NBA Swing: Is the In-Season Tournament a Success?

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When the inaugural NBA in-season tournament was announced in early July, fans and media outlets alike had their reservations. A tournament like the tournaments seen in soccer, many saw the tournament as a cheap attempt to keep viewership during the regular season. The players themselves criticized the tournament and the reward for winning. Special courts were created for the tournament, with players and fans alike having very mixed views of them. There have been several issues with the courts including the floor being slippery and the lines being incorrectly painted. Even with those small issues and criticisms, the overall reception of the tournament has been positive.

In an article from the AP, the tournament games have gotten the ratings up. For ESPN, the tournament games have brought in 55% more viewers compared to the same window of time last season. The tournament games are currently bringing in around 1.7 million viewers, an increase from the 1.59 million viewers (via Statista) that nationally televised games averaged last season. In terms of attendance, it’s been a mixed bag. Around half of the home teams for games have seen better attendance while other home teams have seen smaller attendance. With many considering Christmas as the true start of the NBA season and everything before it not worth watching, the In-Season Tournament NBA games have added some value to these early season games.

For the players, their reception has been divided but mostly positive. Following their 129-120 tournament win this past Friday, Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox had the following to say:

“So many soccer leagues around the world do it. For me, I was just interested to see how it would happen, how it would work. I’m not one of those guys that are like, ‘I think it’s dumb.’ Because I don’t. I think it could be interesting for this league.”

Some of the players across the league have said that the games feel like a playoff atmosphere, spicing things up and adding to the overall intensity of the tournament. While many are not pleased with the reward of $500,000 for each player on the winning team, players like New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson see a positive for the potential reward:

“That’s something that you can give to family members or whatever you plan on doing with it. I think that’s good motivation.”

Following the five tournament games played on Tuesday, 10 group play games will take place on Friday before the remaining eight games take place next Tuesday. As of this writing, the Indiana Pacers have clinched quarterfinal spots. The Pacers currently sit at 3-0 in the standings but have already clinched the top spot due to previously beating the Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers in their group play games. The Pacers still have one remaining game against the Detroit Pistons on Friday, which if they beat, they will more than likely host a quarterfinal game on December 4th or December 5th. For the Lakers, they have won all four of their games and are guaranteed to host a quarterfinal game. Following the quarterfinal games, the semifinal games will take place on December 7th and the finals of the In-Season Tournament will take place on December 9th in Las Vegas.

Although nothing has been made official, it’s likely that the tournament will be sticking around for the coming years. When the Play-In Tournament was first announced in 2020 and implemented in the 2020 playoffs, players and fans alike were not the biggest fans of the idea. Three years later, there have been several intense games and the play-in has become an exciting precursor to the playoffs. If the In-Season Tournament is a success when it’s all said and done, it could very well become a permanent part of the NBA season.