottery pick Victor Wembanyama, are the only team with more than two of its four group-play games airing on ESPN and TNT.

 

All 30 NBA teams compete in four games against conference opponents they were paired with last month at summer league in Las Vegas. These games are all a part of the teams’ regular 82-game schedule.

The league once again has no games scheduled on Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 7), but the four group-stage games, which will feature two home and two away games for each team, will take place over seven dates in November. They are 4 Fridays (the 3rd, 10th, 17th, and 24th), and 3 Tuesdays (the 14th, 21st, and 28th).

The Spurs begin group play on Nov. 10 against the Timberwolves in a group that also includes the Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Oklahoma City Thunder. Following that, the Spurs will play the Thunder on TNT on November 14, the Kings on ESPN on November 17, and Stephen Curry and the Warriors on ESPN on November 24.

On Friday, Nov. 3, the New York Knicks will travel to Milwaukee to play the Bucks, and the Dallas Mavericks will travel to Denver to play the defending champion Nuggets, both games of which will be broadcast on ESPN. The group stage will conclude on Tuesday, Nov. 28, with the Bucks traveling to play the Heat in Miami before Golden State and Sacramento square off in a rematch of their first-round playoff series.

 

Here is the group stage of the tournament:


East Group A: Pacers, 76ers, Cavaliers, Hawks, Pistons 

East Group B: Wizards, Bucks, Heat, Hornets, Knicks 

East Group C: Nets, Magic, Bulls, Raptors, Celtics 

West Group A: Jazz, Lakers, Grizzlies, Suns, Trail Blazers 

West Group B: Mavericks, Rockets, Nuggets, Pelicans, Clippers 

West Group C: Timberwolves, Spurs, Kings, Thunder, Warriors

The NBA divided each conference into five pots using a World Cup-style draw mechanism, with the rankings from the regular season in 2022–23 serving as the dividers. Teams that placed first through third were in Pot 1, teams 4-6 were in Pot 2, teams 7-9 were in Pot 3, teams 10–12 were in Pot 4, and teams 13–15 were in Pot 5.

From then, one team was drawn at random from each of the five pots, resulting in three groups that were equally matched.

The top-finishing team from each conference that didn’t win a group, in addition to each of the six group winners, will move on to the knockout phase. On December 4 and 5, the eight teams will play quarter final matches, with the higher-seeded club receiving the home games.

The semifinals, which will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on December 7, will then determine who advances to the title game, which will also take place there two days later.