NBA: The play-in tournament is back, but is that a good thing?

NBA: The play-in tournament is back, but is it a good thing?

May 19, 2021; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) deflects an inbounds pass meant for Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) with 2 seconds left in the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

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San Antonio Spurs. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports /

The NBA play-in will increase fan interest

Fan interest is closely tied with viewership, obviously.

And where the fans fit in this is that the NBA has a long season, by American sports standards and global sports standards.

82 regular-season games is a lot of content to consume, add the preseason, Summer League, and NBA playoffs as well and you have a lot of basketball — possibly too much for the casual fan. The play-in gives casual fans an easy way into the end of the season, typically the start of the season, the Christmas day games, the All-Star weekend, and the Playoffs are the key areas where casual fans regain interest.

The play-in allows for another “drop-in point” for the season. Where casual fans can get a small sample of the last ten regular-season games in the lead-up to the tournament and then watch through to the Playoffs.

More viewers mean more TV ratings, mean more merchandise sales, and mean more expensive advertisements slots.

Side note: The NBA has shown it’s open to selling off name branding rights for its products: the Mountain Dew 3-point contest, the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest and the G-League. It’s not hard to imagine the NBA play-in, brought to you by *insert multi-billion dollar cooperation here*.

If (and it will) the play-in tournament continues the NBA is looking at a gold mine, basically a new and relatively simple way (schedule and marketing-wise) of generating NBA Finals like revenue.