Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has seen just about every type of change over the course of his illustrious 21-year career. He has seen the implementation of new rules, game formats and everything in between. And the latest major change is the introduction of the In-Season Tournament, a first in NBA history for the 2023-24 campaign.
The In-Season Tournament involves several games of pool play followed by a semifinals and finals in Las Vegas as a means of drumming up more interest in the regular season. Prize money will be awarded to the players of the championship team as their incentive, while fans get more competitive basketball in December.
In its first season, it’s difficult to tell whether or not the idea will be a success or a failure, but it is certainly something the league felt was worth trying. And James, who has never shied away from sharing his opinions, can see the argument for its introduction.
“From a viewership perspective, absolutely,” James said when asked if the In-Season Tournament makes sense for the league. “You think about how you can continue to get our fans, people who love our game more and more engaged throughout a full season. If that’s the regular season, the postseason, preseason or whatever the case may be.
“We obviously have a couple of teams over in Abu Dhabi right now, the Mavericks and the Timberwolves, that’s great to get that going and get viewership not only in America but all over the world. Obviously there’s a balance of how the players view it and how the owners view it. But when we work together we always figure it out.”
James was then asked if he believes he’ll be able to get a competitive fire for In-Season Tournament games and view them as more important than another regular season game in December. The Lakers superstar was unsure.
“I don’t know, we’ve got to see once we get to that point. I don’t want to think too far ahead, obviously. We’ve got so much work to do here in the preseason. We’ll see what happens when we get there.”
It’s difficult to imagine players having postseason intensity for the In-Season Tournament, especially in its first season. However, things like the Play-In Tournament have already become a fascinating wrinkle in just a few seasons, so perhaps this will have the same impact in short order.
James excited about prospect of 2024 Olympics
James also was asked to look ahead to 2024, with rumors circulating that he could be joining a star-studded group representing Team USA at the 2024 Summer Olympics. And while James is excited about that idea, his number one focus is the Lakers.
“Obviously I’ve always kept the main thing the main thing, and right now that’s the Lakers and us going through this [season]. Obviously with health, we’re optimistic a lot of great things will happen. Looking forward to seeing how that team constructs and what may happen, what could happen with the Olympic team going to Paris. So a lot of guys are excited about it, I’m excited about it as well, but obviously this is the main thing so I know I can keep it that way.”
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