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Woj: Adam Silver, NBA 'Hopeful' to Talk Midseason Tournament with Teams, NBPA
May 23, 2021
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver reportedly wants to revisit the idea of implementing a midseason tournament into the regular season.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Silver has "gained optimism" for the midseason event amid the success of the play-in tournament, which was largely embraced despite some notable pushback during the regular season.
The proposal, which would shorten the regular season to 78 games to implement the single-elimination event, has been discussed since 2019 but was tabled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The proposal, which would shorten the regular season to 78 games to implement the single-elimination event, has been discussed since 2019 but was tabled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Silver has looked at European soccer as a model for the midseason tournament, which would see a $1 million-per-player prize pool in its current iteration. The tournament would need approval from the NBPA, as it would alter the league's collective bargaining agreement. Additionally, two-thirds of NBA owners would have to approve the change, though that is largely procedural.
The NBA views the midseason event as a way to break up the monotony of the regular season and perhaps find an additional revenue stream.
"It’s incumbent on me to constantly be looking at other organizations and seeing what it is we can do better and learn from them,” Silver told Marc Stein of the New York Times in 2019.
However, there are some potential drawbacks—most notably when it comes to potential issues of an unbalanced schedule. Some players, particularly veterans, may choose to prioritize getting midseason rest rather than playing for a potential $1 million prize—a relative pittance when stars earn upward of $30 million per season.
The league also faces potential drawbacks from traditionalists, some of whom who were already turned off by the implementation of a play-in event.