NBA In-Season Tournament: Answering 5 Key Questions Before It Tips Off

The National Basketball Association's (NBA) newest scheduling feature is about to tip off.

The first games of the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament will be played around the league on Friday night. The tournament will culminate in a championship game in Las Vegas on December 9 and the winning team will earn the first-ever NBA Cup. Details on the tournament were unveiled over the summer, though there is still some confusion surrounding the format—including from the athletes about to play in it.

"I'm not even going to lie," Los Angeles Clippers guard Nah'Shon "Bones" Hyland told reporters about the tournament on Friday, "I don't even know what's going on."

If Hyland is still looking for answers, fans probably are, too. Here are five questions basketball fanatics may need answered about this new tournament.

What Are the Groups?

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has long desired some sort of in-season tournament to bring intrigue back into the regular season. And this year, it finally happened. The tournament will be split into two stages: the group stage and the knockout stage. All 30 teams will participate in the group stage, playing a total of four games in it—two at home and two on the road.

There are six groups in the stage, three per conference, each with five teams. The groups were determined via random drawings based on win-loss record from last season. The groups are:

The six group winners will advance to the knockout round. One "Wild Card" team will also move on in each conference, given to the club with the highest winning percentage among teams that had the best record in group play games and finished second in their groups. The knockout stage will feature single-elimination games all the way up to the championship.

Each in-season tournament game, other than the championship, will be considered a regular-season game in the standings.

Why Are Teams Playing on New Courts?

Fans will easily be able to tell when they are watching a tournament game over the next few weeks. Because the NBA isn't exactly being subtle about it.

The league has implemented alternate courts for all 30 teams to play on when they host in-season tournament games. Why? Well, to "showcase a bold and distinctive design scheme league-wide, making it instantly clear to fans when a game carries NBA In-Season Tournament implications," the NBA website states. This "unified look" represents the first time the league has applied alternate courts to all teams.

According to the NBA, this will be the first time the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans Pelicans, and Portland Trail Blazers will play on an alternate court in the history of the franchises.

These new-look courts are fully painted, edge-to-edge, and prominently display the NBA Cup with a large logo at midcourt. The NBA shared a look at all 30 courts earlier this week.

What Are the New 'City Edition' Uniforms?

New tournament? New courts? Why not have some new uniforms, too?

The new editions of each team's Nike NBA City Edition jerseys will make their debut during the in-season tournament. And fans better get used to them. These uniforms will be worn during every tournament game, the league said. The City Edition jerseys pay homage to the history and culture of all 30 teams and their communities through "intricate detailing and compelling storytelling."

Take a glimpse at every uniform below:

What Incentives Do Players, Coaches Have?

The winning team of this year's in-season tournament will hoist the inaugural NBA Cup. But safe to say the financial reward may be more attractive to most players around the league.

The prize money for players on the winning team of the NBA In-Season Tournament is $500,000 per player. Runners-up will receive $200,000, players who reach the semifinals earn $100,000, and quarterfinalists take home $50,000. Players will also be eligible to earn In-Season Tournament MVP and a spot on the All-Tournament Team.

ESPN reported on Friday that the head coach of the tournament's winning team will also be awarded $500,000. Assistant coaches will share an additional pool of money that will comprise 75 percent of the winning coach's total, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. For coaches who finish runner-up or below, the payment prize pool will descend in similar fashion as the players' earnings.

How Long Is the Tournament?

About a month of in-season tournament games all lead to Sin City.

Group play in the tournament begins on Friday and will be played on Tuesdays and Fridays through November 28. The quarterfinals will take place on December 4 and 5. All these games will be played at home arenas around the league. Then, the tournament moves to Las Vegas for the semifinals on December 7, with the championship game on December 9.

And the NBA is really driving that point home. The league tasked Emmy Award-winner Michael Imperioli to star in and narrate a preview for the tournament titled, "The Heist." The promo, with a tone somewhere between The Sopranos and Ocean's Eleven, is set in a Las Vegas casino and features a variety of NBA players, including Anthony Davis and Draymond Green.