2026-27 NBA season · tips off Oct 20
The free NBA knockout pool
Pick one team to win each week. Win and advance — lose and you're out. Outlast Pool runs the whole season for you: invites, pick deadlines, grading, and standings.
What is an NBA knockout pool?
An NBA knockout pool — also called an NBA survivor pool — is a season-long contest where each player picks one NBA team to win each week. Weeks run Monday through Sunday, and because teams play several times a week, each pick names one specific game. Win and you advance; lose and you are knocked out. Teams usually can't be reused, and the last player standing wins.
How an NBA knockout pool plays here
Pick a team, pick its game
NBA teams play three or four times a week, so your pick names the exact game it rides on. Change it until that game tips off, or set the pool to lock the whole week at once.
Graded from live NBA scores
Wins advance, losses knock you out. Results grade automatically as games go final, and standings update on their own.
Every house rule is a setting
Lives, buybacks, team reuse, pick deadlines, missed-pick handling — the same rules NFL survivor pools use, all configurable.
See the whole board
A pick grid shows every entry's history once weeks lock — who used which team, who's alive, and who went out when.
NBA knockout pool questions
- What is an NBA knockout pool?
- An NBA knockout pool (also called an NBA survivor or eliminator pool) is a season-long contest where you pick one NBA team to win each week. If your team wins, you advance. If it loses, you're knocked out. By default you can't use the same team twice, so every win spends a team. The last entry standing wins.
- How do weeks work when NBA teams play several times a week?
- Each pool week runs Monday through Sunday, Eastern time. Because a team plays three or four times in a week, you pick a team in one specific game — that game alone decides whether you survive the week.
- When does the NBA knockout season start?
- The 2026-27 NBA regular season opens October 20, 2026, and that Monday-to-Sunday stretch is week 1. Pools run through the regular season; the play-in and playoffs aren't graded.
- Is it free, and does Outlast Pool handle the money?
- Creating, joining, and playing are free. If your pool has an entry fee, players pay the commissioner directly (Venmo, PayPal, Cash App); Outlast Pool tracks who has paid but never touches the money.
- Can I run an NFL survivor pool and an NBA knockout pool?
- Yes. Each pool picks its league when it's created, and one account can be in as many NFL and NBA pools as you like.
Thirty teams. One pick a week. One survivor.
Start a free pool, share one link, and let Outlast Pool run the rest of the season.
Create your pool →