Adam Silver is not opposed to change. The NBA commissioner is open to handing out another trophy aside from the Larry O’Brien and he’s watching the European soccer leagues closely as he evaluates a possible plan to hand out another prize during the NBA’s regular season, as Marc Stein of the New York Times relays.
“It’s incumbent on me to constantly be looking at other organizations and seeing what it is we can do better and learn from them,” Silver told Stein. “In the case of European soccer, I think there is something we can learn from them.”
“I also recognize I’m up against some of the traditionalists who say no one will care about that other competition, that other trophy, you create. And my response to that is, ‘Organizations have the ability to create new traditions.’ It won’t happen overnight.”
Both a mid-season tournament and a play-in playoff tournament are concepts that the league is “studying fairly intensely,” per Stein. To make any change with the league’s current 82-game format, Silver will have to have cooperation from the players and the owners. Stein writes that the league’s TV partners would have “considerable input” as well. No formal proposal has been submitted at this time.
“I’m looking at things from a fan standpoint,” Silver said. “I’m looking at how to create the most exciting season and experience, especially in a rapidly changing media market where fans are in essence voting every day whether they want to watch your product.”
“Another marker for me is that we’re a few seasons away from our 75th anniversary,” Silver continued, referring to the 2021/22 campaign. “I think that milestone gives us a pillar around which to think about the history of the league and experiment — maybe just for the 75th anniversary — with some potential changes.”
The league “does not want to change the length of the season,” Silver tells Stein. If the tournament is added to the 82-game schedule, teams may see a more condensed schedule than they had this past season.
“The most-watched league in the world is only 27 years old,” Silver said, referring to soccer’s Premier League. “So the idea that the NBA can’t create new traditions over time makes no sense to me.”
Phasing out the All-Star game could be another change that Silver brings. Adding a potential tournament during All-Star weekend alongside a 3-point and dunk contest is a possibility.
Neither of the tournament options is definitely on the horizon but Silver said that “change is inevitable.”
Should the NBA add a tournament during the regular season or a play-in tournament at season’s end? Should they replace the All-Star game with a new-wave idea?
Let us know your thoughts below. We look forward to what you have to say!
This guy, Rob Manfred, and Roger Goodell need to all go see who is the best at playing in traffic.
Gary Bettman can join them
I actually think Silver is by far the best, although in comparison to the others I guess that’s not saying much. Manfred is trying too hard to change things seemingly just for the sake of changing things, while Goodell and Bettman weren’t good to begin with.
Silver inherited a Gold Mine when he started the job, the internet sales increase was well and truly underway and previously implemented, he has done nothing that Stern did not already have in place…except allow flopping and player whinging to become completely acceptable
And advertisements on the jerseys
Believe me flopping and whining and worse were already “in place”. Silver is more respectable than Stern.
The patch distraction needs reigning in.
Better ask BRON BRON what he wants to do since he runs the league.
The idea of a mid-season tournament sounds great, but how will it be executed? And will it just come off as a cash grab?
A mini tournament for the last playoff spot in each conference makes more sense to me: the 8th playoff spot is won in a single elimination tournament, and all 8 teams play in it. It’s 3 more games, and since the winner plays the one seed, it’s probably a short first round series anyways. The playoffs will be a little harder for the one seed, but that’s probably fine.
Another option: Drop 12 games from the season, add a new best of 3 mid-season tournament, and seed it randomly. The winner might not be the best team, and that would add a lot of intrigue when the final playoffs begin.
For your first option, what would be the point of the regular season? If a team that wins 15 games has the same chance as a team that wins 40 games of getting into the playoffs?
For your second option, what are you playing for? Players like Kawhi Leonard are skipping 25% of the regular season because they are tired. Why would they play in a mid season tourney? And what would happen when someone got hurt in a tourney? I say when, not if, because it will happen.
I just don’t see the benefit for any of this.
To the first idea, the last seed usually comes down to a couple of teams that are interchangeable in terms of ability. I’d rather see them play out a quick tourney than just award the last slot based on a single win or a division record. The best teams should compete in the playoffs, right?
To the second idea, the point is to entertain. It’s the same point as all the rest of this.
He is constantly referencing European soccer and the good things they have with all the multiple competitions, pro/rel, etc. But what he fails to comprehend is that There is no way the NBA will ever have that stuff. Is the NBA ever going to have promotion relegation? No. Is the NBA ever going to pause their season to allow players to play in International team games? No. Is the NBA ever going to maintain development academies for kids taking them up from teens to professionals while educating them as well? No. Is the NBA ever going to pause their season to put their teams in international competition? No. None of that stuff is going to happen because the NBA and other American sports are not organized that way and did not evolve that way. I wish he would stop taking about what the euro soccer leagues do and just try to make what he has better. Nothing is going to change the fundamentals of the NBA so stop talking about it. It’s getting old.
I think you’re missing the point. The regular season has become boring and unwatchable at times. A tournament for the last playoff spot would at least keep hope alive for 2/3s of the team’s throughout the season. And I think players would be in favor of almost anything that would take games off the regular season schedule if they still kept their same pay
The season is long and Terrible because the players want to make obscene amounts of money and it’s all tv revenue, less games means less money.
It’s terrible because the players want to make money? Actually it’s the owners who set the schedule and who will never cut their own profits.
The regular season isn’t terrible. It isn’t boring. It isn’t unwatchable. I mean, not if you like watching hoops. You guys like basketball?
No, some posters just like making stupid comments on the internet.
Make it a bracket of all the non playoff teams and they play best of 3 for the best lottery odds instead of standings.
I’d be in favor of this. Kind of like a loser’s bracket for the playoffs. Plus it could give teams that didn’t make the playoffs a little bit of the lucrative playoff revenue as well.
As long as it doesn’t interfere with the regular season. A mid season tourney is just asinine. A play in playoff tourney is even worse. You play 82 games, that will apparently not matter at all, because everyone still has a chance after they are over. You might as well just cancel the regular season altogether.
Thank you. The NBA is the high water mark of basketball. Can we please not water it down by allowing all teams to have a chance to go to the playoffs??
No. What motive is there for players to try if they did make a tournament? This isn’t college.
Single elimination Tournament during the playoffs for all the lottery teams winner of the tournament gets number 1 pick every other lottery team has the same odds from picks 2 to 14
Why would players want to try hard so that teams can draft players to replace them with.
That’s a loser’s mentality. The guys that are being replaced are those whose contracts have ended and are at the end of the bench… the 15th man, the 14th man won’t come back. Not the guys playing big minutes winning the tournament.
The only mid season tournament I could think of is all star weekend
Get rid of the game and have 5 players represent each conference (2 guards 2 forwards 1 center) and have a 3 on 3 tournament. The 3 people will be teammates they select from their team. Play to 15 with the team that won gets home court in the playoffs no matter the seeding.
World versus USA at All-Star Game? Play Regular Season Games Overseas?
These are some ideas from my viewpoint starting out with some smaller changes, and if is hung with bigger changes.
#1. If you’re voted for either Dunk Contest, 3-point contest, or new format for ASG it should be mandatory that you participate, unless you’re injured.
#2.) Have 8, 3-point contestants, 3 voted on by fans, 3 voted on by players/coaches, and 2 are the remaining qualified players with highest 3P%.
#3.) No re-do’s on missed dunks for Slam Dunk contest. Since this will automatically DQ some players faster, add a couple players, with fans voting half and players/coaches voting other half. ***Also, a country-wide dunk contest should be held previously, and the top 2 winners should get to be a contestant in the dunk contest!!
#4.) Change the format of the All-Star game to a series of 3 on 3 games. Players, Coaches, and Media make the list of 12 All-Star participants. From their, fans vote for the teams, making 4 teams. #1 and #4 plays each other. Then, 2 & 3 plays each other winning teams play in a championship for a million. (Seeding will be based off of top initial vote getter for each team..)
I think that format, similar to the BIG3 rules, would be more fun, and something new for fans to get excited about for the All-Star game. Also, I think having it mandatory, will also ensure that fans will get to see their favorite players actually participate in dunk contest that isn’t watered down…Adding 2 non NBA contestants to the dunk contest, that all they do is create amazing dunks should make for an interesting battle..Plus, no NBA player is going to want to lose to some random dunker off the streets!!
#5. The teams that finish 8th & 9th in each conference should have to compete in a 1 game playoff to get the last seed. #8 seeds would obviously get home court advantage. Winners get the final playoff positions, and the losers are assured the #’s 9 and 10th picks in the upcoming Draft..
That way, a team is actually rewarded for getting close to making the playoffs, instead of getting slotted immediately right before the teams that made the playoffs…
Also, on a separate note, MTV should bring back the Rock n Jock basketball games!! I used to love those when I was younger!! If not MTV, then the NBA should change their celebrity game, to the old rock n jock style of game with the ridiculously upper rim..lol
Hall of Fame Game? Add retired guys to 3 Point and Slam Dunk.
Oh, absolutely! Add meaningless games to the schedule and increase the chances of players getting hurt… GREAT idea!!
As a very, very casual follower of the NBA, the league often bores the living hell out of me. It seems to be all about egos and superteams. Anything that adds variety is fine with me although I understand the league shouldn’t abandon its traditions trying to win people like me over. But the NCAA tournament is fun because the stakes are always high, every game… I don’t feel that in the NBA at all. Most of the league simply has no chance whatsoever.
There is little market for more post-season BB, and certainly none to see the 14 non-playoff teams take the floor again. A mid-season tournament can work in quick single elimination format (or even a double-to-single), but nobody will care unless there’s points in the season long standings at stake.
Silver should consider that interest in the regular season is waning because of the games are actually boring because of a combination of the lack of diversity in style among teams and the disparity in talent. Much of this is due to league rules and priorities, designed around marketing of stars vs teams. Maybe he should keep an open mind about that too, and look at how the EPL rules are 180 degrees from those in his league.
The EPL has even more disparity in talent. Talent that emerges outside of the richest 6 flows to the richest 6.
Silver has injected so much political nonsense into the league trying to be a European socialist he now even admits he wants to emulate European sports. What a clown. This guy tried to fabricate a superstar in LeBron and has practically destroyed the league in the process. Americans interest in basketball is in spite of silver, not because of him.
Your types bring the politics in, not Silver. And Lebron was being “fabricated” before he got to the NBA. And if “fabricated”, then by genes.
Is the NBA broken? Of course not… is at its highest point, so don’t touch it.
Don’t reduce games, that would affect the legacy of players & the way fans enjoy the league.
No silly tourneys, in european soccer they have cup competitions, but no one cares about them, they play their subs & young guys, they are boring, so why on earth would you wanna copy that???
For me the RS is great, absolutely love it, the only change I would make is find a way to make players actually play, I hate when you turn to watch a game excited to see 2 superstars facing each other, to find out that 1 is actually gonna be resting.
I so hate resting players, not all is about the playoffs, fans enjoy the season, players & teams should realize that the money they make come from the RS not the playoffs, so give the fans your best in the RS & nothing needs to change.
Yes the season is hard with 82 games in 6 months, but… half of the teams will have 6 months off, I mean seriously! In european soccer they are lucky to get 2 weeks off between seasons! Even the teams they make it to the finals have 4 months off!
Enough time to recover & be ready for a long season, so play & earn your well deserved salaries.
Get rid of the all star rubbish, have some kind of knockout competition either over the Christmas/New Year period or where the All Star week was
The regular season is already irrelevant. Your answer is to add a tournament to it? Yeah, good luck with that.
These players have one goal in mind and that’s a championship at the end of the season. No way they risk their body for a trophy that’s not the finals championship. How about copy the nhl and change your all star format and do three on threes.
I think a cool way to implement a tournament would be to make the all-star game into a 3v3 tournament. Pick 24 all-stars, with the fan vote replacing the starting lineup by picking eight captains. The eight captains would pick their teams, and they would just do a straight up 3v3 tournament. It would make the all-star game more competitive, and more interesting to watch, in my opinion
Enjoy your soccer tournament, runners starting at second in extra innings, and Goodell thinking he is some sort of deity.
i like the concept of the mid season tourney i just don’t see how you can pull it off and what would the reward be i mean i suppose you can institute a first round bye to the winner when the playoffs start at the end of the year.
Have a 1 on 1 tournament like in the 70s. That puts the stars head to head; everyone likes that. No 3ptrs and pay the winners. Injuries that happen from contact occur in unpredictable multiplayer situations; one on ones are more controlled.
You could play say 7 times during the allstar weekend going to 12 or 15 points (win by 4) so there’s room for as many as 256 contestants.
A play-in tournament could be justified by more fairness between EC & WC. After the 14 regular playoff teams qualify, the last 2 are decided by a 4team play-in regardless of conference. They may all be WC teams that deserve to be in more than the last EC teams.
ASG could be “Small vs. Tall”. Best 6’2″ (arb #) and under vs. 6’3″ and overs. Small guys have their rim at normal level (or lowered?); tall guy’s rim is raised 4″
or…
use the ASG to test out ideas like 3 point line 2 feet further back and/or points in the paint (or new inner line) only one point. Or what happens if you raise the rim 4″ or so?