NBA Rumors: There's one tournament idea that could end up being a huge hit for the NBA in the future.
Over the past few years, no matter how much the league has tried to push for it, the NBA has not had much luck with introducing tournaments into the sport. First, NBA commissioner Adam Silver introduced the NBA's Play-In Tournament in which teams ranked 7-10 in each conference would have an opportunity to earn their way (via a tournament) into the final top 8 playoff seeds.
While I wouldn't consider the Play-In Tournament a colossal failure, I'm not sure it has helped the overall NBA product all that much. After all, there haven't been a ton of memorable moments stemming from the Play-In Tournament since its introduction. If the Silver were to decide to remove it from the postseason, I'm not sure there would be much uproar against the move.
Secondly, the NBA also introduced the In-Season Tournament. Taking place sparingly throughout the first couple of months of the season, the In-Season Tournament crowns its champion in December. The In-Season Tournament was an interesting experiment but in just its second season, much of its luster was lost. It's been a nice wrinkle to the regular season but I also wouldn't consider it a "hit" for the league by any means.
Could a 1-on-1 Tournament be the answer for the NBA All-Star issues?
Silver seems to like his tournaments, whether they've been effective or not. Interestingly enough, there are whispers that the league is exploring the idea of resorting to a different type of tournament in the future. Unlike the first two ideas, I do believe this one could have some legs within the fanbase.
According to Front Office Sports, the idea of a 1-on-1 tournament (with a $1 million prize) being added to next year's NBA All-Star Weekend is being discussed. While the first two tournament ideas in the NBA have been hit or miss, I do believe that this is a new wrinkle that could work. If the NBA is looking to switch up NBA All-Star Weekend in a big way, this could very well be a resolution.
If there is one concern about whether this idea would work, it would probably revolve around whether the star players would buy in. If any idea is going to work in the NBA, the stars have to be behind it. At the end of the day, that's why the NBA's All-Star Weekend has faded over the past couple of decades - the star players are simply not invested in it anymore. As great of a 1-on-1 tournament idea may be, it would be smart for the league to get a few of their biggest stars behind it first.