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As the concept of an in-season NBA tournament gained traction, reactions largely ranged from indifference to indignation. Soon after Adam Silver first floated the idea in 2014, the commissioner conceded, "There wasn’t as much enthusiasm for it as I thought there might be." Five years into the process, one-time MVP James Harden joked, "Are we in college? C'mon, man." Even at the start of this season, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said, "I'm not a fan," suggesting his team could rest its best players for the competition.
If there is a general consensus on an in-season tournament, it is this: Who even asked for it?
Who even asked for anything? Are we just being anti-fun for the heck of it? I am baffled by this.
Basketball is supposed to be a good time, and with last week's handshake on a new collective bargaining agreement, the NBA and its players' union are giving us more meaningful games. I do not understand any response other than a full-on embrace of an inaugural in-season tournament during the 2023-24 campaign.
Here is how sources told Yahoo Sports the tournament will work:
That's it. That's the tournament. It requires no heavy lifting from you.
The NBA will schedule 80 regular season games at the start of next season, including pool play. The tournament's quarterfinals and semifinals will count toward the regular season. All remaining teams will be scheduled additional games that run concurrently with the competition to ensure each roster plays 82. (This was vital to the tournament's success, since the alternative incentivizes teams to rest rather than advance.)
The in-season tournament will add a single game to the schedule for the finalists. The championship will not count toward the regular season. Half a million dollars per player is the motivation. One more game for two teams was not a major obstacle for players in the new CBA, sources said. Why should it be for you?
At worst, we get one extra game between two teams that survived pool play and multiple rounds of a single-elimination tournament for the right to compete for something like $10 million split between winning players and coaches. Details about how prize money will be allocated, including among two-way and 10-day players, are still being determined. The $30,000 prize for WNBA players included stipulations for the number of Commissioner's Cup games each played during their inaugural in-season tournament in 2021.
At best, we get 60 regular season games with heightened implications and a single-elimination tournament featuring eight worthy teams, all of which increases interest among players and fans before Christmas. I do not see the downside. Nobody should be complaining about the potential for more meaningful basketball if the alternative is not even trying to improve the early season status quo, regardless of whether or not we are treated to some additional rivalry games, a Finals preview or a high-stakes battle between superstars.
Only, here's the thing: The NBA is not married to this or any version of an in-season tournament. Next season will be a trial run, and the league is unlikely to abandon the concept after its initial attempt. That is not to say the parameters will remain the same. Increasing the prize money is on the table, especially if sponsors and media partners invest in the idea, as is adding charitable contributions. (The Las Vegas Aces' 2022 Commissioner's Cup victory benefited ACLU Nevada's ability to secure voting rights in the state.)
Other incentives (i.e., granting an additional draft pick to the tournament winner) have also been discussed. The possibility of including G League or international club teams is not out of the realm of possibility, either. If the tournament is well received and it benefits from shortening the regular season, that can happen, too.
The single-elimination field could be expanded, despite heightened scheduling difficulties, or the entire tournament eventually could be scrapped if it does not improve the health of the league. This is an evolving concept, and anyone shaking their fist in the face of that progress is sabotaging your fun before it starts.
Daniel Weinman was crowned winner of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Monday, taking home a record breaking $12.1 million in winnings. Weinman had to outlast the other 10,043 entrants to take home the prize and get his hands on his share of live poker’s largest ever prize pool – a staggering $93,399,900. As well as taking home the prize money, 35-year-old Weinman also got his hands on the WSOP Main Event bracelet. The huge bracelet contains 500 grams of 10-karat yellow gold, as well as 2,352 various precious gemstones.
Daniel Weinman won the World Series of Poker's main event world championship on Monday in Las Vegas, earning $12.1 million along the way. Playing in the tournament for a 16th year, Weinman was tops in a deep pool of 10,043 players vying for $93.39 million. His victory came after just 164 hands at the final table. "I was honestly on the fence about even coming back and playing this tournament," the 35-year-old Atlanta native told reporters afterward. Weinman's final table featured Jan-Peter Jachtmann, who landed in fourth place and took home $3 million, as well as Toby Lewis, who finished seventh and secured $1.42 million. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the main event's entry pool far outpaced the previous record of 8,773 set in 2006. "I've always kind of felt that poker was kind of going in a dying direction, but to see the numbers at the World Series this year has been incredible," Weinman said. "And to win this main event, it doesn't feel real. I mean, [there's] so much luck in a poker tournament. I thought I played very well." Steven Jones finished second, securing $6.5 million. And Adam Walton settled for third and a $4 million prize.
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