Evolution of the In-Season Tournament

The NBA is notorious for its lengthy 82-game regular season. Fans have been complaining for years about the lack of intensity of the regular season games from October to December. The NBA was in need of something to spice up the early parts of the season to keep fans and players engaged. Luckily, Adam Silver came to the rescue with the In-Season Tournament. The In-Season Tournament takes place in November and December. Teams start by being assigned to 1 of 6 groups (3 in the West, 3 in the East). Each team will play the other teams in its group once in the Group Play Stage. In this stage, teams will accumulate points by winning games and by point differential. The 8 top teams will move on from the group play and enter the knockout tournament. The championship of this tournament is held in Las Vegas and members of the winning team get a handsome bonus of cash (all teams that make it to the knockout round get a bonus, but the cash increases the further the team makes it).

The In-Season Tournament was a success in the eyes of most players, coaches, and fans. I mean, what player wouldn’t like an opportunity to compete for a $500,000 bonus? This increased competitive nature is a plus for fans as they can see the sport they love be played with a similar feel to a playoff game. As Draymond Green said, “[When] we talk about the In-Season Tournament, it’s a playoff game.” Also, it doesn’t hurt that LeBron James, the face of the NBA, expressed his positive thoughts about the tournament, saying, “It feels great because it’s an In-Season Tournament win. And we’ll take that, we’ll take that for sure. There’s $500,000 [per player prize money] on the line – so we’re goin’ for that.” When Lebron says that he likes something, the masses follow.

The In-Season Tournament is a great addition to the NBA. Majority of players, coaches and fans have positive thoughts on it or at least are impartial to it, like Jaylen Brown who said he, “wouldn’t choose the word excited, but ready. … If there’s basketball to be played, [his] group will be ready.” Like I said, no one's gonna frown on the chance to win a bonus check of half a million dollars. While star players are attempting to add to their legacy, that bonus check can have a much larger impact on the players sitting at the end of the bench. These are great incentives for players to tap into their playoff-like mentality for this tournament. My only concern is if Adam Silver tries to over complicate it. Right now, it is perfect. No need to try to extend the timeline of the tournament. After the tournament finishes in December, it's okay to let the season run its course until after the all-star break when things start to get serious.

https://www.nba.com/news/lebron-james-nba-players-react-to-season-tournament