The NBA wanted unique courts that got people talking for its inaugural in-season tournament a season ago. They succeeded, but not in the way the league hoped. With bright colors and what seemed to be a runway down the middle, the courts were ripe for being mocked online.
The second season of the now-named NBA Cup tips off Nov. 12, and the special courts are back — but with a few changes that are improvements over version 1.0.
This year’s courts “feature three concentric circles radiating from center court in tonal hues of a core team color,” the league said when describing the courts. Designed by artist Victor Solomon, they are a step up compared to last year. The colors are more subdued and center court has the NBA Cup trophy and the team’s logo. According to the league, “The colors of the courts are designed to contrast with the home teams’ Nike NBA Statement Edition uniforms, while road teams will wear Nike NBA Association Edition uniforms.”
The format of the NBA Cup remains the same. Teams were divided into six groups of five teams each and the group play rounds start Nov. 12, with group-play games on designated nights (where all the games that night will be Cup games). The winners of each group, plus two wild card teams, will advance to an eight-team, single-elimination tournament bracket knockout round. The final four teams will head to Las Vegas for the NBA Cup finale.
All games — except the championship game — also count as standard NBA regular season games. All teams that do not make the knockout stage tournament will have two games added to their schedule (against other teams that did not advance) to ensure all teams play 82 regular season games.
Last year, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers won the inaugural in-season tournament, beating the Indiana Pacers in the championship game.
