The brand-new In-Season Tournament has brought controversy to the NBA.

The NBA In-Season Tournament is an annual competition involving all 30 teams of the NBA. The multi-stage tournament consists of two levels: Group play and the Knockout rounds. All 30 teams are placed into five groups within their conference, after which they will each play 4 games to advance to the knockout rounds.

The eight teams who advance to the knockout rounds will play single-elimination tournament games held in neutral locations, competing for different amounts of prize money that will then be distributed to each team member. The first place team will receive $500,000 for each player and will become the In-Season Tournament champion. Additionally, the winning team will receive the NBA Cup. All teams will continue to play the normal 82 games in the season.

A big issue surrounding the In-Season Tournament is the significance of the reward the teams get for winning tournament games. Many people, including many of the league’s players, are showing disdain for the insignificant impact the tournament has on the league’s playoffs and championships.

“I know for me personally, the money incentive is really cool,” Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner said in a Dec. 12 interview with ESPN. “But to have more impact on the season itself … I think that would be dope.”

In the same interview, Turner proposed that the In-Season Tournament champion should be given some level of regular-season incentive, such as a small but critical advantage in postseason seeding.

“At the end of the season,” Turner said, “if you had a [tie] with somebody, maybe if you win this tournament, no matter what you get an automatic tiebreaker.”

Richard Kimball, an avid fan of the NBA and a 9th-grade member of the Boys JV Basketball team, believes the In-Season Tournament has made the season more entertaining.

“[The In-Season Tournament] brings more entertainment to the season because it is similar to the playoffs in the sense that it is a competitive tournament,” said Kimball. “It also has the effect of drawing more fans thanks to the brand-new court design and other features that come with it.”

However, he argues that winning the tournament should not give the team an advantage towards playoff success.

“I don’t think it should be the case because success in the In-Season Tournament would not correlate to success in the regular season and the playoffs,” he explained. “Instead, it should be seen as a separate event with its aspect of competitiveness.”

The first-ever winner of the multi-stage tournament was the Los Angeles Lakers, who received the NBA Cup and $500,000 for each team member. Lebron James was been named the In-Season Tournament MVP.