Adam Silver Says NBA's In-Season Tournament Will 'No Doubt' Return in 2024-25 Season
January 11, 2024
The NBA In-Season Tournament "will no doubt be back" for a second season, commissioner Adam Silver confirmed to reporters on Thursday.
Per Joe Vardon of The Athletic, Silver made the remarks in Paris, where the Cleveland Cavaliers and Brooklyn Nets played in the league's third-ever regular season game there on Thursday.
"We are happy with the success after the first season," Silver added.
The Los Angeles Lakers won the league's first-ever NBA In-Season Tournament by defeating the Indiana Pacers in the final on Dec. 9.
It's clear that the NBA In-Season Tournament piqued fans' interest, as noted by the television ratings for the final, per Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch.
"Saturday's Pacers-Lakers NBA In-Season Tournament final averaged a 2.5 rating and 4.58 million viewers across ABC (2.2, 4.14M) and ESPN2 (0.26, 439K), marking the largest NBA audience outside of Christmas and the postseason since February 2018 (Cavaliers-Celtics: 4.64M).
"The Lakers' win, which peaked with 5.68 million viewers, increased 44% in ratings and 46% in viewership from a Celtics-Warriors NBA Finals rematch in the same window last season (1.7, 3.14M). Even excluding the ESPN2 simulcast, the ABC-only figures increased 29% and 32% respectively."
Brad Botkin of CBS Sports also noted the excitement from players, coaches and fans alike, saying in part in December:
"Meanwhile, the rest of us are out here loving this stuff. The crowds are loud. The players are completely invested. The coaches are pumped..."
"Players ranging from future Hall of Famers like LeBron James and Steph Curry to younger stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Trae Young to European players like Kristaps Porzingis and Jonas Valanciunas have all endorsed the tournament in some fashion."
So the tournament is coming back, although Silver noted that it will return with "probably just a couple tweaks." Silver said he spoke with 30 team officials regarding "how to break tiebreakers, to what the courts look like, to the name of the overall tournament."
There's no doubt now that the NBA In-Season Tournament will be here to stay in 2024-25, but at this point, it can potentially be a mainstay in the league calendar for years to come given its initial success.
