In early July, the NBA launched the addition of in-season tournament play to the league’s 2023-2024 season, beginning in November. NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver, has long argued for introducing tournament play to the NBA season inspired by the Champions League in European football. Immediately after the announcement, a question arose: Is the in-season tournament worth it or not? The tournament is worth it for many reasons.
The tournament will include three groups in each conference, comprising five teams selected based on their record in the previous season. Each team will compete in four games within their group, split between two home and two away games, to ensure fairness. The top team from each group advances to the knockout round with the group’s second-place finisher.
Group play and the first two knockout stage games, quarterfinals, and semifinals, will count towards the team’s regular season records. The league has faced critics who share their fears that players would skip tournament play to reduce the risk of an early season-ending injury. They had similar concerns with the NBA, which made a rule for other high-profile games; the league prohibits more than one-star player (a player who has made an all-star game in the past three years) from each team from missing a nationally televised game. This is one of the better rules that were added to the season.
The NBA season is virtually a marathon, occurring over six months; eight months for a deep playoff run. Early season play is slow, with fan engagement increasing as the playoff races heat up later on. Bill Pidto, studio host for New York Knicks broadcasts on MSG Networks and host of “MSG 150” said, “The in-season tournament is a great way to get some early-season interest in the NBA. This time of year you have college football, the NFL, and a lot of things taking away interest.”
Silver believes the tournament will add excitement to early season play—the NBA scheduled tournament games for Tuesdays and Fridays, providing fans with prime-time weeknight viewing opportunities. Fearing casual fans might miss the news of the in-season tournament to the regular season, the NBA created an intense advertising campaign across social and traditional media platforms and with pop-up ads on the league website.
To distinguish tournament play from the regular season, the league tasked each team to create a special basketball court based on the team’s city jersey design made by Nike. Reaction among fans to these new court graphics has been lukewarm.
Jagger McCredie ’27 noted, “The courts would not be great to play on, but they look aesthetically pleasing.”
The Indiana Pacers’ vibrant blue and yellow court has been a particular target of fan criticism. Just looking at it has given people eye sores.
Some courts are great however, like the Boston Celtics. Looking back, the league could have allocated more time to refine and even fan-test the court designs or delay their introduction until sometime after the inaugural season.
Only time will tell if Adam Silver’s passion project will increase fan interest in the league’s early season play, bring in new viewers, and fill more stadium seats. Bidto also said, “It’s an experiment, but all in all I would say so far so good.”
