Image Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

Do NBA teams get bonuses for reaching Play-In tournament?

Teams who qualified through the Play-In tournament get bonuses based on how far they go in the playoffs.

Image Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

NBA players and franchises get one of the highest salaries in the United States. Apart from the 82-game regular season, eight playoff teams from each conference get the reward and their players also make around $33.7 million per season. However, the Play-In tournament has a different reward system.

Teams who finished from No. 7 to No. 10 at the end of the regular season, take part in the Play-In Tournament. Only two teams from each conference qualify for the main playoff round and they join the first six teams, who made direct qualification through regular season performances.

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Do NBA teams get bonuses for reaching Play-In tournament?

Teams who participate in the Play-In tournament don’t get any reward beyond their regular season salaries. There are two factors in the bonuses for reaching Play-In tournament:

Teams who face elimination in the Play-In tournament get nothing from the NBA. They will get their regular season salaries which will be paid over 12 months.
Teams who qualified through the Play-In tournament get bonuses based on how far they go in the playoffs. As per last season’s payout system, the team payouts will range from $452,708 to $12.1 million for the NBA champion. It means, one player gets roughly $30,000 based on a 15-player roster. If the team becomes champion, one player can make approximately $804,000.

Teams will only get bonuses if they reach the playoffs. Their reward depends on their performance in the NBA playoffs with adding bonus for the best record among all 30 teams. For example, the Oklahoma City Thunder are the No, 1 seed in the West, their players will have an $804,000 payday if they win the title.

Image Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

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Gulshan Sharma

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A native of Jaipur, Rajasthan, journalist, and a complete soccer and basketball fan, he found the huge interest with basketball by watching videos of Allen Iverson and Tony Parker, but fell head over heels in love with the sport during the Warriors’ championship era (2015-2018). A sports game addict since his late PS1, he’s also passionate about the Eagles, Inter Miami and the Fever. He’s fortunate to have seen all his favorite teams win championships. He also has a special love for cricket and football (soccer), where he is a fan of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Barcelona.