The NBA is inching closer to making an in-season tournament a reality.
According to NBA insider Shams Charania, the NBA Board of Governors discussed on Tuesday the concept of an in-season tournament that would include all 30 teams competing, before eight teams playing in a single-elimination round.
The “Final Four” would be played at a neutral site and the target date for such a tournament would be for the 2023-24 season the earliest.
Charania did not have any other details, such as incentive for teams or a schedule for when the tournament would take place, although previous reports have suggested the tournament culminating around Christmas.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has toyed with the idea of such a tournament for a few years now, pointing to the success European soccer leagues have with in-season tournaments.
Those tournaments, however, have teams play other teams from different leagues and countries, featuring matchups fans would not normally see. How the NBA can drive up fan interest would be among the challenges.
Any in-season tournament agreement would have to be collectively bargained with the union.
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