How to make NBA’s bland In-Season Tournament something worth caring about

Give the NBA credit. Trying to create meaningful games in November and December was a good problem to try to solve. But the new NBA in-season tournament that the league announced this week came out of the oven before it was cooked well enough to actually be interesting.

Right now, it’s NBA teams and only NBA teams. Everybody makes the field. Eight teams make the single-elimination knockout round. The final four is in Vegas. If that captures the interest of its star players or its fans, it’ll be for the first season or two, tops. The concept isn’t interesting enough. It needs to be better if it’s going to work.

The players on the winning team get $500,000. That’s nice money for the guys on the end of the bench, but they’re not the ones who the league needs to be motivated for this to pan out. NBA stars players can lose $500k in one sitting at the blackjack table and not impact the rest of their budget. It’s not nothing but it’s probably not enough to make them care.

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For fans, it’s games against opponents their teams play already, in the middle of the season. It’ll be hard to get too excited about the NBA Cup “championship” on Friday if there’s a regular game against the Wizards on Sunday. It definitely not enough to draw the attention of casual fans away from the NFL playoff races that will be in full swing.

Seriously, are the Celtics, Lakers or any other franchise with any history or tradition hanging a “2027 NBA In-Season Tournament Champions” banner among their real ones? Commemorative T-Shirt sales would be about the same as the Bruins’2022-23 Presidents’ Trophy gear.

The NBA is trying to capture the magic of the single-elimination NCAA Tournament and European soccer’s in-season tournaments. But they stayed too far inside the box.

Here’s some ideas that could make it actually compelling:

Outside participants — Part of why the single-elimination NCAA tournament works so well is the possibility of Cinderellas. There are no big underdogs in an NBA field. Bad teams beat good ones in single games all the time.

If the Rockets knock out the Nuggets, it makes people less interested instead of more. But if the field had 13 NBA teams and three non-NBA teams in a single-elimination sweet sixteen that’s a different animal. There could be a mini-play-in tournament among the top teams in the upper-level European leagues for one spot. Another play-in field for the top Asian/South American/Australian/African pro teams would decide a second spot.

Those two mini-events would use NBA rules and air on NBA TV. Scouts would get good looks at potential draft prospects. The third wild card would go to the best G-League team. The whole idea of this tournament is inspired by European soccer. In their in-season events, teams in lower leagues get a shot at the elite. It’s how AFC Richmond got to play Manchester City after relegation in Ted Lasso.

Want Cinderella? If the Capital City Go-Go are leading the Golden State Warriors in the third quarter or the Fort Wayne Mad Ants vs. Miami Heat are tied going into the fourth quarter, TV’s are turning on all over the country. If Panathinaikos or the Perth Wildcats are close with the Lakers, people will be watching all over the World.

Every single player on Capital City or Fort Wayne would be playing with the belief that a great showing could earn them a 10-day contract and maybe a season-long spot on an NBA roster. They’re playing for something potentially life-changing. The Warriors and Heat would play with the fear of being the team that lost to a G-League Squad.

The three wild cards offer an unknown entity and interesting storylines. On top of that, it creates global interest, which always entices the NBA.

Create actual tangible rewards beyond money —Fans don’t care if their players get richer. They do care if their team gets competitive benefits. If an NBA team wins the event, they get a supplemental draft choice between the first and second rounds. Second place gets and extra pick at the end of the second.

If a team that’s out of the playoff picture happens to win, they’re guaranteed at least the 10-seed and a spot in the play-in tournament. They’re reasons for the fans and front offices to care, but not so big that it compromises the integrity of the actual playoffs.

Play-in tournament uniforms — Think NHL Winter Classic where teams create special gear for a special event. Let players put whatever they want on their nameplate in the back (within reason) the way they did in the bubble.

A New Name — They couldn’t do better than the In-Season Tournament or NBA Cup?

Neutral site semifinals — The NBA is already playing the semifinals and finals in Vegas. Keep the final in Vegas (at least until there’s inevitably a franchise there). But they should play semifinals in different spots. Play in Seattle, Kansas City, St. Louis, Austin, Buffalo, Vancouver or Montreal. Maybe an outdoor court at Dodger Stadium or the Rose Bowl. Better yet, rotate through some college basketball cathedrals - Cameron Indoor? the Palestra? Allen Fieldhouse? Hinkle Fieldhouse? The capacities would be smaller, but for one game who cares? The visuals would be amazing. If MLB can play in Dyersville, Iowa and Williamsport, Pennsylvania the NBA can play one game at the Palestra.

Use the Elam Ending — The alternate ending format used in the TBT and the NBA All-Star game creates better endings based on basketball plays and not clock management. It’s fun to watch. But more importantly, it will make this tournament feel different than just another game.

sports columnist Matt Vautour on Twitter at @MattVautour424 and Threads at @MattVautour424