The NBA In-Season Tournament has actually been well received by the NBA community following the exciting showdown between the eventual winners, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the up-and-coming Indiana Pacers. When the In-Season Tournament was first announced, the majority of fans and pundits had their doubts about its use because nobody cares about team achievements outside of the postseason, particularly in the NBA Finals. No doubt, winning the NBA championship is the ultimate goal and nothing should come close.
But the In-Season Tournament has made the early parts of the regular season very exciting, and we got to witness playoff-level basketball so early on in the season. The Lakers have decided to hang a banner in their stadium with this achievement, and while this might not be extremely important, it shows how badly players and franchises wanted to be recognized as winners of this tournament.
As great as it was for the NBA Universe to have early on in the season, there might be five ways in which this tournament can be even better. Adam Silver is certainly onto something with making the regular season more competitive, and here are five ways the In-Season Tournament can prove to be the second coming of the NBA Playoffs every single season going forward.
5. Las Vegas Hosts Tournament Every Season
Las Vegas is not the most inspiring city in terms of landscape or natural beauty, but its nightlife excitement and marketing are simply second to none in the United States. That means the In-Season Tournament has to be hosted in Vegas every season going forward. Las Vegas is known around the world as a globe of its own beyond the iconic “Sphere”, and the perfect place for millionaires to spend their time.
Guess what? NBA players are millionaires and can get the best of both worlds: intense competition on the basketball court and a chance to be the face of a Las Vegas-based phenomenon. Playing in Vegas and getting a chance to spend their earnings in a city with incredible entertainment facilities means players will be excited to compete in the In-Season Tournament which ultimately means more joy for fans across the world.
Having the In-Season Tournament hosted in different cities could be a fair way to give cities chances to engage their fans, but none will be able to strike a chord with the global audience like Las Vegas can. They have the bright lights, the marketing, and the excitement behind making the In-Season Tournament exciting every single season.
4. Champion League Group Style
- 6 Groups (tiers - points differential, total points scored, head-to-head matchup)
- 5 Teams
- 12 Advance + 4 Best 3rd Placed Teams
- 16 Teams In Knock-out Stage
- 4 in the Final Four
- 1 Champion
The most intense competition in the world of global soccer is known as the Champions League. This is a tournament whereby the best teams from every country compete in one competition before the kings of the world are crowned. Right behind the World Cup is the Champions League, arguably the most competitive sports league in the world soccer. The format of the Champions League can be applied to the In-Season Tournament and the breakdown will come as follows.
There will be six groups of five NBA teams each. The players will play against each other, with the scorelines taken into account by points differential and total points scored. That means if temas within a certain group have equal wins, the points differential (then total points, and at the end, head-to-head matchup) will ultimately place the best two teams to progress along with four of the best third-placed teams. That means a total of 16 NBA teams advance into the next round following the group stages.
The 16 teams will then compete in a one-game knockout stage until there are four NBA teams left in the In-Season Tournament. With the semi-finals set, we get a one-match knockout phase between the teams until the Finals are set and a champion is crowned. By engaging in this method, we get to see which team is simply the best early on in the season and that would give the players a boost in going for the real prize: the NBA championship.
By creating a “Champions League format” in the In-Season Tournament, particularly with the Last 16, the NBA will be able to draw the largest audience attendances, highest views, and maximum revenues before the playoffs. Essentially, the four best NBA teams compete in the most exciting format ever and that would make every NBA regular season far more exciting.
3. Final Four Teams Each Receive A First Round Pick
Another major way to improve the In-Season Tournament is to entice teams to fight hard for a spot in the Final Four of the competition. The best way to do that is to give franchises a first-round pick to use in the next Draft, and there might be nothing more interesting to general managers of NBA teams than this. Now, the first-round picks will certainly not be in the top 10 because that would just mean the rich get richer.
However, it could give contending teams a chance to have more tradable assets or future flexibility if these picks were somewhere past the No. 30 mark. The picks would also give rebuilding teams a major chance to receive recognition around the NBA and generate future draft assets that they value. No matter the situation of an NBA team, a draft pick can make a world of difference. Along with first-round picks, monetary advantages will absolutely be in the cards as well.
2. $1 Million For Each Player Of Winning Team
It is no secret that the NBA is making a ton of money right now, generating $10.58 billion last season with an increase of $500 million from the prior year. There is money flying around the league right now and the players would not mind getting more of that than they already have. What if every player on the winning team was to earn a whopping $1 million? Adam Silver is a commissioner who wants his players to achieve success on and off the court, and even bench players would be doing anything to get on the court for a chance to compete and earn $1 million.
While the stars of the teams are making well over $1 million per season, getting a chance for that extra boost in their bank accounts is impossible to ignore. After all, this In-Season Tournament ended before Christmas, which means more money available to spend on gifts for friends and family. To not leave other teams in the dark, the second, third, fourth, and quarter-final teams will also receive money.
The players on the runner-up side can each earn $250,000, and the third-place and fourth-place teams can win $200,000. Even the players on the quarter-final teams will each go home with $100,000 in their pockets which can be used for a crazy spending spree in Las Vegas or a chance to boost their savings accounts.
1. Guaranteed Play-In Spot
By far, the best way to encourage every NBA team to take the In-Season Tournament is to guarantee a spot in the play-in tournament. That means rebuilding teams can continue their phase of developing young players and accumulating draft picks but also give their youngsters a chance to experience playoff basketball. Even contending teams that are going through injuries or other struggles can have a safeguard of at least getting a major chance to make the playoffs no matter what.
The past few regular seasons have been disregarded more than ever because of how much star players sit out games and teams tend to rest their best players. By encouraging teams with money, promotion, respect, and ultimately a chance to make the playoffs, it will be impossible to disregard regular season games any longer. The play-in tournament has given many teams chances to make the playoffs despite their poor seasons, an example being the Los Angeles Lakers who ended up making the Western Conference Finals last year.
By guaranteeing a play-in spot, every NBA team will go all-in with the In-Season Tournament, and that ultimately heightens competition in the NBA. There is nothing more that basketball enthusiasts love more than intense competition from big teams and smaller teams alike, and the In-Season Tournament can give us just that over an 82-game regular season before the excitement of the Playoffs arrives.
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