NBA G League Announces $100K Prize for 2019 Winter Showcase in Las Vegas
The NBA G League announced a reconfiguration of its Winter Showcase on Wednesday, which will have a new tournament format that will award the winning team $100,000.
The event will be held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas from Dec. 19-22.
"We are thrilled to once again partner with MGM Resorts to bring the NBA G League Winter Showcase back to Mandalay Bay and Las Vegas," NBA G League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim said in a statement. "The Winter Showcase has long been a marquee event on the NBA G League calendar and we're excited to introduce the new tournament format this season."
The event will seed the teams 1-28 based on their record through the first 12 games of the G League season. The top four teams will be placed into a championship bracket. The remaining 24 teams will be divided into six four-team brackets, with the games counting toward the teams' regular-season records.
From the player perspective, the $100,000 prize will undoubtedly create a highly competitive environment. Players under G League contracts earned $35,000 last season, though there are players in the G League competing under NBA or two-way contracts who earn more.
For those players earning $35,000, a championship could mean a salary bump of about 24 percent from their regular-season number. That's a significant number that could make the G League a more viable financial avenue for players, many of whom also play overseas.
This also may be a test run for a potential midseason tournament, which commissioner Adam Silver has mentioned as an idea for the NBA.
