A Skeptical Look At The NBA In-Season Tournament

The National Basketball Association ranks as one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the world. Fans of the league suffer through the interminable NBA-free months of August and September in anticipation of the start of a new season. But despite its popularity, there are some issues the league needs to address. For the 2023-24 campaign, the league introduced a new tournament in an attempt to drum up enthusiasm within its marathon of a regular season. While an additional league competition may succeed in providing a brief, additional source of excitement (and revenue) around the league, a skeptical look at the NBA In-Season Tournament would question if it addresses any of the league’s more urgent challenges.

THE HARD SELL

The NBA borrowed some ideas from soccer (Group Stage and Knockout Rounds), college basketball (single-elimination Knockout Rounds and “Final Four” to be held December 7 and 9 in Las Vegas, a neutral site), and your local used-car salesman (“These games are huge!”) to produce the inaugural In-Season Tournament. They pulled out all the stops: new uniforms, new court designs of various colors, and endless hype. Before the tournament’s group stage matchup featuring the Brooklyn Nets and the Boston Celtics, one of the ESPN announcers noted the “playoff atmosphere” at TD Bank Arena in Boston. But long-time NBA observers would note there’s always a playoff atmosphere for Boston Celtics’ home games.

Each of the 30 NBA teams was placed in one of six groups of five teams each (three groups each in the Eastern and Western Conferences). After each team played four games, the six group winners plus the “next-best” records in group-stage play in each conference advanced to the quarterfinals, with the semifinals and final held in Las Vegas. Each of the eight quarter-finalists had prize money to look forward to, with the top prize of $500,000 awaiting each member of the championship team.

The NBA’s In-Season Tournament group stage contests were baked into the regular season schedule’s Tuesday and Friday games for a few weeks. Fans who were unfamiliar with the tournament format might not have known if a particular game counted in the regular season standings, but there was no confusion as to which games were part of the tournament. Neither the league, the game announcers, the uniforms the games were played in, nor the courts the games were played on would allow for any.

Right before the last round of group-stage games, we heard talk of “must-win” games and tournament playoff scenarios for games played in November. That was different.

During one of the hotly-contested quarterfinal games, one of the TNT analysts repeated throughout the game that “a trip to Las Vegas is on the line.” A new basketball observer could have gotten the impression the loser would never be allowed to visit Vegas again.

BUT WAS IT IMPORTANT TO EVERYONE?

Would the league’s top players get involved in this tournament, particularly in the latter stages? The possibility of pocketing $500K in prize money is an enticement for the players at the lower end of the NBA’s salaries, but in this age of load management would players making $40 million per year skin their knees for a chance to win what would amount to finding a $20 bill on the sidewalk? Would they play at all?

There was at least one player, Marcus Smart of the Memphis Grizzlies, who spoke out against the tournament, several who were lukewarm to the idea, and even a few who admitted to not understanding the concept. We also heard quite a few players, including established star players, openly support the tournament. And while none of the Eastern or Western Conference’s bottom five regular season teams qualified for the In-Season Tournament’s eight-team quarterfinals, there were several squads considered among the leagues’ best, including the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets and the Philadelphia 76ers, that didn’t qualify, either. The Celtics qualified but had to win a road game in Indiana to advance to the semis. They didn’t. None of the top four teams in the Western Conference standings approximately one-quarter through the 2023-24 NBA regular season qualified for the knockout rounds in the In-Season Tournament based on group play.

The tournament games played on November 13 featured three fights and several ejections, but we’ll never know if these were tournament-related, playoff-intensity fights. But for all the talk of playoff intensity during the group-stage games, the Indiana Pacers (a tournament finalist) and Atlanta Hawks combined to score 309 points in a game with no overtime periods.

The television partners considered the tournament important enough to dispatch its most recognizable media talent to Las Vegas to cover the semifinals and championship game. There was also a red carpet entrance for the players (fun to some, overkill to others) and a one-hour pre-game show before each game. The organizers did not, however, consider the tournament important enough to schedule the first semifinal game at a time convenient for viewers. The Indiana/Milwaukee matchup was played at 2 PM local time in Las Vegas on a Thursday, 5 PM in the Eastern time zone. Both teams earned the right to play in that game, but let no one associated with the league tell you that was the most desired matchup.

We also don’t know if basketball fans considered the latter stages of the tournament important enough to attend in person. The stands were kept so dark it was difficult to tell how many people were in the stands, especially for the game not involving the Lakers. The Lakers’ involvement in the latter stages of the tournament (along with a controversial call that helped them get there) may have saved the day, as their fans have already demonstrated the willingness to make the trek to Vegas (about a four-hour drive) to watch their team play in addition to the ones who live there. The real test would have come had the New Orleans Pelicans managed to beat the Lakers in the Western semifinal game. It would have set up an Indiana/New Orleans finale which would get panned as “bad for the league” were it an NBA Finals matchup. Fans of NBA teams aren’t traveling to neutral site events with the same numbers college fan bases do.

A POTENTIAL SHOWCASE FOR YOUNGER PLAYERS

Like the equally gimmicky Play-In Tournament instituted in 2021, the In-Season Tournament brings the possibility of more exposure for rising star players. The Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton, now in his 4th year in the NBA, led his team to the In-Season Tournament’s championship game. After spending his entire career in either Sacramento or Indiana while playing for two of the league’s more underexposed franchises, Haliburton became the talk of the event.

The New Orleans Pelicans advanced to the semifinals in Vegas, and there was an opportunity for another young player, Zion Williamson, to change public perception. Basketball fans know he can play, but he hasn’t been available. He made little impact in Vegas and most fans walked away talking about his conditioning.

THE LEAGUE’S MOST PRESSING ISSUES REMAIN

GAMES WITHOUT IMPORTANCE AFTER THE ALL-STAR BREAK

While it would be unfair to expect this tournament to solve every issue the NBA faces, it’s difficult to see which of those issues were addressed. With the 1st NBA Cup winner determined on December 9th, 2023, about 75 percent of the NBA’s regular-season schedule remains. With 20 of the 30 teams qualifying for some type of postseason play, and most of the ten non-qualifiers becoming clear before Christmas, maintaining fan and player interest past the middle portion of the 82-game regular season remains an issue unsolved by the In-Season Tournament.

LOSE NOW, WIN LATER

Depending upon the projected strength of the NBA Draft following each season, we’ll see several teams with an eye on the future attempt to position themselves for the highest possible draft pick. Those chances are only enhanced by losing more games. And while no one will admit to tanking games and seasons, the experienced observer can tell by roster makeup which teams are sacrificing wins in the current season in hopes of landing a future star in the draft. Imagine going deep into the family budget to attend an NBA game only the learn the upper management of at least one of the teams feels it’s more conducive to its long-term future to lose the game that night.

LOAD MANAGEMENT

The In-Season Tournament also does nothing to mitigate the load management problem in the NBA. Before the start of the 2023-24 campaign, the league issued a statement discouraging the resting of uninjured players, but there’s no way to enforce it. No one wants to accuse players of faking or babying injuries, resting players during busy parts of the NBA schedule has increasingly become a thing, and the In-Season Tournament may exacerbate the trend.

How so?

Once the group stage of the Inaugural In-Season Tournament was over, the league schedule got weird. The 22 teams that didn’t qualify for the tournament quarterfinals found themselves with off days on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday during the knockout rounds. While the players likely enjoyed the rest, that time off will have to be paid back. Like last year, the NBA regular season covers 175 calendar days. There’s the All-Star Break in February which lasts a week for those not participating in All-Star Weekend. This year with the additional light week, the 82 regular-season games will need to be squeezed into even fewer days. And while the league has made an effort to reduce the number of back-to-back games, we’ll see a slight increase in sequences of four scheduled games in six days or five games in eight days. The established, veteran players fans pay top dollar to see will not be active for all those games.

As the season wears on and, particularly after the All-Star Break, the top contenders begin resting their best players. Securing a higher playoff seeding is secondary to having a healthy and rested roster going into postseason play. As we get closer to the end of the regular season, we’ll see more of the seldom-used players getting the court time. That’s not a bad thing, but the high ticket prices are purchased with the expectation of seeing the top players. And they won’t be on the court unless their team is battling for a play-in spot.

Injuries happen, of course, but imagine going deep into the family budget to purchase tickets to an NBA game AND to see a particular player coming to town for his only visit of the year, and he doesn’t play that night because it’s his team’s fifth game in eight days, or his team is resting him in preparation for the postseason.

Check the schedules for BOTH teams before plunking down the cash.

POTENTIAL EXPANSION

And in the midst of all this, we’re hearing whispers about league expansion to 32 teams by granting two more franchises. Seattle, Washington had BETTER be one of the cities awarded, and there’s plenty of speculation that Las Vegas is the other city. Las Vegas is now a major league sports city with teams in the National Hockey League and National Football League already, and a Major League Baseball team relocating from Oakland, California in a few years. That Vegas was chosen to host the latter stages of the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament was not an accident.

While adding two teams is good news for the additional players able to join NBA rosters, it will also result in more saturation and weaken the depth of existing teams through a dispersal draft. Expansion teams have historically struggled in the first few years of their existence, bringing the potential of two more teams tanking to strengthen their squads through the draft. With the top players in the league often joining forces, the gap between the haves and the have-nots grows even wider.

THE TOURNAMENT’S OVER. NOW WHAT?

The Los Angeles Lakers won the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament and the prize money and NBA Cup that goes with it. Going forward, when promoting the national television slate of games, it will be mentioned at every opportunity. (“Don’t forget to tune in next Tuesday on TNT, when the Phoenix Suns take on the 2023 NBA Cup winners, the Los Angeles Lakers.”)

Anthony Davis of the Lakers put up 42 points, pulled down 20 rebounds, and anchored the Lakers’ defense in their win over the Indiana Pacers in the championship game. Going forward, the already high expectations will only increase, as fans who witnessed the physical play in some of the tournament games will demand “that same energy” during regular season games. The Lakers will also find themselves involved in more NBA championship talk than they were just a week ago, based on three tournament game wins.

With Lebron James winning the tournament MVP award, the Lebron vs Michael Jordan disputes will rage on forevermore, and there will be discussions about hanging tournament championship banners in arenas. Following the lead of the debate programming, there will be a discussion of how tournament results affect a player’s legacy. A small faction of Knicks’ fans will, once again, call for head coach Tom Thibodeau to be fired for not utilizing Cam Reddish and Obi Toppin, both former Knicks who started in the NBA In-Season Tournament final for the Lakers and Pacers, respectively.

If the tournament is considered a success, it won’t be long before there’s talk of expanding the knockout round to 12 or even 16 teams, complete with regional play similar to the NCAA. Single-elimination tournaments are popular, and with prize money at the end of it, more teams will want to have a shot at it. And with that, there will also be calls to make the tournament even more meaningful by adding more incentives, like guaranteed postseason play or draft compensation.

So get ready to fill out some brackets and enter some contests. This is just the beginning.

A SKEPTICAL LOOK AT THE NBA IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT

This tournament was “in your face” whether you, the basketball fan, wanted it or not. The television announcers were all in on hyping up the first-time event. The tournament was already being hailed a success before it ended, based on attendance and television ratings for the group-stage games. Like the Play-In Tournament, basketball fans will always be okay with more basketball games that mean something, especially in a single-game elimination knockout format. The In-Season Tournament provides that, but it needs to be tweaked.

One of the tiebreakers used to determine the quarterfinalists is the point differential in the aggregate score of each team’s four group-stage games. In the game between Chicago and Boston, the Celtics had a large lead but needed more point differential to qualify. Of course, this resulted in some hurt feelings as it appeared the Celtics were trying to run up the score.

There have been suggestions the tournament was too short and ended too early. That’s fair, especially if you were in favor of having the tournament. But not everyone welcomed the idea of an in-season tournament. We already know some fans didn’t like the idea; it would be interesting to hear from the players. Everyone may have already forgotten about this tournament by Christmas. The idea of a “Cup” tournament works in places like Europe and South America because each team plays in a league within its country, and the top finishers compete in a continental tournament the following year in addition to its local league. The NBA version is a competition involving the same teams faced in the regular season. It’s not the same. The players are competitive, but we just watched some millionaires compete for prize money, and likely a pittance compared to the revenue generated.

As a long-time fan of the league, I felt the tournament “got in the way” of the NBA’s regular season. But times are changing and this tournament isn’t going anywhere. League challenges notwithstanding, the scheduled regular season games beginning December 12th feel like a return to normalcy.