Under the direction of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, the league continues to serve as one of the more open and innovative in professional sports today. With this notion carrying forward into the very near future, it appears as though Silver and company are testing out some new competition formats, according to a recent newsletter from Marc Stein of The New York Times.
“The obvious lure of a play-in tournament, as Silver noted, is that it would give more teams ‘incentive to compete in the second half of the season.' That would mesh well with Silver’s long-held crusade to discourage teams from late-season tanking to improve draft positioning.
“The midseason tournament, by contrast, could help the league address its concerns with the All-Star Game. The N.B.A. continues to treasure its All-Star weekend every February as a tentpole event that brings the entire league together, but it can’t shake fears that the headliner game has outlived its usefulness.”
Thanks to Silver's ability to listen and consider just about everything that could help the league grow into an even more popular phenomenon, the NBA continues to weigh the possibility of adding more intriguing aspects of te game.
“Consider that the 2019 All-Star Game in Charlotte, N.C., was down 12 percent in the ratings and 11 percent in viewership compared with the 2018 edition, despite the fact that the N.B.A., in a bid to create more buzz, added a televised selection show in which the co-captains LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo picked their rosters.
“Imagine, then, an All-Star weekend that instead features the semifinals and final of a Champions League-style knockout tournament in addition to the usual 3-point shootout and dunk contest. No more Sunday game with the biggest names in the sport playing at half-speed with no discernible defense.
“These are all concepts that the league, according to Silver, is ‘studying fairly intensely.'”
Of course, Silver and the rest of the league are currently gearing up for the 2019 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors.
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