The NBA continues to consider a possible mid-season tournament, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). The concept was addressed in a Competition Committee group call today.
Charania adds that a wrinkle designed to incentivize player interest is a $1MM prize for each player on the winning club. Obviously, for a maximum-salaried veteran, $1MM isn’t a huge incentive, but for players at the end of the roster, it would represent a significant sum.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has been contemplating a mid-season tournament for years now. In a 2019 conversation with Marc Stein of the New York Times (now with Substack), Silver explained his thinking behind the concept.
“In the case of European soccer, I think there is something we can learn from them,” Silver told Stein in 2019. “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.”
The other change to league play that had been bandied about at the time was a play-in tournament, to expand postseason eligibility for teams, get late-year engagement from additional fanbases, and disincentivize tanking.
After being initially introduced during the league’s Orlando restart “bubble” to conclude the 2019/20 season, the play-in tournament was revised for the 2020/21 season. It proved a hit with fans, and looks to remain a part of the NBA for years to come. No doubt the league is hoping for similar success and increased eyeballs with a mid-season tournament.
Does anyone think that the regular season is kind of silly now. Like an 82 game basketball exhibition before the real season starts (play in+playoffs which is really just bigger playoffs even though they don’t like to state it that way)
Of course. This whole thing is silly to me. Idk why these commissioners act like these leagues are broken, then the players and franchises increase in value every year. I get football had to change for health concerns, I’m taking about the nba and mlb.
Because players don’t want to play and want to do as little as possible. They still want to get paid as much as possible though, it’s honestly a joke and as a viewer you could tune in at playoffs and be up to speed
Why yes, lets just not even play the regular season! You are a smart one!
Here’s an idea: maybe the NBA isn’t for you? Plenty of other things to do with your time if you hate the game (which you just admitted you did).
I LOVE ALL 82 games. If you follow a poverty franchise you probably hate them. That’s on you.
I agree.
82 games feels way too many, it’s boring at times.
Less games, less injuries.
But we all know it’s about money.
I think having a two tiered League, a la soccer, with relegation and promotion additional motivations alongside a championship would be the only ‘innovation’ that would be good for the game. The league could expand into other locations, there would be no more tanking.
There already is less tanking due to play-in and the draft lottery.
All they have to do is make the draft a proper lottery with all 30 teams and then you wont see any tanking.
Yes… imitate soccer, imitate promotion & relegation. New teams could be added also, and fans who only want top-tier players could watch only the top tier teams and see most of them.
Does anyone really have a clue why the NBA is trying harder to sell the mid season tourney to the players than to the fans? As a fan, a monetary bonus to players is absolutely no incentive for ME to watch the tournament. I don’t care if these guys make more money. I care if my team gets some kind of real incentive that gives them an advantage in the draft or free agency or gives them a 10% bigger salary cap than the rest of the league.
I refuse to watch anything where the only reward is more money for millionaires.
I might be alone in that opinion, but it’s not changing.
Why not a 3 on 3 tourney where only the 4 guys with the fewest minutes played up to that point can participate?
At least than guys who aren’t just going to opt out (or get a coincidental injury..) have a chance to show what they got..maybe earn a guaranteed contract the following year. Dumb? Maybe, but no dumber than a mid-season tourney nobody wants, needs, or means anything.
The reward is more money for millionaires *and* billionaires. No doubt the owners would profit in a big way.
But more to your point, I agree. A mid-season tournament would mean nothing to me as a fan and the incentive wouldn’t mean anything except to the most elite teams. My Knicks haven’t won anything in decades but if they won this tournament, would I care? No. And if the winner gets $1 million apiece, are the Sacramento Kings going to care? No.
Just silliness all around.
No the reward is just for the players. The effect is more money for the owners. I was only talking about the prize of winning the tournament.
But I do have to ask, why do people get so upset with business owners making money in sports? Without the owners, most athletes, with their lack of education, would be working in factories talking about how fun it was playing sports in school. Or worse, in jail. Instead, they are high school graduates making millions with the skill of jumping high.
I am not trying to trash the players, but it just befuddles me when people on here treat the owners as if they are evil demons and the players as if they just like themselves.
This sounds dumb. You already have 82 games and a billion playoff games. The NBA is so lame today bring back the game that was great from 1987-2000.
The good old days (like 1994 and 1995) will be back very soon for Houston!
If Houston couldn’t win with Harden then they won’t win with the rags they have now
No, the gameplay itself is the best its ever been. Adam Silver sucks. That’s it.
Beyond ridiculous. If you thought Mickey Mouse trophy was a thing, I can’t even imagine what people will say about an exhibition tournament.
“No doubt the league is hoping for similar success and increased eyeballs with a mid-season tournament.”
Well, a “minor” difference – the play-in games mean something in regards to determining a champion. A mid-season tourney doesn’t.
A well-structured, meaningful mid-season tournament could be a hit if given a couple of season’s time to grow. It could even shave a few games off the regular season.
The question is mainly how a tournament would differentiate from the regular season. Something has to be different whether it be direct KO, an ELAM ending, a home-and-home with aggregate scores etc.
One potential benefit for the league and a differentiator would be to have a group stage that is played in non-nba markets, e.g. St. Louis, Seattle, Vancouver, Tokyo, Paris, etc.
Shaving games off the regular season destroys the history of the game.
How so? The regular season has had a different number of games throughout its history, so changing it up would be very much in keeping with the NBA’s tradition of innovation and tweaking.
It’s why the scoring champion is based on PPG instead of total points scored.
I would rather see a Vegas tournament, than a Vegas team.
The “LVT” could have any kind of rules, and it could go international.
I think that would be the way to go. Have a mix of teams play in cities that don’t have an nba team and half the others go international.
An alternative would be to do away with Eastern and Western conference titles based on the regular season and have those as cup tournaments.
HATE this idea
Why does this imbecile Adam Silver keep wanting the NBA to be like other sports? Leave it tf alone! No, it can’t “learn from” soccer, its an entirely different (and much more boring) sport!
Silver is incredibly wealthy, therefore brilliant by any measure