The success of the “play-in” proves that we can still touch the functioning of the NBA, and renew ourselves. But the league has not finished this overhaul by small touches since it has been working for a few years on the establishment of a tournament at mid-season. For Adam Silver, we must be inspired by European football and its European Cups by creating events at the heart of a regular season that can become monotonous.
“It is for this reason that I am particularly interested in different formats, like tournaments, for example, because even if the players have miles in their legs, there may be other ways to present it” he explained in 2019. “Assuming that they will play 82 games, maybe there could be two tournaments during the season and it would involve a number of games during the season. »
The end of the seasons at 82 matches?
So far, the idea has been very freshly received, but according to The Athletic, the project is still debated, and to impose its ideas, the NBA is ready to put its hand in the portfolio with a very large endowment: a million dollars per player for the team that will win in the tournament.
Beyond the organization, it would therefore cost between 15 and 17 million dollars for the NBA, but it is not certain that this is enough to convince the stars of the league. On the other hand, it would be a huge bonus for minimum wage players, arguably much more motivated by this type of competition.
For now, the NBA is discussing it with the members of the commission responsible for the organization of the championship and the regulations, and no date has been put forward for its launch.
Because it must be remembered that such a tournament, placed in the middle of the regular season, would necessarily force the NBA to review its sacrosanct schedule of 82 matches to include the matches played during this tournament.
