Along with the PBA Commissioner's Cup, the tournament is one of the two conferences that allows teams to hire a single foreign player, also known as an "import".

After San Miguel won the first Governors Cup in 1993, Alaska dominated the tournament from 1994-1997.

Lucia upset the Beermen a year later, giving the Realtors its first PBA title.

A playoff incentive will be given to a team that will win five of their eight semifinal games should they fail to get the top two finals berths.

In 1996, the league adopted a quarterfinal-semifinal playoff format with the top two seeds advancing automatically to the semifinals and the next four teams will be matched up in the quarterfinals after the eliminations.

A different tournament format was used in 1998 when it carried over the elimination standings of the preceding Centennial Cup.

In 1999, a new quarterfinal-semifinal playoff format was introduced due to the entry of the Tanduay Rhum Masters.

Dubbed as the "classic PBA format",[1] the tournament begins in a single round-robin eliminations.

A playoff incentive will be given to a team that will win four of their five semifinal games should they fail to get the top two finals berths.

The Asian heritage import provision was shelved in 2017 in lieu of the upcoming FIBA Asia Cup.

[3] The trophy design used since the 1994 season features the Governors' Cup with the league logo at the front.

The cup is placed in a base where all of the logos of the participating teams of the tournament are engraved.

Red, blue and yellow ribbons were placed in the handles of the trophy, mirroring the colors in the PBA logo.