How To Improve The NBA In-Season Tournament

First off, I’m continually inspired by Tom Ziller, and consider his proposal to fix conference imbalance the height of highly informed fan fiction. He’s brilliant, the NBA should listen to him, and you should subscribe to Good Morning It’s Basketball.

And the NBA should also listen to me, at least in regard to the fledgling In-Season Tournament.

In my opinion, and as someone who watches the NBA six nights a week, the In-Season Tournament is a great idea. It really is. Professional sports exist so that we can briefly escape the horrors of current events (Congo, Gaza, Ukraine, to name a few…) and marvel at otherworldly athleticism and ultra competitiveness at its most elite. Thus anything that provides additional “value” to this competition is a good thing. I recall Tim Clark, an editor at Yankee Magazine, saying that “Caring about sports is ultimately pretty silly, but you know what isn’t silly? Caring. About anything.” The only value that exists in this world is that value which we assign. So it’s ok to assign value to an in-season cup, as well as an end-of-season championship, because caring is good.

So, I care about the In-Season Tournament, and I believe the In-Season Tournament is a great concept. But its flaws, even to the casual fan, have been pretty glaring so far:

1. The floors. They look atrocious, and way too shiny, and players are getting hurt.
2. It’s too spread out. Initially I liked the idea of spicing up Tuesday and Friday night games in November, but it’s just kind of weird. Some teams had already played three tournament games before the Raptors played their first. It’s hard to keep track of the standings. It doesn’t really feel any different than a regular season game, aside from the farcical flooring, and unlike the regular playoffs it’s hard to catch games outside your region without League Pass.
3. It’s too similar to the end-of-season playoffs. Three groups of five per conference? Where have I heard that before?! I mean they essentially took the existing playoff format and compressed it into four days in Vegas. I’ll watch, and I imagine it will be exciting enough, but it could be so much more.
4. Again, it’s fine, it’s just…it’s just nothing new.

So, how do we fix these issues?

1. Forget trying to spice up current NBA arenas with new floors (still can’t believe they messed with the Celtics parquet). Play the games at neutral sites in cities that don’t have an NBA team. This is the key. This is the way. Games in Mexico City, in Dakar (if you haven’t been paying attention to the BAL, you are missing out), in Rome, in Xinjiang, in Montreal, and so on. As a corollary, the City Edition jerseys should only be worn for In-Season Tournament games, and include a patch or some other flare that references the host city. The ultimate souvenir for the fan who makes the trip.
2. Let’s make this a single elimination tournament, with games leading up to a championship game played just prior to / somewhat corresponding with the All Star Break. A single elimination tournament featuring all 32 teams (I’m hoping for Montreal and Seattle, personally, when the inevitable expansion occurs) would be delicious. February Madness. Play the first round and quarterfinals over a long weekend in eight different cities (including an exhibition game for the losers, to keep things even and give fans their money’s worth). Then play the semifinals and finals in Vegas. I love the cash prizes for players and coaches. Pay it out in Bellagio chips. NBA players celebrating in Vegas is the content we deserve.
3. Every season would offer a different way to create the bracket. I started to go with a semi-historical approach before I lost steam, but the NBA could have an annual committee of retired players and talking heads create the bracket, and justify their decisions during a one hour TV special / livestream event. Who wouldn’t watch that? It’d be akin to the Captains picking teams for the All-Star game, which unfortunately Silver is jettisoning since Giannis tipped his hand that he preferred Dame to Jrue. Choosing matchups based on fan intrigue, recent trades and free agent signings, player grudges, traditional rivalries, last year’s playoff results, etc. Let the committee debate and decide, but let them do so publicly. I’d watch the hell out of that.
4. Now is the time for the Elam Ending, or games to a target score of 100. The In-Season Tournament needs to separate itself from the regular season grind. I’m not saying institute a 4-point line for the In-Season Tournament, but I am saying this is the time for the league to think far more creatively.

Basketball is my favorite sport and the NBA is my favorite league, and like most fans it’s because I feel invested in the players as much as in my local team. I’m going to watch every Celtics game, regardless of the flooring. Instead of trying to rebrand existing regular season games, the NBA and the NBPA should give the In-Season Tournament its own schedule, format, and unique venues, and let its players display their talents on a global stage. I’d make a point to watch that. The In-Season Tournament will always be different than the NBA Championship but, done right, it can become something of great value to players and fans alike.

Ok fine, try out a 4-point line too.