LeBron James is the face of the NBA, so when he speaks, the league listens.
And even though fans and middle-tier teams have really enjoyed the play-in tournament, for the second consecutive season, James has made it clear he’s not fond of it.
It’s really not surprising, as James never really plays on a team that’s battling for a playoff spot in the final game of the season. So of course he’s averse to playing additional games, or even having his team impacted in a negative way in terms of seeding,
But fringe teams looking to get hot late in the season in hopes of qualifying for the playoffs support the idea. And it’s great for fans of those squads, as their postseason hopes can remain alive for the majority of the year, possibly even the entirety of it.
James doesn’t like the idea, though, so NBA Commissioner Adam Silver recently spoke with the Lakers superstar about the issue.
“We talked about it,” Silver told TMZ Sports. “I think at the end of the day, I understand. Especially if you went deep last year and you have that end, you have that many sort of games on your legs.”
“You’re not looking forward to more games. But, I think he understands the context of the league.”
“So, I think we wanted to get one more season under our belt that wasn’t a pandemic season, so we could really get a sense of how it works.”
He continued:
“But, I’m more open to tinkering with it if necessary.”
The play-in tournament has been a big hit, and the league office shouldn’t look to mess with a good thing simply because LBJ isn’t a fan of it.
