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Sixers Debut Their In-Season Tournament Court

Author Steve Vassalotti

For the first time this season, we saw the new 76ers in-season tournament court at the Wells Fargo Center.  ON Tuesday, November 14, the Sixers faced the Indiana Pacers for the 2nd time in 3 days, but this time it mattered! Ok, maybe it doesn’t matter that much, but it is one of the games in this new NBA in-season tournament. If you’re not sure what this whole tournament is or how it works, neither do I. But we have 17-year NBA vet and ESPN basketball analyst Richard Jefferson to break it down for us.

That cleared it up, but an easy way to tell whether the game you’re watching or attending is an in-season tournament game is to look at the court. Does it look like a normal basketball court you’ve seen your whole life or does it look crazy and colorful. If the former, it’s a normal regular season game. If the latter it’s an tournament game, but it’s also a regular season game. So… yea. You get it.

Tonight we’re going to be able to see the tournament floor for the Sixers. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s a red floor with a navy blue stripe running down the middle from baseline to baseline.

I’m kind of excited to see this on TV, but I feel like the darker or more colorful courts will translate better on TV. I hope they do, because the floor when they played in Detroit was light grey and rough on the eyes. It was almost as if it was too bright and your eyes needed to adjust. That same night I did see the Celtics court which is a medium green color and it did look good (is medium green a color?)

The NBA twitter account put our a tweet with all the teams court in the tweet thread. Some look really good, but some are atrocious. Maybe they ugly ones hit you more than they hit me. Either way, Sixers are playing on a red and blue court tonight. Pretty cool. Here is what all the courts look like.

NBA In-Season Tournament: Fans Lose It Over Courts and Jerseys

The NBA’s first-ever in-season tournament kicked off on a Friday night, and teams donned their NBA City Edition jerseys. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers were among the first teams to compete at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

It seems like some people who follow pro basketball are a bit puzzled about how this tournament works. In an interview, even one NBA player was super honest about not really understanding what’s going on. Los Angeles Clippers guard Bones Hyland told the media, “I ain’t even gonna lie, I don’t even know what’s going on. I don’t even know how it works. I don’t know anything honestly.”

How do you tell which games are for the In-Season Tournament?

For those curious about how to identify In-Season Tournament games, the NBA has made it quite clear. Home teams will wear new City Edition jerseys during these games, and each team will play on a different court.

Teams are introducing fresh court designs for the tournament. The Pacers’ court at Gainbridge Fieldhouse has departed from its usual brown hardwood look, opting for a vibrant blue and yellow design to match the city jerseys, which this year pay tribute to street art and feature a combination of black, white, blue, and yellow, departing from the standard uniforms.

This is a major change in the visual department for viewers tuning in to the first NBA Cup action of the season, and it’s stirring up mixed feelings among basketball fans.

While most NBA teams will adhere to an 82-game regular season schedule in 2023-24, not all games carry the same weight. The NBA in-season tournament will consist of 67 games in the Group Play and Knockout Rounds, with only the championship game not affecting the regular season standings.

Group Play games for the In-Season Tournament will be scheduled on Tuesdays and Fridays in November, while the Knockout Rounds, including the quarterfinals, semifinals, and championship, will occur in early December.

Social media reacts to in-season tournament jerseys and courts.

Viewers have been taking to X, formerly Twitter, to share their thoughts on the new look. Check out some fan reactions below.

  • What's going on?

    Similar to many reactions, this person found themselves resorting to the timeless meme of the woman in the pink blazer gazing into the distance. The flashy yellow and blue colors on the court seemed to grab their attention away from the game. This made them blurt out what most of us were probably thinking “Tryna see wtf is going on.”

  • "I actually like them."

    Surprisingly, there were individuals who appreciated the appearance and style of both the courts and uniforms. One person hesitated a bit before admitting their genuine liking for the visuals. They humorously remarked, “Me trying so hard not to get jumped on X because I actually like them,” followed by a sweaty Jordan Peele GIF.

  • NBA 2K

    Somebody pointed a finger at the NBA, suggesting that they were specifically targeting a younger audience. They went as far as drawing a comparison between the courts’ vibrant colors and those seen in the NBA 2K video game, commenting, “They got this from 2K to get the kids to watch.” After watching the game, they’re pretty spot on.

  • Passion

    This response was too good to ignore. Someone handed out a hefty compliment to the court designers, using the word “passion” to describe their work. They commented, “Pacers got that ‘Graphic design is my passion’ court”

  • "I thought it was just my eyes bleeding."

    This court design for the Bulls went all in with a single theme and color: red. It generated a variety of reactions. Some people commented on how the court resembled a “sunburn,” while others thought it looked like blood.

Steve Vassalotti is co-host of “The Matt Cord Show with Steve Vassalotti” weekday mornings 6a-10a on 102.9 WMGK. He has been with the station since 2015. For WMGK he writes about inane nonsense that surrounds our daily lives, sports, food and other various topics. Steve writes about Philadelphia lifestyle content, the Philadelphia Eagles culture and trending topics.

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