Andrew Pace
Basketball tournaments that take place before the season starts are known as preseason tournaments. The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an example of a preseason tournament that is played each summer in the United States. Postseason tournaments, on the other hand, are played after the regular season ends and before the first round of the playoffs. Examples of postseason tournaments include the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of teams | 64 teams, though this number has varied in the past |
| Participants | Current and former NBA players, WNBA players, and college players |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament |
| Rules | Modified version of NCAA men's basketball rules |
| Game Length | 9-minute quarters |
| Prize | $1 million cash prize |
| Timing | Played each summer in the United States |
| Seeding | Based on regular-season records, with tiebreakers used as needed |
| Check-in | Teams must arrive at least 20 minutes early and provide proof of age, grade, and a clean copy of the roster |
| Challenges | Must be made before the game starts, with penalties for incorrect and correct challenges |
| Host | Varies; in 2017, it was hosted by Carmelo Anthony in Baltimore |
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What You'll Learn
- College basketball tournaments were rare 40 years ago
- The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) organised one of the first post-season tournaments
- The Emirates NBA Cup is an in-season tournament with a cash prize
- The SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament decides the 7th and 8th playoff seeds
- The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is a single-elimination tournament with a $1 million cash prize
College basketball tournaments were rare 40 years ago
College basketball tournaments were a rarity in the major college basketball scene around 40 years ago. While district championship tournaments were common in high school basketball in the 1950s and 1960s, they were seldom held in colleges. In fact, as late as 1970, only five college conferences had ever hosted a post-season tournament, with four of them linked to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) of the early 1920s. The SIAA, founded in 1894, oversaw intercollegiate athletics in southern universities, and although it did not typically organise championship competitions, it did hold a basketball tournament in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1921, marking the first post-season college conference basketball tournament.
In the pre-World War II era, the concept of a post-season tournament to determine the basketball championship was unique to the Southern Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference, both of which included schools from the Carolinas, the Virginias, and the District of Columbia and Maryland. The Southern Conference expanded rapidly, starting with 14 members in 1922 and growing to 25 schools by 1928, which led to a varied number of games played by conference schools. This disparity made it challenging to identify the best team in the conference based solely on winning percentages, and the idea of a post-season tournament was carried over from the SIAA to address this issue.
However, other athletic conferences did not embrace the concept of deciding their basketball championships through post-season tournaments during this period. The emergence of multiple conferences and an eight-district system further complicated the tournament landscape, often resulting in top-ranked teams being excluded. The National Invitation Tournament (NIT), founded by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association, was held in New York City and received significant press coverage due to its location. The NIT and the NCAA tournament, which began in 1939, coexisted for a decade, with some teams competing in both. Eventually, the NCAA banned teams from participating in both tournaments, and by the early 1970s, it had established itself as the premier post-season tournament for college basketball.
Today, the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, known as March Madness or The Big Dance, is a highly popular annual event in the United States, featuring 68 teams and attracting millions of fans who fill out brackets to predict game outcomes. The tournament has evolved over the years, expanding the number of teams, introducing play-in games, and implementing seeding to enhance the drama and competition. College basketball has undoubtedly transformed since the rare occurrence of tournaments four decades ago, now embracing the excitement and intensity of pre-season competitions.
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The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) organised one of the first post-season tournaments
Basketball tournaments before the season starts are typically pre-season tournaments, which are invitational and do not always include official league members.
The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States, formed in December 1894. The SIAA organised one of the first post-season college conference basketball tournaments in 1921. The SIAA was founded on December 21, 1894, by Dr. William Dudley, a chemistry professor at Vanderbilt University. The original members of the SIAA were Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Johns Hopkins, North Carolina, Sewanee, Vanderbilt, and Virginia.
In the early days of the SIAA, sports played at Vanderbilt included baseball, bicycling, and track and field events. The SIAA was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences, and over time, its membership expanded beyond the original eight schools. Many of the SIAA's earliest members left in the 1920s to form other conferences, such as the Southern Conference, the Southeastern Conference, and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Despite these departures, the SIAA continued to exist until 1942.
In 1947, Western Kentucky led an attempt to revive the SIAA by hosting a basketball tournament. However, this effort was largely unsuccessful, as most former SIAA members declined to participate, making it more of an invitational tournament.
Today, pre-season and post-season basketball tournaments are still common, with prizes and incentives for the winning teams and players. For example, The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an annual open-invitation, single-elimination tournament held in the United States during the summer, with a cash prize for the winning team. TBT has featured current and former NBA and WNBA players, with a growing number of teams participating each year.
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The Emirates NBA Cup is an in-season tournament with a cash prize
Basketball tournaments that take place before the season starts are usually open-invitation, single-elimination tournaments with cash prizes. For example, The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an annual summer tournament in the United States with a cash prize of $1 million for the winners. The tournament has featured current and former NBA players, and the number of teams has varied since its establishment, with as many as 97 teams in 2015 and as few as 24 teams in 2020.
The NBA also holds in-season tournaments, such as the NBA Cup, which was first announced on July 8, 2023, and debuted during the 2023-24 NBA season. The tournament format consists of group play followed by single-elimination knockout rounds, with each team playing four group stage games that count towards both the NBA Cup group standings and the regular season standings. The winners of each group and one wild card team from each conference advance to the knockout rounds, with the final two rounds played at a neutral site. The winning team receives the NBA Cup trophy, and each player on the winning team receives a cash prize.
The Emirates NBA Cup is the second edition of the NBA Cup, held from November 12 to December 17, 2024, with the semifinals and championship hosted at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The tournament is sponsored by the airline company Emirates, which secured a multi-year deal with the NBA, including naming rights. The winning team of the Emirates NBA Cup will receive a cash prize, with each player on the winning team taking home more than $500,000.
The Emirates NBA Cup Sweepstakes offered fans the chance to win a trip for two to the 2024 Championship game in Las Vegas, with round-trip air transportation, hotel accommodations, tickets to the game, and a $1,500 check. The tournament court design featured a fully-painted maple surface with three concentric circles, and the NBA Cup trophy displayed at center court. The Los Angeles Lakers won the inaugural NBA Cup in 2023, and the Milwaukee Bucks won the second edition of the tournament in 2024.
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The SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament decides the 7th and 8th playoff seeds
The SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament is an annual basketball tournament that occurs before the start of the NBA season. The 2025 instalment of the tournament will take place from April 15 to April 18, with the first round of the NBA Playoffs commencing on April 19. The SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament is contested between the teams that finish 7th to 10th in each conference, and it determines which teams will fill the seventh and eighth playoff seeds for the NBA Playoffs.
The tournament features a series of matchups between these teams, with the winners of the 7th vs 8th seed games advancing to the playoffs as the 7th seed. The losers of these initial games will then play against the winners of the 9th vs 10th seed games, with the winners of these second games advancing to the playoffs as the 8th seed. It is important to note that the losers of the 9th vs 10th seed games are eliminated from contention.
For example, on April 15, the East 7 vs. East 8 game will take place, with the winner advancing to the playoffs as the 7th seed. Simultaneously, West 7 will play against West 8, and the winner will also advance to the playoffs as the 7th seed. On April 16, East 9 will face East 10, and West 9 will play against West 10. The losers of these games will be eliminated, while the winners will advance to the next round.
On April 18, the East 7/8 loser will play against the East 9/10 winner, with the winner advancing to the playoffs as the 8th seed. Similarly, the West 7/8 loser will face off against the West 9/10 winner, and the winner will secure the 8th seed in the playoffs.
The SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament provides an exciting prelude to the NBA season, offering teams ranked 7th to 10th in each conference an opportunity to compete for a higher playoff seed and improve their chances in the upcoming NBA Playoffs.
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The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is a single-elimination tournament with a $1 million cash prize
The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is a unique summertime basketball event with a $1 million cash prize. It is a single-elimination tournament played across the United States each summer since 2014. The tournament was founded by real estate developer and TV producer Jonathan Mugar, and it airs on Fox and its sister network Fox Sports 1 (FS1).
TBT is an open-invitation tournament, with teams arranged by the general manager, sometimes based on which college basketball program the players competed for. The number of teams has varied, with as many as 97 teams in 2015 and as few as 24 teams in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent years, the tournament has settled into a 64-team field, divided into eight regions. Each regional winner advances to the championship venue, with the winning team taking home the $1 million prize.
The tournament has featured current and former NBA players, including Hakim Warrick, Jason Williams, Dahntay Jones, Mike Bibby, Royal Ivey, Matt Bonner, Jimmer Fredette, and Brian Scalabrine. Former WNBA player Nikki Teasley also participated in the 2014 tournament. TBT has had a significant impact on the sport, introducing the Elam Ending, an alternate ending to basketball games now used in the NBA All-Star Game and G League overtime.
The 2024 TBT tournament, with a $1 million purse, was won by the Notre Dame Fighting Alumni, who defeated Team Barstool 72-68. The winning team, represented by former Fighting Irish players, donated $40,000 of their prize money to Coaches vs. Cancer. The 2015 and 2016 tournaments offered a $1 million prize, which increased to $2 million from 2016 to 2019. Since 2020, the top prize has returned to $1 million.
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Frequently asked questions
Basketball tournaments are held before the season to generate interest in the regular season early on. The NBA has historically had a tougher time generating television ratings before Christmas Day. Tournaments before the season starts are a way to create more competition and something to play for beyond the postseason championship.
The Emirates NBA Cup is an in-season tournament that takes place before the season starts. The SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament is another example of a tournament that takes place before the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
Yes, every single game played in the NBA's In-Season Tournament counts towards the teams' regular-season records, except for the Championship game.
