In-season tournaments to include teams from outside NBA?

NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks in a press conference during the 2023 All-Star Saturday Night at Vivint Arena. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Future NBA in-season tournaments could include teams from outside the league

By Mike Santa Barbara | Last updated 2/18/23

After instituting a play-in tournament for the postseason three years ago, the NBA has begun tinkering with adding a mid-season tournament too. However, if the event ever comes to fruition, it might feature teams unfamiliar to the average fan of the NBA.

On Saturday, while meeting with reporters in Utah during All-Star Weekend, NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke about the possibility of having non-NBA teams compete in a future mid-season tourney.

"We've talked about an in-season tournament to create some additional excitement during the regular season, and maybe at some point, there's an in-season tournament but it includes teams from outside the NBA," Silver said.

Adam Silver on if it's realistic to believe that the NBA will have a tournament with European teams in the future: pic.twitter.com/5NBGuYnZh0
— Harris Stavrou (@harris_stavrou) February 19, 2023

Silver also noted that an in-season tournament featuring teams from outside the NBA could help remedy the issues some have raised over the league's long 82-game season.

The NBA has always had a world-view regarding how it markets its stars and the game itself, so including teams outside of the league for mid-season tournaments makes a ton of sense. Whether or not it's feasible is another story, as there are several factors to consider.

For one, the NBA would need to make it meaningful in some way to avoid the event becoming a glorified exhibition. Also, you'll need to find teams from outside the NBA eager to go against the world's best, knowing the possibility exists that they could get embarrassed on a national stage.

The NBA has already integrated a play-in tournament to make the postseason hunt toward the latter part of the year more exciting. While the play-in has succeeded in including more teams in the playoff pool, it has yet to capture the imagination of NBA fans.

The idea of holding a tournament during the season emerged last July when the NBA board of governors reportedly discussed a 30-team tournament inspired by "March Madness."

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