NBA’s 'commitment to constant innovation' in Covid chaos led to the birth of in-season tournament

New Delhi: The National Basketball Association (NBA) as a league has always been viewed as an ever growing organism. From the addition of the three point line in the 1979-80 season to the addition of the NBA Cup in 2023, the league is always growing and open to adapting with any challenges that may present itself.

Sports fans across continents have historically always been opposed and protective of the game they love, with the biggest example being football fans taking to the streets against the proposed European Super League in 2021.

With the second edition of the NBA Cup coming close to an end, NBA's executive vice president for basketball strategy and analytics, Evan Wasch took the time to explain how the association navigates through the thin line of being innovative without fundamentally altering the essence of the game.

"That is the question and a real tension many sports leagues have faced. The NBA has always prided themselves as being an innovative league. Going back to 1979 when the three-point shot was introduced, obviously it was long before my time, but to my understanding, it was viewed as very radical and controversial at the time and looking at the game now, it’s hard to imagine it without a three-point line.

"We have a history of innovation; there’s always been a sense that basketball as a sport is always going to evolve. What’s happened in the last several years is small incremental changes have led to credibility to the notion of innovating competition structure," Evan told IANS in a virtual conference.

The first instance of an in-season tournament was through the Covid Bubble when the 2019-20 season was interrupted by a virus shutdown that lasted from March 11 to July 30. Play resumed with 22 of the 30 teams participating in eight seeding games, after which a Play-In Tournament for the Western Conference No. 8 seed was followed by the traditional 16-team playoff bracket.

Wasch went on to acknowledge that had it not been for the Covid bubble, the NBA Cup may never have been implemented.

"For example, coming out of the Covid bubble when we were forced to think differently on how to finish a season, how to create competition, we did a mini version of the play-in tournament out of necessity to create fairness in that season’s schedule. That led us to do a play-in tournament in the following year which was incredibly well received and it opened people’s eyes and minds to the idea that you can innovate these competitions and get real benefit out of it. I have to say if it was not for Covid and the bubble, then there may not have been as much momentum for something like the NBA Cup but that really showed us the possibility.

"You have to be willing to try things, not everything we do is going to work and that’s okay, but you have to try things that make sense on their face and at least have some incredible story line and business plan behind them. We really think it's worth trying and we want to be committed to constant innovation not just with the NBA Cup but other things as well," he added.

The stage is set for the NBA Cup 2024 semifinals, where the Atlanta Hawks will face Milwaukee Bucks and Oklahoma City Thunder will take on the Houston Rockets at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.