NBA proposal to teams for 78-game season, $1M Per Player through 2021-22 In-Season Tournament.
MIAMI (AP) — The NBA has sent a proposal to teams for possible changes calling for a 78-game regular season, along with an in-season tournament, play-in tournaments for the seventh and eighth playoff seeds and a re-seed of the final four playoff teams based on regular-season records.
The NBA is discussing the new plan with a $1 million-per-player purse for the winners ( $1.5M coaches pool for champion)) of the proposed 30-team in-season tournament, league sources told ESPN.
The plan laid out for teams
- Calls for a play-in tournament to decide the 7 — 8 seeds in both conferences —
- The top 10 finishers in both the East and West would, therefore, have a chance at the playoffs —
- as well as a $1 million per player prize for the in-season tournament.
New Proposed NBA Season format: IN-Season-Tournament through 2021-22.
The proposal calls for teams to play eight divisional games in the group stage of the event, which would begin Nov. 24, 2021 and continue through Dec. 11. (The NBA said the dates are tentative.)
- The in-season tournament would take place from late November through mid-December.
- The group stage games — four home, four away — would count toward a team’s regular-season total, and the two teams that make it to the final matchup would play a maximum of 11 games.
- The six division winners and two wild cards would qualify for the quarterfinals on Dec. 13 and 14, 2021—.
- Semifinals would be played as a doubleheader on Dec. 16 and the title game would be played two days later—
- with the semis and finals at a neutral site like Las Vegas—.
- Players on the winning team would split $15 million; the winning coaching staff would split $1.5 million—.
For a team like the Warriors, who have tasted success at the highest level over the last five seasons, getting them to care about an in-season tournament might be a tough sell.
But for the Kings, who haven't made the playoffs since the 2005-06 season, winning the in-season tournament would give them something to build on.
NBA: PLAY-IN TOURNAMENT
The regular season would end on a Saturday, one week before the start of the playoffs — as opposed to ending on Wednesday, as has been the case for years.
- The top six teams in each conference would be in the playoffs.
- The teams in seventh through 10th place in the regular-season standings would play off as follows.
- The seventh- and eighth-place teams would play with the winner clinching the No. 7 playoff seed.
- The teams holding the ninth- and 10th-place regular season spots would also play.
- And the winner of that game would play the loser of the 7-8 game to determine the No. 8 playoff seed.
- From there, the first two rounds would be played as usual. Once the playoff field is down to four teams, those clubs would be reseeded based on regular-season record.
Final-Words
It's unclear if the in-season tournament will become a reality because it will require an agreement between the NBA and NBPA.
The NBA needs the approval of two-thirds of the teams (23) and the NBPA to agree to the calendar changes. They also need to be passed at the league's Board of Governor's meeting in April.
The NBA is pushing hard for this change, but this might be a hard sell for the players and fans.
If it gets approved, the league hopes to set up the event as part of its 75th-anniversary NBA season in 2021-22.
The current CBA runs through the 2023-24 season, with a mutual opt-out clause after the 2022-23 season.
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